среда, 26 августа 2020 г.

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The Maya civilization stood out primarily for its achievements in construction and knowledge in astronomy and mathematics. Maya painting and sculpture, stone processing and ceramics were distinguished by sophistication and perfection.

In everyday life, the Maya used two calendars: the solar one, which included 365 days, and the ritual one (260 days). They divided the year into 18 months of 20 days and an additional month of 5 days. Both months and days had their own names, which were also used in the second calendar, where the account was kept not for months, but for time intervals of 13 days. Religious symbols were widely used in both calendars.

In the field of mathematics, perhaps the greatest achievement of the Mayan culture is the introduction of the concept of zero. This was done hundreds of years before other highly developed civilizations.

The history of the Aztecs before their appearance in the second half of the XII century. AD in Central Mexico holds many mysteries. They called their homeland Aztlan Island (the place where the herons live). From the word "aztlan" the name "Aztec" was derived. So far, science has not established the exact location of this island.

The nomadic hunting tribes of the Aztecs turned out to be very warlike. For almost two centuries they waged conquest campaigns and at the beginning of the 14th century, having conquered many other tribes that lived in Central Mexico, they created a powerful empire. Around 1325, the city of Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City) founded by them became its capital.

The Aztec culture assimilated the rich traditions and remarkable achievements of all the Mexican civilizations that preceded them. From the Maya, the Aztecs inherited hieroglyphic writing and widely used it. The polychrome pottery they made was very original. Their sculptures, which have survived to this day, are world-famous: “The Sad Indian”, “The Head of the Dead”, the statue of the god Xochipilli, etc. The Aztecs also achieved a lot in agriculture, using drainage work. Like the Maya, the Aztecs widely used the labor of slaves, who became debtors, orphans, divorced wives.


The Aztec Empire reached its highest level of development at the beginning of the 16th century. At the same time, on the territory of Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, parts of Colombia, Argentina and Chile, there was another great empire - the state of the Incas. It occupied an area of ​​more than 1 million square meters. km and was called Tawan-tinsuyu, which in Quechua means "four united cardinal points." Its dimensions emphasize the validity of such global claims.

For all the civilizations mentioned, the deification of the Sun is characteristic. The Incas, on the other hand, excelled everyone in this, calling themselves "sons of the Sun." To some extent, they had a right to this, because the central core of this civilization was in the Andes, the highest mountain system in America. Like the representatives of the other civilizations mentioned above, the Incas were excellent astronomers. In the city of Cuzco, they built four towers to observe the position of the Sun, they had an idea of ​​the solar and lunar year. Magnificent Inca products made of gold, silver and copper have survived to this day.

At the head of the state was the Great Inca, who was considered the living embodiment of the Sun. The image of this luminary in the form of a golden disk with a human face served as the subject of an official cult. The Moon was considered the sister and wife of the Sun. Kuichi-Rainbow was also revered as a deity. There was also a cult of spirits - the patrons of agriculture, a cult of the elements of nature, etc.

Like the Maya Indians, in the state of the Incas, an important role belonged to the priests. There were special "fields of the Sun", the harvest from which went only to the needs of the clergy. The high priest traced his lineage from the Great Inca family and shared power with him.

The Incas also had a tradition of human sacrifice, but it had a different focus than the Aztecs. Its main purpose was to deify the Great Inca himself. Sacrifices, as a rule, took place during the magnificent festivities on the occasion of his accession to the throne. Girls and children were sacrificed, who were supposed to be supplied by the tribes conquered by the Incas.


Very original was the "nodular letter" of the Incas - "kipu". It consisted of a cord and thread-pendants of different colors and shades. Combinations of colors and combinations of knots on the threads made it possible to use the kippah for calculating taxes, fixing various kinds of historical events, for transferring proper names and titles, and even individual phonetic elements. A unique quipu was found in one of the Peruvian temples. It weighed 6 kg. According to one of the most authoritative Russian researchers of the Inca culture, V.A. Kuzmishchev, such a skein of yarn could connect Moscow with St. Petersburg, and in terms of the amount of information contained in it, it can replace a multi-volume statistical reference book.

The center of development and formation of the Chib-cha-muisca culture is the Bogotinsky Plateau (modern Colombia). The civilization that developed in this region (5th-15th centuries) was distinguished by a high level of development of pottery, weaving, mining of coal and emeralds.

Just like in the other civilizations mentioned above, there was a significant stratification of property, which was reflected even in the sphere of religious mythology. The god Chibcha-kum (“the support of the people of Chibcha”) was the patron of the common people, and the god Bochik was the patron of the nobility.

Some researchers believe that the Chibcha Muisca were the only people of ancient America who had money, the role of which was played by small gold discs. The authors, who are more careful in their conclusions, refer to these items as jewelry that was in demand and exchanged for another commodity.

The legend of the fabulously rich country of Eldorado is associated with the habitats of the Chibcha Muisca. The natives told the first Spanish conquistadors about a peculiar ritual of initiation into leaders in one of the tribes. On the day of the festivities, the aspirant rubs the body with resin and then covers it with gold powder. The tribesmen accompany this gilded man, reclining on a precious stretcher, to a mountain lake. He dives, washes off the gilding, and thus the rite of passage is completed. Participants in the procession throw gold and precious stones into the lake. And how many such ceremonies have been in hundreds of years? And so the myth arose about an unknown country and its untold riches, called El Dorado, which in Spanish means “gilded”.

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