Mesoamerica's Golden Age: The Classic Period PDF

# Mesoamerica's Golden Age: The Classic Period The Mesoamerican culture region flourished over the first millennium AD, most visible in the monumental architecture of cities and the refinement of calendrical and astronomical knowledge. As the Roman empire crumbled in Europe, Mesoamerica was resplen...

# Mesoamerica's Golden Age: The Classic Period The Mesoamerican culture region flourished over the first millennium AD, most visible in the monumental architecture of cities and the refinement of calendrical and astronomical knowledge. As the Roman empire crumbled in Europe, Mesoamerica was resplendent. ## The Flowering of Cities The period from AD 150 to 900 has been viewed as a "golden age" of intellectual and artistic endeavor. Because of the many societies under consideration, the Classic cannot be put into any simple chronological framework. Some sites, such as Teotihuacan and Monte Alban, developed Classic features much earlier. Most Classic cultures declined in the ninth century, but some persisted as late as AD 1000. One is struck by the grandiose scale of human endeavor in those centuries, most notable in the stunning architecture but also by the excellence of the ceramics, sculpture, and murals. Religion was the cohesive force in an increasingly stratified society, and kings invested with sacred power exacted both labor and tribute from the masses. It was a time of great vigor, with the proliferation of crafts and skills necessary to provide for complex communities. The leadership was dedicated to a sense of order in propitiating the gods, made possible by an apparently strict adherence to regimentation. Pressures to provide sustenance for a burgeon-ing population led to more careful consideration of planting cycles, which in turn produced exact calculations of the seasons. Even more important was the Mesoamerican belief that all things-gods, people, animals, plants, mountains, even cities were alive and that their movements could be timed to account for all life events. Consequently, there developed a sophisticated knowledge of astronomy and mathematics, which made possible precise calen-drical markings. Mesoamericans devised a highly sophisticated calendar system that included a 365-day solar count as well as a ritual calendar and counts of many other celestial bodies. > 1 With only a tiny fraction of the thousands of known archaeological sites in Mexico having been scientifi-cally excavated, the complexities of charting can be appreciated. ## Why is this boy laughing? Such unrestrained joy is characteristic of the thousands of ceramic pieces found at the site of Remojadas in the state of Veracruz. Unique for their expressiveness, the figurines have triangular, flattened heads and teeth that are often filed to points. ## Farming became scientific; abstract thinking soared. The intellectuals in ancient Mesoamerica apparently arrived at the revolutionary concept of the zero cipher well before its arrival in Europe in 1202 AD, when it was introduced by Arab mathematicians. Despite their advanced understanding of astronomy and math, they made almost no practical use of metals, relying instead upon chipped stone like flint for cutting tools. However, the sharpness of the pris-matic blades they crafted from obsidian (volcanic glass) required sophisticated skills virtually unknown today. Although Mesoamericans were aware of the wheel (used in children's toys), the lack of draft animals meant that there was no practical use for wheels in transport. ## In some places Mesoamericans were able to raise structures to the height of 230 feet that have stood for some fifteen hundred years. What many have described as their technical lim-itations was equaled by their ingenuity. In lowland areas, massive blocks of cut stone were most likely transported on river rafts from quarries to distant cities, and logs may have been used in other zones. For lifting the pieces high in the air some clever engineering devices were utilized. Armies of laborers toiled for years on public works projects. An architectural design tradition evolved to take earthquakes into account in the highlands, but technical perfection in construction tended to be subordinated to an irresistible propensity for the esthetic. Though capable of exact measurements, they avoided harsh angles unpleasing to the eye. If the result was agreeable to humans, the purpose, it is clear, was to please the gods. ## For many years archaeologists believed that these building complexes were not true cities but only ceremonial centers inhabited by priests, rulers, and their retainers. Today it is univer-sally agreed that Classic centers were true cities and that urbanism is a defining Mesoameri-can characteristic. Elites lived in the most luxurious chambers of palace compounds nearest the primary ceremonial complexes or major avenues, which consisted of temple-pyramids, tombs, observatories, and acropolises. Other urban features include ball courts, steam baths, and causeways. Surrounding the city core in a concentric pattern were the apartment com-plexes of artisans who specialized in craft production as well as those of other middling occupational groups such as petty officials, soldiers, and merchants. Laborers, farmers, and others of the commoner class lived even further out, in modest thatched-roof huts of wattle and daub construction. There they farmed the land, hunted, fished, carried the burdens, and performed all sorts