Mayan Civilization

Type of Government

The Mayan civilization was organized as a network of city-states, with each state being ruled by a hereditary monarchy. The king served as both the chief political authority and a semidivine figure. The king’s chief duties were religious and military.

Background

The Mayans were an indigenous people who occupied the areas of present-day southern Mexico (the Yucatán peninsula and the state of Chiapas), Guatemala, Belize, and western Honduras and El Salvador. The Mayans are described as a Mesoamerican civilization—that is, they existed before the Spanish conquest of Mexico and Central America in the sixteenth century. Archaeologists divide the history of the Mayan civilization into three periods: the preclassic (2000 BC–AD 250), the classic (250–900), and the postclassic (900–1500).

The preclassic period saw the establishment of agricultural settlements (as early as 1500 BC), the development of trade networks among regions, and the emergence of an identifiable Mayan culture. As Mayan agriculture became more sophisticated and trade networks expanded, communities flourished and populations grew. At the same time, systems of social and political organization began to develop, with the first dynasties established around 100 BC. Cities were formed and became the political, cultural, and social focal points of the civilization.

By AD 250 Mayan civilization was organized into distinct city-states, not unlike those of the ancient Greeks. The Mayan cities did not define themselves so much in terms of territorial borders but more as hubs that were networked—both politically and economically—to one another. At its peak, the Mayan civilization comprised at least forty cities; the most important were Bonampek, Calakmul, Copán, Dos Pilas, Palenque, Río Bec, Tikal, and Uaxactún.

Even though they shared a common culture, the city-states remained autonomous, each having its own ruling dynasty; at no time in Mayan history was there any unified political structure or single ruler. However, historians and archaeologists debate whether the Mayans had some sort of regional power structure. There is evidence that a few large states may have dominated the region, and one theory suggests that a system of overkingship was present in the Mayan regions, whereby the local kings of smaller states were beholden to the ruler of a larger, more powerful neighbor. The most successful kings were those who controlled trade routes, particularly to the important city of Teotihuacán (in modern-day Mexico).

The Mayans were renowned for their accomplishments in mathematics and astronomy. In particular, they developed a complex calendar system that dated events in terms of the time elapsed since a zero point in the past (the fourth millennium BC), known as the Long Count. Mayan rulers used these dates to place themselves within the Great Cycle (periods of thousands of years) and within their ancestral lineage. The dates also figured prominently on the large stone monuments constructed by the Mayans called stelae. These structures recorded the birth, genealogy, titles, alliances, and achievements of the dynasties and featured elaborate carvings intended to glorify the rulers.

Beginning in approximately 600, the rapid urban growth of the previous centuries began to take its toll: The expanding population could only feed itself by degrading overworked farmlands, resulting in food shortages in the cities and lasting environmental damage, including deforestation and soil erosion. Historians cannot pinpoint the exact cause of the decline of the Mayan civilization, but it was likely attributable to a combination of foreign invasions, the exhaustion of agricultural systems, and the fall of Teotihuacán, which would have disrupted trade and communication routes. By 800 these factors led to a precipitous demographic decline and the collapse of dynasties. By approximately 1100 at least 90 percent of the Mayan population was lost and the once-vibrant cities were reduced to small villages.

Government Structure

The Mayan city-states were ruled by monarchies. Not only was the Mayan king the chief political authority but also he was considered semidivine, mediating between the physical world and the supernatural. According to Mayan belief, the supernatural affected daily life, and a good ruler recognized this. Indeed, the king’s most important functions were religious, particularly the leading of religious ceremonies and rituals. Succession to the kingship passed through the male line, typically to the eldest son, known as b’aah ch’ok (head youth). Elaborate rites marked an heir’s accession to the kingship, often involving human sacrifice.

Another central duty of the Mayan kings was to lead the kingdom’s forces in battle; in fact, future kings were expected to prove themselves in battle—the taking of captives was considered especially noteworthy. Kings often depended on supernatural indicators, such as the position of the planets or the stars, to determine the best moment to strike at enemies.

Mayan political rulers went by the title ajaw (lord ruler) or, later in the classic period, k’uhul ajaw (divine lord), to distinguish themselves from ordinary aristocrats. Those from the most powerful Mayan dynasties took the title kaloomte’ or ochk’in kaloomte’, the latter denoting that the dynasty had ties to the important Mexican city of Teotihuacán. Political authority in the Mayan civilization was centered on the king (rather than on the state or its institutions) and his personal relationship with the supernatural. Ancestor worship was particularly important in Mayan religious culture, and thus rulers were eager to document their divine ancestry to legitimate their power.

Political Parties and Factions

The Mayan civilization was organized according to a hierarchical social structure based on wealth and status. The uppermost strata of aristocrats held political, economic, and religious power; controlled the cities through the placement of public buildings; and organized commerce, especially the trade in luxury goods. These aristocrats typically filled the most important political and religious positions. A class of lesser aristocrats served as lower-ranking priests, military officers, scribes, engineers, administrators, and merchants. This class system, however, was not rigid: for example, upward mobility was possible through success in commerce or war.

Major Events

The event that marked the turning point in the history of the Mayan civilization was the sudden collapse of Teotihuacán during the first half of the 600s. Located in the Valley of Mexico (northwest of the Mayan region), Teotihuacán was the one of the most advanced settlements in Mesoamerica and the largest city in the New World (estimates range from one hundred thousand to two hundred thousand people) before the arrival of the Spanish in the sixteenth century. Historians do not fully understand the reasons for its fall, but the event had a profound effect on the Mayans, disrupting trade and communication routes and leaving a large political void that ultimately contributed to the decline of the Mayan civilization.

Aftermath

Even though the Mayan civilization declined precipitously after 900, small communities survived throughout the Spanish colonial period and into the twenty-first century. Today, an indigenous Mayan population of about five million continues to reside in the region, speaking more than seventy different Mayan languages.

Martin, Simon, and Nikolai Grube. Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2000.

Schele, Linda, and David Freidel. A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya. New York: Quill/W. Morrow, 1992.

Sharer, Robert J., with Loa P. Traxler. The Ancient Maya. 6th ed. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2006.