ASB 222 - Buried Civilizations of the Americas - Keith Kintigh

The Mysterious Maya?

• Maya Time Periods
• Pre-classic pottery (1500BC)-AD250
• Classic AD 250-900 ending w/ "Maya Collapse"
• Post-classic 900-1500
• Maya persist into the present
• The "Mysterious Maya"
• Archaeology, in a public context, frequently cloaked in mystery, especially the mysterious disappearance of some group.
• So what is mysterious about the Maya
• special appeal, "Mysterious Maya" alliterative
• Monumentality, deep down impressive
• Thought that modern Indians don't build impressive complex things
• Mystery deepened by jungle setting. In temperate climates people see jungles as threatening and savage
• Essentially racist belief that Indians, particularly jungle Indians, could not have done anything so impressive leads to alternative theories to explain the "mystery:" the lost tribes, wayward Phoenicians, space men, or whatever.
• Simlarly Aztec, Montezuma Castle in the SW, Moundbuilders in the Midwest must have been from Mesoamerica.
• Archaeology has debunked these western myths and shown conclusively that these are all native constructions.
• What Happened to the Maya?
• They are still there, many different groups speaking the Maya language