of tasks necessary to support the aristocracy. During festivals, religious in nature, or on market days, masses of people tended to gather in the central precincts. ## These Mesoamerican cities functioned first and foremost as administrative and religious centers whose architecture and spatial design attempted to replicate the order of the universe and the hierarchical relationships that linked humans and supernaturals. Teotihuacan in central Mexico was truly remarkable for its size and religious importance. The marvelous stone cities of the Classic period were conceived for an impression of grandeur and laid out in breathtaking expanses. The architects were true artists, interposing grand courtyards to offset with horizontal lines the massive vertical projections. As Monte Alban dramatically testifies, they blended their creations with nature and composed with stone and textures that reflected the sunlight. ## Although city size, population density, and spatial arrangements varied among Classic centers, there is no question that concentrated populations in so many sites had an incalcu-lable impact on culture. The arts thrive with greatest vigor in an urban milieu, and intellec-tual growth is enhanced as well. At the same time, the stratification of society is inevitable. So, too, is a central administration to maintain order, promote public works, provide justice, set regulations to perform, in short, on a more simplified scale, the functions familiar to city administrators of our own times. Great plazas and avenues were paved, buildings were plastered and painted, subterranean tile drainage systems were provided, waste was disposed of, domestic water supplies were channeled, and the staggering problems of food supply were met. Marketplaces were also a feature of cities, although we know less about how ex-changes functioned. ## Traditionally, scholars viewed the Classic period as having been devoted to moderation and comparative serenity, with order imposed by dominant centers such as Teotihuacan and Monte Alban. These powers, like city-states, carved out spheres of influence that were tolerated by others. We now realize that warfare and human sacrifice were very much a part of the Classic and that conquest explains why certain city-states were able to exercise sway over surrounding territory. Although much of the evidence for the prevalence of sacrificial practices comes from the Maya area, excavations in central Mexico testify to mass executions of warriors and other captives. Classic cities once thought to have lacked fortifications were often built on defensible hilltops. In the art of the Classic, we find images of soldiers, weap-ons, and slaves. The wide dispersion of a pan-Mesoamerican culture resulted not only from peaceful exchange but also from forceful impositions. The ruling class consisted not only of powerful priests but also of warriors. ## The conventional view of relative tranquility has been most discredited in the case of the Classic Maya. Because of important revelations as a result of improved deciphering of Maya hieroglyphic script, the characteristics of Classic societies have been dramatically reassessed. The Maya genius in art, architecture, and science remains clear; nevertheless, the romanticized version of a society ruled by a benevolent and intellectual priesthood, shunning violence and conquest, now rings hollow. Scholars have revealed that aggressive Maya kings during the Classic period regularly made war on their neighbors for both ritu-alistic and materialistic motives. The most valued prize was another king, who would be humiliated over a period of time, subjected to exquisite tortures, and finally decapitated. These kings, with a profound sense of history, erected monuments to commemorate their victories and to record their lineage. Maya kingdoms tended to be small in scale, controlling limited territory; but at times regional states were able to subdue larger areas and exercise power over several hundreds of thousands. Various constellations of Maya states formed blocs or were interdependent in terms of trade and defense, but the Maya were not politically unified as a whole. ## A unifying element in Classic societies was religion. Shaman-priest kings derived their authority from the gods. Priests were guardians of scientific and genealogical knowledge. and, along with other cultural leaders like scribes and painters, they held high social status and provided guidance to those below. The pantheon of gods included the omnipresent rain god Tlaloc and Quetzalcoatl, the "Feathered Serpent." To the god of the sun and goddess of the moon were added deities to celebrate the beneficence of fire, corn, and the butterfly. In these polities social cleavage was implicit. There was an order in which everyone had an assigned place. In this respect social stratification was like that in other parts of the world, except that the commoners who supplied tribute in goods and labor may have benefited more from the calendrical knowledge of their rulers, which helped to ensure good harvests. Families thus had their daily needs met, and rulers enjoyed the surpluses. We cannot know how willingly the masses performed their obligatory duties, but as warfare increased, states commanded loyalty as long as they could provide a measure of security. ## After a spectacular run of several centuries, the Classic world in Mesoamerica began to deteriorate. Just why the great centers fell is still a mystery, although