Maya were more warlike than previously thought

For a long time it was believed that the Mayan tribes, flourishingcivilizations which occurred in 2000 BC - 150 AD, were quite peaceful. For many years this was in every way supported by cinema, literature and even historians. But a recent discovery made by archaeologists from the University of California at Berkeley (USA), proved that not everything was so smooth. A people that seemed peaceful did not behave as decently as previously thought. As with any discoveries, it must first be double-checked, but the revealed facts already make you think about the people who made up the famous calendar. Maybe we underestimated them?

Who are the Mayans?

The smooth sunset of Maya civilization began thatthe moment when the northern settlements gradually began to dominate amid a decline in the welfare of the southern. All this led to conflicts that were themselves brutal.

An example is the burial of warriors,found in the area of ​​the ancient city of Pakbitun. This is a Mayan city of medium hand, located in the Cayo department in Belize, 40 km northeast of Karakol. The bodies of the soldiers and their weapons were decorated with skulls. Most likely, these were the skulls of the killed enemies, and their mission was to intimidate new opponents. Additional evidence of this are the drawings applied to them.

The fact of the existence of conflicts has not previously been disputed by researchers and archaeologists. But scientists did not assume that so much violence was used. New findings are further confirmation of this.

Maya were very cruel

Discovery made by a group of archaeologists wholed by David Val, sheds light on how battles were fought. Excavations made it possible to find the remains of charcoal in the rocks. This suggests that the settlement located on this site was repeatedly burned.

“We studied sedimentary rocks located indistrict of Witzny, and found the remains of charcoal. Judging by them, in the last fifteen and a half thousand years, serious fires have flashed here repeatedly. Excavations showed that all the main buildings in Witzen were destroyed by fire between 650 and 800 years, after which the anthropogenic activity in this area seriously decreased, ”Val says.

It was previously believed that clashes between tribeshad a local character and rather pursued ritual goals or the desire to receive a ransom for the captured elite representatives. The discovery, accomplished by a group of David Val, gives the right to doubt it.

The importance of discovery cannot be underestimated.

On the one hand, this is not such an important discovery, and we can say that all the tribes fought among themselves. In fact, it fundamentally changes the idea of ​​the extinction of civilizations.

The time of final cessationMaya civilization is considered the XVII-XIX centuries A.D. The last point in the history of the ancient people was put by the Spanish conquerors, and the sunset itself, according to the prevailing opinion, began against the backdrop of drought and adverse environmental phenomena.

Now we can conclude that the decline of civilization did not begin with external factors, but because of the frequent conflicts leading to outbreaks of violence and the extermination of civilians.

Whether this was the main reason for the loss of greatness of civilization, which was considered the most developed at that time, or not, additional studies will show, but we already have reason to think.

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