Thursday, June 13, 2019

Life of the pre-Mexican Maya (video)

Weird History, June 9, 2019; Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

SCPR.org (Itxy Quintanilla)
They'll have us believing we were all blood thirsty "savages" hungry for human sacrifice when the invaders brought such unthinkable ideas and savagery to the spread and maintenance of empire as to put all the Old World people to shame and subjugation. But it is these people and their students doing the anthropological research, standing on the shoulders of implicitly biased scientists exercising the rigor of the laurels they sit upon. In other words, we are forced to believe what we are told by outsiders and conquerors (Conquistadors) because they get the funding and tell tales reassuring to the current power structure. If only we had bold and daring science that could successfully question its own assumptions and get us closer to the truth.

What life was like as a Mayan
Ben Hale, modern Navajo dancer
Strolling past one of the Maya's haunting, crumbling pyramids or seeing one in the background of a well-traveled friend's Instagram post, chances are most of us have no idea what everyday life was really like for the ancient Maya. From rubber ballgames to body piercings to getting high on chocolate (Theobroma cacao, "cocoa, food of the gods," the "gods" being devas of various kinds, even arrivals from sky/space), the ancient Mayan culture has a lot more in common with our world today than anyone would probably ever think. Today, let's explore what life was really like for the ancient Mayans.

No comments: