3. The divine king

“The divine king” begins with a short biography of the Maya k’uhul ajaw (supreme lord or king) known as 18-Rabbit. During the Classic period, rulers were viewed as divine kings or queens, like 18-Rabbit and Lady K’abel (“Waterlily-Hand”). The ancient Maya used a combination of a cyclical calendar and a linear calendar called the “Long Count.” The Maya area experienced regular intrusions from imperial Teotihuacan, often leading to economic and diplomatic partnerships. Most Mayas experienced war in their lifetimes. The “Collapse” at the end of the Classic period could more accurately be called a transition, with major regional variations. Some well-known Maya sites flourished after the Collapse.

2. Maya genesis

By the first millennium bce, Maya civilization was manifesting itself in art, architecture, agriculture, and social structure. “Maya Genesis” looks at the birth of this civilization. The manuscript known as the Popul Vuh gives a detailed version of Maya creation, telling the stories of two mythical Hero Twins, bookended by tales of the creation of the earth and humans. Impressive structures such as the sites at Palenque linked creation myths and divinity to the visions and ambitions of ruling elites. New architectural and agricultural developments such as the “nixtamalization” of corn helped in the formation of denser communities and the emergence of a hierarchical and multilayered social organization.

1. Creating “the Maya”

“Creating ‘the Maya’” begins with the paradox that the people we call Maya never thought of themselves as such. There was no unified Maya state, empire, or language. Historically, scholars have divided ancient Maya history into three periods: Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic. The ancient Maya were repeatedly “discovered” by the West since Columbus in 1502, and despite widespread beliefs about the decline of the Maya at the end of the Classic era and the real impact on population wrought by disease and invasions, Maya communities and cultures persisted. The recent disaster film 2012 rekindled interest in the belief attributed to the Maya that the apocalypse would happen in that year.

7. Colonizations

“Colonizations” charts the invasions and dislocations experienced on an unprecedented scale by the Maya peoples since the sixteenth century. The Maya area is carved up among five nation-states—Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. Agricultural centers such as Guatemala experienced slavery and exploitation in the nineteenth century, and in the latter half of the twentieth century, Mayas in Guatemala were subject to a campaign of violence and genocide. Their mystery has long entranced scholars of the Maya, giving rise to some extreme theories, including extraterrestrial involvement in Maya civilization. However, Maya history is a story not only of victimization, but also of adaptation and survival.

5. A day in the life

Impressive architectural hallmarks and historians’ focus on the elite created a distorted view of the Maya as peaceful, stargazing priest-kings. “A day in the life” looks at nonelite Maya, who grew up in groups and endured a challenging farming environment. Their ecological success stemmed from balancing innovation with restraint and respect. The central dietary staple of maize, sacred to the Maya, was supplemented by beans, squash, chili peppers, root crops, and fruits. Maya cities were more like modern cities than previously thought, with opportunities for elite and nonelite Mayas alike to observe the art, architecture, and cultural contributions of their ancestors every day in the city centers.

6. Conquests

“Conquests” gives a history of the Spanish invasions of late Postclassic Maya states in the sixteenth century. Whether these invasions could be called conquests at all is debatable. These incursions were protracted and incomplete. The fragmentary, plural nature of Maya city-states made conquest a challenge. Spanish conquistadors only managed to establish colonies with the aid of former Aztec warriors and other Mesoamerican allies. Historically, the Maya had disappeared into the rainforest to escape undesirable political or environmental situations and continued to use tactical migration as another form of resistance. Their susceptibility to New World diseases such as typhus, measles, smallpox, and influenza decimated the Maya population.

4. The writing rabbit

“The writing rabbit” explores the central importance of art in the Maya world. At the highest levels of society, art lent ideological support to ruling lineages. Mayas at various levels of society were proficient in the ceramic and lapidary arts. Scholars have been fascinated by the “Maya code” for generations and we can read now almost all their extant texts. Their hieroglyphic writing was logophonetic, a combination of logographic and phonetic. The Maya made books from beaten fig bark, known as codices, four of which survive. Maya architecture, both domestic and urban, was formed around patios or plazas. Late Classic rulers advertised their political might through large-scale urban projects.