Ancient Trade: 9th Century

Part 2: Transition

 

As I mentioned in part 1, trade centers changed over time.   In the ninth century A.D., my hypothetical trade route ran from Tikal in the lowlands of Yucatan north through the Toltec capital of Tula (sometimes called Tollon), continued north to the Ancestral Pueblos of Chaco Canyon, then east to the Mississippi River city of Cahokia.

9th Century Trading Centers

The four cultures—Mayan, Toltec, Ancestral Puebloan, and Mississippian Mound Builders—were in transition.   Tikal and Tula were nearing the end of their dominance in their regions, while Chaco Canyon and Cahokia would dominate their regions for centuries to come.

Tikal was the capital of one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya.  Tikal reached its apogee during the Classic Period, ca. 200 to 900 AD. During this time, the city dominated much of the Maya region politically, economically, and militarily, while interacting with areas throughout Mesoamerica including the Toltecs to the north. 

The name “Tikal” was not the name of the city in the 9th century.  It was named Tikal after its discovery in 1840.  It was most likely called Yax Mutal at that time.  The “Mutal” probably refers to

the emblem of the reigning dynasty and roughly means “Hair Knot” referring to the hair knot worn by the “Ahua” or Ruler.  “Yax” means “first”. 

I would like to share with you this description of trade by J. Eric S. Thompson from his book, The Rise and Fall of Maya Civilization:

“Throughout Middle America the principal medium of exchange was the cacao bean, with beads of spondylus shell and jade as secondary exchange units.  Cacao made an ideal currency.  Inflation was automatically controlled because if the value of the cacao dropped as a result of overproduction, more beans were taken out of circulation to make chocolate, the appetite for which was insatiable throughout Middle America.  It conformed to the law that the cheaper a desired product, the greater the demand.  Secondly, insect pests and decay made hoarding impossible; the beans shriveled and lost value.  Moreover, only certain localities were suitable for production.

“… Price depended on distance from the orchards.  … Because of its high value, there was regular counterfeiting of cacao money.  The skin of the bean was carefully lifted, the flesh removed and replaced with a wax or earth substitute or pieces of avocado rind were inserted beneath the skin of the bean to give it a well-filled look.

“… Traffic in cacao and other commodities gave rise to a wealthy merchant class.  Much of the trade in the Maya area was by canoe and was in the hands of the Chontal Maya. … Their dugout canoes, capable of holding forty or more people [were eight –feet wide] … maintained a service which girded the whole peninsula of Yucatan."

Items traded within the region were cotton mantles and loincloths from Mexico, wooden swords with pieces of flint or obsidian glued into slots down each side, little copper bells, plates and forges to melt copper, razors or knives of copper, and hatchets of sharp bright-yellow stone with wooden hafts and large quantities of cacao.  There would also have been spondylus shell and jade and salt from the north and northwest coasts of Yucatan.  The center of the canoes had covered galleys where the merchandise was kept and often women and children accompanying the traders rode inside out of the weather.

In the 9th century, these items among others would have been transported to the market in Tikal to be exchanged for exotic items transported in by foreign merchants .  These foreign traders would then haul their valuable bounty to the markets in the north.

 

-- Courtney Miller

www.CourtneyMillerAuthor.com

7 - Incidents of Travel: Mayan Ruins

Part 7: Incidents of Travel: Conclusion

 

Let the author read this to you by clicking here.




Stelae at Copan
by Frederick Catherwood
 

When John Lloyd Stephens first travelled to Central America and walked among the ruins left by the Maya, he early on realized that the buildings, statues, and carvings were not done by a “savage or primitive race”.  He recognized that the original inhabitants of the Americas were a civilized and sophisticated people.  At his first encounter with the Stelae in Copan, he observed, “The sight of this unexpected monument put at rest at once and forever, in our minds, all uncertainty in regard to the character of American antiquities, and gave us the assurance that the objects we were in search of were interesting, not only as the remains of an unknown people, but as works of art, proving, like newly-discovered historical records, that the people who once occupied the Continent of America were not savages.” [refer to Part 4 of this series]

In 1842, when he returned to Yucatan to further explore the ruins, he reconfirmed his previous conviction, “I am happy thus early in these pages to have an opportunity of recurring to the opinion expressed in my former volumes, in regard to the builders of the ancient American cities.

“The conclusion to which I came was that ‘there are not sufficient grounds for belief in the great antiquity that has been ascribed to these ruins’; ‘that we are not warranted in going back to any ancient nation of the Old World for the builders of these cities; that they are not the works of people who have passed away and whose history is lost, but that there are strong reasons to believe them the creation of the same races who inhabited the country at the time of the Spanish conquest, or of some not very distant progenitors.”

In the final pages of his last book, Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, Stephens addressed the arguments

Storming of Teocalis
by Emanuel Leutze

against his opinions on the origins of the Mayan cities.  He was still unaware that the Mayans were the builders, but was convinced that the cities were built by the people that the Spaniards found on their conquest.  Before Stephens, this idea had been rejected for mostly three main arguments.  First, there were no lasting traditions carried on by the locals.  Stephens argued, “… may this be accounted for by the unparalleled circumstances which attended the conquest and subjugation of Spanish America?”  He went on to cite the proclamation by the Pope “entreating and requiring the inhabitants to acknowledge and obey the church as the superior and guide of the universe. … But if you do not comply … I will carry on war against you with the utmost violence.”

