The Impact of Mayan Architecture

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The Impact of Mayan Architecture

Overview

The buildings left behind by the Maya inspire onlookers with a sense of awe and admiration. These buildings hold the secrets of Mayan religion, identity, and history. Known for its powerful features, Mayan architecture is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also technically accurate. Even though the thick jungle of Central America encroaches on these buildings, they still stand after thousands of years. The ruins themselves have been preserved by the vast and hostile jungle landscape, which has given archaeologists and scientists a chance to understand Mayan culture, political systems, and social and economic activities.

Background

Despite thorough study by scholars, much of Mayan civilization is still unknown today because much of the civilization's writing and texts were destroyed. The virtual elimination of Mayan writing forces experts to turn to buildings in hopes of understanding many aspects of Mayan culture that have disappeared. Even though many mysteries surround these great ruins, it is beyond a doubt that Mayan architecture is an art of original expression and remains unparalleled in history.

By 1000 b.c. the Maya began building villages in the mountainous regions of Mesoamerica. Their initial work essentially formed the templates for all subsequent societies in the region. Future generations looked to them in developing their own political and cultural views. The Maya used architecture as their starting point to express their beliefs and to create their civilization.

Through architecture, the Maya created intricate social institutions. The main focal point of each town became large pyramid-like structures. The people regarded these buildings as mountains rising out of the swamps and forests. The Maya gave these buildings meaning by molding plastered imagery of events, thus creating a pictorial history. The early Mayan civilization laid the foundation for most of the great architectural achievements to occur later.

The larger masonry structures are the most commonly remembered and explored examples of Mayan architecture, which include public buildings, palaces, temples, and ball courts. It is unlikely that the Maya had "professional" architects, rather a group of master builders separated tasks based on skill. For example, since they based building orientation on sacred beliefs, religious specialists became involved in the design and later dedication of the building. Common people provided the labor in order to fulfill their duty to the king or head of state.

The Maya considered houses and temples the center of the world, one for family and the other for the gods. Plazas and courtyards surrounded public facilities, which made up the operational spaces of the cities. Interior spaces were dark and small, especially in temples, since these places housed gods and their ancestors. Public access into these palaces was prohibited, but they were allowed to stand in the courtyards where many Mayan rituals and festivals were held. Mayan architecture is at the heart of many of these ceremonies. The buildings act as a stage and set the scene for the drama to unfold. In fact, courtyards also placed restrictions on where people could go. The Maya controlled movement by using various architectural designs, like constricted entrances, causeways, stairways, and other devices used to channel movement.

The Maya lived in and around their cities and towns in dense and permanent settlements. Just like in modern Mayan communities, houses were in clusters of two to six units centered around a patio. Xanil nah, or "thatched house," represents the oldest known example of Mayan architecture. These structures were built on slightly raised platforms. They adapted house construction to the tropical environment and gathered materials from the nearby forests. Today's Maya continue to construct their housing in a similar manner. In ancient times, they used termite-resistant wood for the frame and roof, palm leaves for the thatch, and strips of bark to tie everything together. Each house is similar in the fact that it is arranged in a single room. A three-stoned hearth served as the center of activity. Royal homes were similar in design, but used stone and a scale much larger in size, and were also supported on higher platforms.

The arrangement of the city was based on their view of the world. Building positions were perfectly aligned with symbolic meaning. The center of the city, or the center of their world, was represented by the palaces of the living ruler. To the north were tombs and shrines of their royal ancestors, and the ball court was perfectly positioned, since this ritualistic game combined past and present myths and legends. The sacred centers contained pyramid-like structures with temples on top and sculpted monuments to document the history of the ruling king and ancestors. The sacred precinct also housed administrative, religious, and residential complexes for royal lineage. The area around this precinct held smaller-scale buildings that housed nonroyal, but wealthy lineages. The cities and towns sometimes had a causeway or sak beh that led from outer-lying zones into the center. These road systems are evidence of the degree of political authority contained in each city. The most extensive system of roads is at Coba, where a multitude of causeways extend over 60 miles (96.5 km) from the center, showing how powerful it must have been in its heyday.

Similar to the Egyptians, the Maya used a pyramid shape, only truncated, to construct their great temples. Most times, these buildings were only for show and represented sacred beliefs about the world below and the gods above. However, archaeologists have discovered cases in which these monumental pyramids served as tombs for great leaders. It seems that some of the tallest and most grandiose temples are found in ruins that marked earlier Mayan civilizations. Later periods in Mayan history never reached the gigantic scale their ancestors had once achieved.

Impact

While Mayan cities increased in population, partly due to their superior skills in agriculture, they rarely added additional buildings. Instead, the Maya used the technique of superimposition, where a new building is constructed on top of an older one. In most cases, after a building outlived its usefulness, it was partially or totally encased in a larger and taller structure. An unintended consequence of this architectural strategy is that modern-day archaeologists can study the site and find incredibly valuable information. Usually, the building concealed by the outer building is well preserved. Excavations into these superimposed works have allowed scientists to uncover the earliest dates of Mayan occupancy. Other discoveries have been made thanks to this technique, including the ability of experts to follow the lineage of leaders based on mosaics and plaque depictions and styles that would have eroded otherwise.

Maya architecture has had a profound influence on the region. Many features of Mayan architecture appear throughout Central America today. The use of color, open space, and texture provide ideas and guidelines that are evident in contemporary architecture. For example, in order to create open spaces in buildings, the Maya relied on courtyards, square buildings, and quadrangles. Included in this open space design was the use of platforms, creating a variety of shapes, sizes, and levels. Respect for the Mexican landscape has always been a constant. Building color and texture are natural looking in order to compliment and blend in with the environment. These styles are quite evident in Central America today.

Thanks to archaeologists, the legacy of the Maya is revealed through their architectural ideas that provides present-day architects with a lesson on using the environment as a friendly tool to enhance a building, not hinder it. The Maya utilized the tropical forests that surrounded them to improve their lives. By building extensive canals, reservoirs, and raised fields, the Maya produced an abundant supply of food. Even today, modern farmers in remote regions of Central America are taught the agricultural methods of the Maya for their own harvesting. In fact, the Maya were so successful in producing food that they soon created overpopulated cities, which in turn demanded a greater turnover of food production. Sometimes the environment could no longer keep up with the demand for harvesting and this created episodes of severe malnutrition. However, the Maya improved the domestication of maize and also developed an extensive list of beans, pumpkins, vanilla, manioc, chili peppers, and, most importantly, the creation of chocolate.

The descendants of the Maya react toward their climate and landscape the same way their ancestors did. The environment has not changed for them and the land provides the same building materials as in the past. Mayan artisans and architects pride themselves on a high level of craftsmanship and continue to keep many of their customs and traditions alive, even though modern buildings surround them. This pride links today's Maya with their ancestors and keeps them in direct contact with an ancient world that once served as one of mankind's greatest civilizations.

KATHERINE BATCHELOR