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two values. In 1935, he favored the value of 584,285 but later amended this to 584,283. Some authors continue to use the 1935 value. In this work, I assume Thompson's final corrected offset of 584,283. Because this value has not been universally accepted, however, the SCDTL system includes a simple mechanism for changing the offset to another value for the purposes of date conversion. |
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9.5.1.2
Historical Background |
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It is possible to gain some insight into the general progress of Mesoamerican civilization. Perhaps because, as Fehrenbach suggests, the original settlers of the New World were nomadic tribes who first had to walk to their future homes, the New World lagged behind the Old World with a time delay of about two millennia. |
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9.5.1.2.1
Outline of Maya History |
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The first settlers in the Copan Valley are believed to have arrived around 1100 B.C. In the Middle Preclassic Period (900500 B.C.), large towns were organized and agriculture was highly developed. The agricultural base of this society was maize. |
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Toward the middle of the Late Preclassic Period (300 B.C.A.D. 50), carved and dated monuments appear. Writing is established by about 100 B.C. |
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In the Early Classic Period (A.D. 50600), Copan and Tikal achieve ascendancy. The first object with a deciphered date (8.4.0.0.0) is known from A.D. 120. |
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During the Late Classic Period (A.D. 600900) the bulk of Maya dates are recorded. Evidence of trouble in the southern area appears as sites are abandoned. In A.D. 790, the last date (9.18.0.0.0) is recorded at Pomona and Aguateca. In A.D. 793, the last date is recorded at Yaxha and in A.D. 795, the last date at Bonampak. By A.D. 879, the last date is recorded at Tikal. The year A.D. 909 sees the last monument with a Long Count date at Tonina. |
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Scholars have argued over the meaning of the disintegration of the Classic culture. Maya society was organized as a constellation of citystates, which were constantly at war with each other. Some scholars believe that overpopulation and a failing agricultural base, compounded by incessant war, led to the physical break-up of the cultural centers in the south. |
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Others see evidence that Maya society did not so much disintegrate as evolve, with a sea-faring merchant class in the north coming to the fore to replace the older, rigidly stratified social order. In this perspective, the decline in public works is not evidence of cultural decline so much as it is evidence of a transfer of power to a class of people who were less interested in spending effort on large-scale projects to support the ambitions of a ruling class out of touch with the times. This theory sees an evolution along the lines of late medieval European society, with its transfer of power from the feudal nobility and priests to the new urban middle class. |
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Whatever the causes of the changes, the Maya Postclassic Period was focused in the northern part of the territory. The number of stelae with inscriptions is drastically reduced. By A.D. 1200, Chich'en Itza was abandoned. Mayapan was founded in A.D. |
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