some theories have wide accep-tance; in the case of the Maya, drought has emerged as a main factor. While some of the cities went into gradual decline, others, it appears, met a sudden, violent end. Pressures of various kinds impinged on ordered ways: aggressive nomadic tribes on the peripheries and wars between kingdoms played a role in some cases. Demand for increased food supplies, the result of population pressures, crop failures, and possibly soil exhaustion, was another cause. Perhaps an internal disruption was occasioned by a peasants' revolt against the ruling classes, bred by excessive demands or the priests' inability to mediate successfully with the all-important nature gods. Or were there plagues of some kind? The reasons no doubt vary from place to place, and there may well have been a combination of factors. Scholars lean more and more to explanations that stress overpopulation, environmental destruction, and increasing warfare. In any event, the golden age came apart after a long period of human intellectual and cultural achievement. ## The dominance of Teotihuacan was so extensive that some scholars have discussed it in terms of an empire, believing its hegemony, based in part on its monopoly of obsidian so necessary to daily life and ritual, to have been as broad as that of the later Aztecs. In any event, its trading network reached from parts of northern Mexico down into Guatemala, and artisans from Monte Alban, Mayan city-states, and other distant places resided there, crafting exotic goods. Foreign ambassadors and trade missions occupied special quarters in the city. Undoubtedly heavily influenced by Teotihuacan, nonetheless Monte Alban and the Maya culture remained independent of this metropolitan power. Within its sphere, the impact of that great city consisted not only of its cultural imperialism with respect to art and architec-ture but also of its religious significance. Although much of what we know about Teotihua-can was transmitted by later cultures who revered it, religion and warfare were central to its governance. Its pantheon of gods included Quetzalcoatl, representing fertility, as well as deities of warfare, sun, rain, and other aspects of nature. According to the later Aztecs, gods had sacrificed themselves at Teotihuacan to sustain the sun, thus initiating their cosmos-the Fifth Sun-that required continuous blood sacrifice. ## For some reason, perhaps related to an agricultural debacle, decline set in, inviting incur-sions on the northern frontier. About AD 650 a weakened Teotihuacan suffered desecration and partial burning-apparently by its own inhabitants. The fall of the mightiest center was the first casualty in the gradual decay of the Classic world in Mexico. ## With the Teotihuacano culture dissipated, central Mexico lost its focus. A number of other states emerged but commanded smaller spheres of influence. Cholula in the modern state of Puebla was a holy city and al large center of considerable importance. While tradition has it that 365 Christian chapels were later built over the ruins of "pagan" temples, the actual number is closer to 70. The nature of the city's relationship with Teotihuacan is not entirely clear, but it seems to have been close. The center was dominated by its massive pyramid, the largest single monument in pre-Columbian America, with a total volume greater than that of Egypt's Pyra-mid of Cheops. It was a sanctuary of Quetzalcoatl, and many of the refugees from Teotihuacan fled to Cholula, which continued to flourish until it fell to invaders about AD 800. ## Other successor states like Xochicalco in Morelos and Cacaxtla in Puebla were built on mountaintops and manifest the alarming escalation of militarism that developed in Mexico in the Late Classic period. Striking combinations of Teotihuacan and Maya influences are revealed at these sites, nowhere more graphically than in the beautifully painted murals that have been discovered at Cacaxtla since the 1970s. ## El Tajín in Veracruz had extensive influence along the Gulf coast. A dramatic example of its unique architecture is the Pyramid of Niches, of which there is one for each day of the year. The vigorous life at Tajín included bloody rites that anticipated the terror of the Post-Classic period. The ball game ollama was an ancient tradition that became an obsession with these lowland peoples. Most of the prominent centers in Mexico had ball courts, and Tajín had no fewer than eleven. Along each side of the court (which could vary consider-ably in length, according to the culture) was a wall on which a stone ring was fixed. Two teams played, the object being to keep the seven to eight-inch solid rubber ball out of the opponents' possession and, if possible, to hit the ball through one of the rings. Scoring was exceedingly difficult, not only because the ring was small and high but also because the players could not hit the ball with their hands. Often they were allowed to use only their hips, although rules differed according to time and place. The athletes wore padding in vulnerable spots as the flying ball could kill if struck with sufficient force. Contests were played with great enthusiasm, and on some occasions large sums were wagered. Ollama was more than a game, however; it was a sacred ritual in imitation of the movement of celestial bodies and associated with human fate. On occasion, the teams represented political factions. So seri-ously was the contest taken that the losing captain was