Post 5 Scrap of Truth

Search for the Scrap of Truth.

 

 

 

(The guide asks the tourists what they will look for that could help them find the answer to the Mayan Mystery, why the ancients abandoned their cities.  What do we know that can help us find the answer?)

 

1.      We know the ancient Mayans carved their history on monuments called stela.  Did you see any of these monuments?  Perhaps, but all cities do not have them.

2.      Did you see any Mayan art?  If you visit Lamanai, you will see a huge sculptured head.  Lamanai is a very old city.  Ancient people probably lived there about the time Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt.  This head was probably carved during the Pre-Classic period.

3.      Do we know who had the power in a Mayan city?  The king had the power.  The king was a god, nobody can question what a god says or does.  He can be as demanding and cruel as he wants.

4.      How did the king get this power?  The king said he knew how to communicate with the unseen spirits, they brought rains to make crops grow and protected everybody from sickness and danger.

5.      We know who made the decisions for the city.  The king decided what was to be done, such as build a new temple or go to war, the king decided the amount of taxes people were to pay, and the king decided on the religious rituals the people must perform to honor him and to please the unseen spirits who lived at the temple.

6.      We know how the government worked.  The king chose aristocrats who supervised the people as they did the work, chose the warriors and led them into battle, and collected taxes from the people.  The king chose priests who led the religious ceremonies and made sure the people were remaining loyal to the king.

7.      What happened if someone did not obey the priests?  The unseen spirits would punish them.  If the disobedience of someone was severe, the priests would say the unseen spirits told them to take that person to the top of the temple (the pyramid) and sacrifice them in front of the crowd gathered in the plaza before the pyramid.  This was to show the people that they should always obey the priests and the king.  This was an act of intimidation by the king and priests.

 

(The guide asks the tourists if they can now imagine how the Mayan city works and if they can imagine a religious ceremony.  Ask:

 

1.       What would the king do if he wanted a better palace, or wanted more luxury for his family or his aristocrats and priests?  Obviously, he king would announce higher taxes and the aristocrats would collect them.  The priests would make sure the people obeyed.  

2.      Who lived in the cities?  The king, the aristocrats and the priests lived in the cities.  Aristocrats lived near the king, they worked for him.  Priests lived near the temple, that’s where they worked.

3.      Where did the farmers and the other commoners live?  Most of them lived in villages, the farmers lived in villages near their fields.

4.      When the cities were abandoned, who abandoned them?  Not all Mayans, only the royal family, the aristocrats and the priests lived there.

5.      What would the farmers and the other commoners do if the kings and aristocrats placed on them a burden too great for them to bear?  They would do the same as other people have done throughout history.  They would start a rebellion.   The American colonies rebelled against the king of England, the French rebelled against their king, cut off the heads of all the royalty and the aristocrats.  Can you picture the farmers and other commoners going on a rampage?  Who would be left in the city after the killing ended?  Nobody.

6.      Where would the farmers and other commoners go after a rebellion?  They would go back to their villages.  They feared the unseen spirits that lived in the pyramid and would take revenge because they killed the king and his priests.  The commoners would flee the city as quickly as they could, never come back, and would warn their children to stay away. 

7.      Can you see how the folklore tale about unseen spirits started? The national motto of Guatemala is “Live free or die!  Can you see how that motto may have started?  It became popular when Guatemala was fighting for independence from Spain, but do you see how this attitude of the people may have begun when they revolted against their Mayan dictator and his priests.

8.      Do you believe we have discovered the answer to the Mayan Mystery?