The Mayans in Guatemala: Mayas, ancestors and descendants

It is very uncommon to realiza that the ancient mayas and the surviving descendants are very different groups

For example, you wondered:

• Why the Maya of today can not decipher ancient Mayan documents?
  
• Why are there so much ignorance of the ancient Mayan civilization even for today?

The answer is simple, we can speak of three stages or three stages of the Maya (academically there are a variety of stages, but Let us refer to three to be practical:

• The original Maya, great scientists, mathematicians and builders of megacities.
• The Maya (direct descendants) who the Spanish during the discovery of America.
• The current Mayan important part of our society.

The original Maya of the great ancient cities

Enough is known through history and archeology, but it is unknown why his disappearance, and details of their history in general. There is speculation on drought, soil depletion, environmental issues, and equal to combined factors such as weather, war and a society tired of mega construction for their governments.

No doubt were great mathematicians, politicians and artists, but knowledge was prigilegio royalty and high religious groups.

This system of privileges (knowledge and science in the hands of a few, to govern many) makes it vulnerable to any civilization. The same story and reveals traces even eating disorders in the general social sphere, where only the high areas had access to plenty of meat and protein.

This group of people used the Maya are zero, built megaconstructions, predicted eclipses and left us very precise measurements of the distance between various celestial stars, as well as identified the longest day of the year, the shortest and create a perfect calendar.

These Maya are the ones who died without leaving a trace or reasons why, and took away the secret behind their writing system and details of their lifestyle.

The Maya of the time of the conquest (1)

Direct descendants, they know the history, keepers of various cultural historical texts, politicians, artists and warriors, these groups no longer lived in the mega cities Maya, but lived in cities designed for social use and population. Tikal was abandoned as Calakmul (Mexico, city comparable and eternal enemy of Tikal), Uaxactún, El Mirador, Dos Pilas, etc. All cities abandoned. New cities were the center of Maya life.

Knowing secrets but to a lesser extent that the original Maya, separate groups at war with each other, were those that faced the Spanish conquest. No doubt the story would have been different if the Spanish had not found such a separation and many conflicts between the descendants of the Maya.

The Maya in times of great loss (2)

The Spanish with their movement of colonization, slavery and Christianity, were concerned with reducing the Mayan resistance and then deprive them of their traditional education system, therefore, separated peoples, isolated and eliminated great personalities Maya (guides, teachers, priests, kings, fathers, etc.).

Instituted the new system of education and forbidden (under threat of death) the traditional education where he learned reading and writing Mayan language.

Diego de Landa (religious of the time along with many others in different regions) had the mission to Christianize and to ensure that the ancient writings, cultural and traditional (including manuts) were destroyed. It was with this barbaric destruction that were lost great knowledge and created a huge break in the heritage of Mayan history.

This helps to understand why much of the Maya of today can not give explanations of ancient history and mysteries.

Los Mayas (3)

Currently,