6 Interesting Facts About The Ancient Mayans,
1. The Mayans Enhanced Their Children's Features
The Maya desired some unnatural physical characteristics for their children. For instance, at a very young age boards were pressed on babies’ foreheads to create a flattened surface. This process was widespread among the upper class. Another practice was to cross babies’ eyes. To do this, objects were dangled in front of a newborn’s eyes, until the newborn’s eyes were completely and permanently crossed. The Maya filed their teeth to make them pointy and created holes that they filled with jade. Another interesting fact about Mayan children is that most were named according to the day they were born. Every day of the year had a specific name for both boys and girls and parents were expected to follow that practice.
2. The Mayans had Excellent Medical Techniques
Health and medicine among the ancient Maya was a complex blend of mind, body, religion, ritual, and science. Important to all, medicine was practiced only by a select few who were given an excellent education. These men, called shamans, act as a medium between the physical world and spirit world. They practice sorcery for the purpose of healing, foresight, and control over natural events. Since medicine was so closely related to religion and sorcery, it was essential that Maya shamans had vast medical knowledge and skill. It is known that the Maya sutured wounds with human hair, reduced fractures, and were even skilled dental surgeons, making prostheses from jade and turquoise and filling teeth with iron pyrite.
3. Maya Blue or Azul Maya Still a Mystery
Maya Blue or azul maya has been seen at several architectural locations from the ancient Mayan civilization including the archaeological site of Cacaxtla on the Mural de la batalla. Cacaxtla is a large palace with many vibrant colored murals in Mayan style. As one of the highlights of the ancient Mayan civilization this very gorgeous turquoise blue color only survived to be seen because of the chemical characteristics that made it possible and the composition is still unknown.
4. Mayans Played Sophisticated Deadly Ball Games
The ancient Maya ballgame was played for thousands of years throughout Mesoamerica, and had great religious significance.Contact with the ball was limited. Any body part, except the hands and feet, was allowed; The abdomen, thighs, upper arms and back were used. Maybe even the head. Kicking or throwing the ball was forbidden. In addition, the ball was not allowed to touch the ground. Slightly larger than basketball hoops, the rings were positioned on opposite walls, about 25 feet above the playing field. The ball had to be bounced off the wall in order to enter a ring. The ball was made of rubber and weighed about eight pounds! This made severe injury a definite possibility. Ballplayers wore protective gear, including wide padding around their hips called “yokes.” They also wore pads on their forearms and knees so they could fall to the ground in a kneeling position and hit the ball with one hip. Game play itself is thought to have been incredibly violent. Players would ram into each other at top speed so as to cause serious injury or death to an opponent, and this was actively encouraged by the referees. The game ended when the first goal was scored.
5. The Mayans Used Saunas
An important purification element to the ancient Maya was the sweat bath, or zumpul-ché. Similar to a modern day sauna, sweat baths were constructed of stone walls and ceilings, with a small opening in the top of the ceiling. Water poured onto the hot rocks in the room created steam, offering a setting in which to sweat out impurities. Sweat baths were used for a range of conditions and situations. New mothers who had recently conceived a child would seek revitalization in them, while individuals who were sick could find healing power in sweating. Maya kings made a habit out of visiting the sweat baths as well because it left them feeling refreshed and, as they believed, cleaner.
6. The Mayan Used Hallucinogenics and Painkillers
The Mayan peoples regularly used hallucinogenic drugs (taken from the natural world) in their religious rituals, but they also used them in day to day life as painkillers. Flora such as peyote, the morning glory, certain mushrooms, tobacco, and plants used to make alcoholic substances, were commonly used. In addition, as depicted in Maya pottery and carvings, ritual enemas were used for a more rapid absorption and effect of the substance. Above is a statue of a Mayan enjoying their enema.