sometimes sacrificed, as scenes on the architectural friezes depict. In another variation, the losers became slaves of the victors. ## Not as well researched and understood are the peoples who created monumental ar-chitecture and exquisite artifacts of ceramic, jade, and stone in the Occident (west Mexico, including Nayarit, Jalisco, and Colima). Sharing characteristics and some gods with other prehispanic Mesoamerican cultures, these groups also created distinctive works, including shaft tombs, circular pyramidal structures and plazas, wetland gardens, and copper tools. ## And to the north, the cultures and cities that evolved in Zacatecas (Chalchihuites and La Quemada) likewise had Mesoamerican features related to monument-building and warfare, but scholars disagree about their origins and place in regional networks. ## Monte Alban From its lofty eminence 1,300 feet above the valley floor, Monte Alban, the creation of the Zapotecs, dominated surrounding Oaxaca for centuries. Less grand in scale than its contem-porary Teotihuacan, it was nevertheless spacious, literally sculpted out of a mountaintop more than 3,000 feet long and half again as wide. Urban construction was carried out at great cost in human effort because all materials, even water, had to be hauled up the mountain-sides. Many temples, platforms, and low pyramids, along with sunken patios, stood adjacent to its great paved plaza. Surrounding the center were many separate barrios (neighborhoods) of houses terraced into the hillsides. The early evolution of Zapotec urban society at Monte Alban between 500 and 100 вс reflects Olmec-like features. At the top of the social hier-archy that strictly separated nobles and commoners sat a hereditary king and a hereditary high priest. The king controlled noble administrators who ruled the surrounding towns in Oaxaca. By the fourth century, higher population density and military strength had been cre-ated through colonization, conquest, and alliance building to bring more distant provinces into Monte Alban's tribute-paying orbit. Skilled diplomacy enabled the Zapotecs to coexist peacefully with Teotihuacan, but between AD 400 and 800 Monte Alban lost its dominant position in Oaxaca as subject towns-especially those in more defensible positions and better agricultural locations-grew in size and asserted their autonomy. In decentralized fashion, through Zapotec marriage alliances with neighboring Mixtecs at Mitla, both groups continued to exercise influence in Oaxaca for many centuries, enduring to the present day. ## The Maya Although the Maya in the Pacific coastal plain and highland areas created marketing and ceremonial centers with temple architecture as early as 400 BC, their greatest florescence came later, occurring between AD 250 and 800, primarily in the southern lowlands of present-day Yucatán, Guatemala, and Honduras. The Classic Maya had many important centers, no one of which completely dominated the others. A number of regional states, each composed of a capital city and subject towns, competed with each other, expanding and contracting over time in response to changing fortunes of war and trade. Defeated kingdoms supplied rulers for sacrifice and tribute in goods and slaves to conquering cities. Trade with Teotihuacan was accompanied by bride exchanges and the incorporation of art and architectural styles from this northern neighbor. ## The Petén in northern Guatemala could be said to be the heartland of the Classic Maya, but they also lived in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, and Yucatán, as well as in Quintana Roo. The development of Classic Maya centers reflected an increasing emphasis on the lineage of hereditary kings, supported by a noble class of warriors and intellectuals; below them artisans, skilled laborers, and peasant farmers produced the luxury items enjoyed by the aristocracy as well as the basic staples of maize, beans, and vegetables that sustained the entire society. We know much more about the lifestyles of elites who are depicted through a variety of Maya art forms. Their esthetic sensibilities appear in elaborate ornamentation in dress and jewelry (often fashioned from jade), cranial deformation that flattened and slanted the head both front and back, filed teeth, and extensive body tattooing. For many years, archaeologists believed the lowland Maya cities to have been primarily ceremonial, reasoning that the surrounding jungle could not have supported large populations with slash-and-burn agriculture. Extensive archaeological excavation demonstrated, however, that these areas were densely populated and that the Maya also used raised fields, terracing, and kitchen gardens to augment the production of corn and other foodstuffs. They also utilized plentiful local limestone for building. Like Teotihuacan and Monte Alban, the Maya had a vigorous ceramic tradition and produced lovely polychrome bowls and cylinders that recorded mundane events. In their murals and bas-reliefs, however, they tended less to the geometric designs of central Mexico and more to the depiction of the human form, often rendered with superb draftsman-ship. In 2001, archaeologists discovered in the northern Petén what is thought to be the oldest intact Maya mural. Over 2,000 years old, its red, black, and yellow colors depict the resurrection of the com god and provide clues to the nature of Maya kinship and society. The great fluidity and exuberance of Maya art give it a baroque quality, whether