Yucatan Peninsula / Mayan Riviera

Yucatan

The Maya peoples occupied an extensive tropical region in southeast Mexico and Central America, where they developed one of ancient America’s most magnificent, sophisticated and original civilizations.

This culture was made up of different ethnic groups with similar physical traits who spoke languages belonging to th... Read on

Yucatan

The Maya peoples occupied an extensive tropical region in southeast Mexico and Central America, where they developed one of ancient America’s most magnificent, sophisticated and original civilizations.

This culture was made up of different ethnic groups with similar physical traits who spoke languages belonging to the same family and shared a common history as well as kindred cultural traditions, although with certain local variations. Maya territory includes the southeastern part of the extensive cultural region known as Mesoamerica, which can be separated into three broad swaths: the Southern Highlands, or mountainous regions of Chiapas and Guatemala; the Central Maya area, consisting of the Department of El Petén in Guatemala and adjacent outer valleys; and the Northern Lowlands of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Each of these geographical components may in turn be subdivided into areas marked by contrasting geographical, stylistic and cultural features. This book focuses on the Maya of Yucatan and describes the architecture, archaeology, history and culture of this region in the north of the Peninsula, which covers some 39,340 km2. Traces of Maya culture are clearly discernible as of 550 B.C., a time when settlements began to evolve into cities across the Yucatan; the city of Dzibilchaltún is a case in point. Maya culture peaked during the Classic period (250-900 A.D.), when the region’s three most important styles blossomed: Río Bec, which can be identified by constructions with façades and pillars profusely decorated with stylized animal shapes; Chenes, distinguishable by animal motifs and complex, multiple-chamber structures; and Puuc, with its fine decoration combining plain mosaics with friezes adorned with frets, birds, serpents and Chaac masks representing the long-nosed rain god. During the Post-Classic, Chichén Itzá emerged as the foremost seat of power in Yucatan; its Maya-Toltec architectural style is unmistakable for its incorporation of a rich martial iconography. Spectacular Maya cities emerge from the jungle, revealing their mysteries little by little, stone echoes that speak of a lineage of godlike kings, the lords and guiding spirits of warriors, astronomers, artisans, merchants and farmers.

Following the Spanish conquest, the splendid colonial cities resulted from the interfusion of Maya genius and Spanish dramatic spirit, heralding a distinct form of expression reflected in architecture, sculpture, painting and the plastic arts. The new culture evolved not only in the cities, but also in the lordly haciendas during a period marked by unbridled wealth and opulence derived from henequen (sisal) cultivation, a crop aptly termed “green gold.” The real price, however, was paid by the Maya farm laborers, who suffered ruthless exploitation and injustice in all its forms.

The geography of the Yucatan is fascinating: labyrinthine grottoes decked with fanciful natural formations, ancient shrines and gateways into the underworld, deep blue-water cenotes as mysterious as they are sacred; superb tropical-forest scenery, coastal lagoons teeming with a plethora of bird species, endless stretches of white sand beaches bordering crystal-clear waters, and reefs abounding in marine life and sunken shipwrecks. All this and more is the Yucatan described in the text and illustrations of this book.

Modern life notwithstanding, the Yucatan today is still home to an admirable people and their rich, deeply rooted heritage: their physical traits, languages, beliefs, attire, customs, traditions, dwellings, music, poetry and cuisines. All of these form an integral part of the Maya’s day-to-day living in Yucatan and reveal a way of life which –amazingly– continues to this day, having survived the Spanish conquest, civil wars, hacienda exploitation, and current global economic trends.

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