Honest History Issue 11 Journey Through the Jungle

Issue 11 of Honest History was called Journey through the Jungle.  This issue was about the Mayan Civilization.  Some interesting facts about the Mayans are:

• They were one of two ancient civilizations to create the number zero.
• Their writing system is made up of over 800 hieroglyphics.
• Kings were buried with goods such as necklaces, vases, masks, chocolate, and corn.
• The Mayans had over 250 gods.
• Women were in charge of essential tasks such as making cloth and clothing.
• Women also played important roles in politics as queens and warriors.
• Despite writing lots of books about religion, astronomy, and their way of life, only three of the Mayan codices survived.
• “Maya Blue” is a special hue of the color blue that they used in art and it can still be found to this day.

The Mayan civilization is 4,000 years old however there are still Maya living today.  There are more than 6 million living in Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala. The Maya have a special relationship with mother earth and mother nature and the people pass down their special connection to the land.  They were forced to leave their land by the Spanish who conquered them and forced them to work plantations.  They also were forced to change from subsistence farming to production farming during the Industrial Revolution. The Mayans of today work to create political change and minimize climate change based on the teachings of their ancestors who had a special bond to the earth.

The Mayan civilization dates back as far as 1500 BC.   and peaked between 250 – 900 AD. They lasted the longest of all the ancient civilizations and are the most famous.  They built cities and pyramids throughout Mexico and Central America. They were expert sun watchers and perfected a special type of calendar with three parts, one part was based on the sun and had 365 days.