in stone or stucco. Of the fascinating codices, only four survived the ravages of time, climate, insects, and the fires of Spanish clergymen.2 > 2 Only about two dozen pre-Columbian codices survive; these are screenfolds made of deerskin, cotton cloth, or bark paper featuring illustrations or hieroglyphic text. They variously include calendrical and other scientific data, prophecies, and information on dieties and rulers. Three of the Maya codices are named after the cities where they are housed: Dresden, Madrid, and Paris. The fourth, the Grolier Codex, long believed to be a fake, was authenticated in 2016 and is the earliest, dating from the thirteenth century. The Maya stand as the premier scientists of ancient America, noted for their independent invention of a positional numeration system based on the mathematical concept for zero. Just as impressive were their achievements in calendars and writing. Like other Mexican calendars, theirs had 365 days; in addition, a ceremonial calendar had 260 days. The two calendars co-incided every fifty-two years when the cycle of life was believed to be renewed. In 1996 some Maya scholars found an inscribed plaque in southern Mexico that led to the erroneous interpretation that the Mayas had predicted the world would come to an end on December 21, 2012. Of course the date passed without incident, but it had fueled a frenzy of apocalyptic thinking, despite the fact that scholars had carefully explained the reasons why the inscription had been so misinterpreted. It is true that the Maya accurately observed and recorded the movements of celestial bodies to aid in predicting future phenomena, but they did not prophesy the end > 3 See, for example, Matthew Restall and Amara Solari, 2012 and the End of the World: The Western Roots of the Maya Apocalypse (Lanham, MD, 2011). ## The metropolis of the Maya Classic was Tikal, with a population of about fifty thousand. It is one of the earliest sites, settled in the Formative period long before AD 292, the date of its earliest inscription. Set in a clearing of Guatemala's Petén jungle, Tikal is dominated by six great pyramids, including the tallest of any in the Maya civilization, towering 230 feet. The inner precinct covers more than a square mile, with other ceremonial edifices surrounding the core for a considerable distance. Aside from the usual temples, palaces, plazas, and ball courts, Tikal had ten reservoirs and was beautified by artificial lakes. The Maya designed their temple-pyramids architecturally and artistically to proclaim the power of the site and glorify the rulers. Their brilliantly decorated masonry, roof combs, stat-uary, and interior murals exhibit highly sophisticated craftsmanship. The cultural achieve-ments of the Maya, from astronomy and calendars to architecture, art, and writing, were fruits of their understanding and legitimation of a complex cosmic order. ## As the largest of the Classic Maya city-states, Tikal and Calakmul were rivals in dominat-ing large areas of the Maya lowlands in which Dos Pilas played an important role. Recent excavations have also highlighted the importance of the affluent trading center of Cancuen on the Pasión River in Guatemala. Other major Classic era kingdoms included Copan in Honduras and Piedras Negras in Guatemala. Yaxchilan, in the modern state of Chiapas, is known for its great central plaza, a thousand feet long. Palenque (Chiapas), though rela-tively small, is considered the gem of the Maya cities because of its exquisite sculpture. The bas-relief work there shows the art in its highest form. Although of minor importance in most respects, Bonampak (Chiapas) contains the most illustrious of the Maya murals, bril-liantly depicting the aftermath of a battle, captives, and sacrifice. ## Although central Mexican pyramids are usually solid, without interior chambers, to the south temple-pyramids of the Maya sometimes contain tombs like the one shown here at Palenque's Temple of the Inscriptions. ## There may have been no one cause for the decline of Classic Maya centers that began around 750 AD, scattered as they were over considerable distances, although drought seems to have been a key factor. One hypothesis posits climate change and suggests that the Mayas' exploitation of seasonal wetlands may have induced drought and rising temperatures. Explanations have tended to highlight demographic and ecological stress resulting from rapidly growing populations and intensification of agriculture. Population densities may have been as high as six hundred per square mile in some places. It is also possible that commoners rose up in rebellion against increasing demands from their overlords as well as food shortages. But there is growing evidence that warfare-which escalated dramatically in the Late Classic along with human sacrifice-played a significant role. Foreign intrusion from other Maya areas probably capitalized on the instability that prevailed after AD 800. By 900 most of the southern lowland cities were abandoned as many Mayas fled north to the Yucatán Peninsula. Others moved back into the surrounding countryside where they and their descendants have continued to farm for centuries and today number some 20 million people. Their "lost" cities were reclaimed by the jungle until archaeologists began to excavate the lichen-mottled ruins nearly 1,000 years later. Thus, the Classic world in Mesoamerica folded, but in its demise loomed alarming portents of what was to follow.