The second prevailing argument “that a people possessing the power, art, and skill to erect such cities never could have fallen so low as the miserable Indians who now linger about their ruins” was disputed by Stephens for the same reason.  He argued, “… their present condition is the natural and inevitable consequence of the same ruthless policy which laid the axe at the root of all ancient recollections and cut off forever all traditionary knowledge.”

Finally, the lack of historical accounts or reference to the cities by the conquering Spaniards was refuted by Stephens, “On the contrary, we have the glowing accounts of Cortez and his companions, of soldiers, priests, and civilians, all concurring in representations of existing cities, then in the actual use and occupation of the Indians, with building and temples, in style and character like those presented in these pages.”

He summarized, “These arguments then – the want of tradition, the degeneracy of the people, and the alleged absence of historical accounts – are not sufficient to be entered upon at the conclusion of these pages; but all the light that history sheds upon them is dim and faint, and may be summed up in few words.”

Travels of John Lloyd Stephens

Over time, Stephens’ beliefs proved to be substantially accurate and his popular books contributed to a groundswell of interest in the lost cities of the Maya.

 

-- Courtney Miller

Link to Part 1

5 - Incidents of Travel: Mayan Ruins

Part 5: Accomodations at Copan, 1839 and Now

Terramaya Hotel
Copan

Accomodations at Copan have changed dramatically since John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood visited the ruins in 1839.  Here is an excerpt describing one of the many nice Hotels in the area now, the Terramaya, “Absolutely charming, small boutique hotel. Rooms are spacious and updated/modern while retaining that hacienda charm. Breakfast served on the terrace every morning was delicious with fresh fruit, granola, and a hot plate that varies every morning from scrambled eggs to pancakes to huevos rancheros. The hour long massage in the garden was well worth the $40. … the upstairs rooms facing the back had a nice balcony with a hamock.”

In 1839, however, the ruins were privately owned and part of a large ranch.  Compare Stephen’s account of his accomodations, “… Don Gregario arrived.  He was about fifty, had large black whiskers, and a beard of several day’s growth.  It was easy to see that he was a domestic tyrant.  The glance which he threw at us before dismounting seemed to say to us, “Who are you?" I told him that we had come into that neighbourhood to visit the ruins of Copan, and his manner said, ‘What’s that to me?’ but he answered that they were on the other side of the river.  I asked him whether we could procure a guide, and again he said that the only man who knew anything about them lived on the other side of the river. 

As yet we did not make sufficient allowance for the distracted state of the country;…  but relying on the reputation of the country for hospitality, I was rather slow in coming to the disagreeable conclusion that we were not welcome.  I ordered the muleteer to saddle the mules; but the rascal refused to saddle his beasts again that day.

“Don Gregario was the great man of Copan; the richest man, and the petty tyrant; and it would be most unfortunate to have a rupture with him, or even to let it be known at the village that we were not well received at his house.  Mr. Catherwood took a seat on the piazza.  The don sat on a chair, with our detestable muleteer by his side, and a half-concealed smile of derision on his face, talking of “idols,” and looking at me.  By this time eight or ten men, sons, servants, and laborers had come in from their day’s work.  The women turned away their heads; and the men, taking their cue from the don, looked so insulting, that I told Mr. Catherwood we would tumble our luggage into the road, and curse him for an inhospitable churl; but Mr. Catherwood warned me against it, urging that, if we had an open quarrel with him, after all our trouble we would be prevented seeing the ruins.

“After supper all prepared for sleep.  The don’s house had two sides, an inside and an out.  The don and his family occupied the former, and we the latter; but we had not even this to ourselves.  All along the wall were frames made of sticks about an inch thick, tied together with bark strings, over which the workmen spread an untanned oxhide for a bed.  There were three hammocks besides ours, and I had so little room for mine that my body described an inverted parabola, with my heels as high as my head.

“In the morning Don Gregario was in the same humour.  We made our toilet under the shed with as much respect as possible to the presence of the female members of the family, who were constantly passing.  We had made up our minds to hold on and see the ruins; and fortunately, early in the morning, one of the crusty don’s sons brought over from the village Jose, the guide of whom we stood in need.”

The guide led Stephens and Catherwood to the ruins.  Clearly, Stephens was not disappointed.  Here is his account of his first glimpse of a Mayan ruin, “We came to the bank of a river, and saw directly opposite a stone wall, perhaps a hundred feet high, with a furze growing out of the top, running north and south along the river, in some places fallen, but in other entire.  It had more the character of a structure than any we had ever seen ascribed to the aborigines of America, and formed part of the wall of Copan, an ancient city on whose history books throw but little light.”

 

 

 

-- Courtney Miller

 

Have you seen a Mayan ruin?  Share your impressions.

 

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4 - Incidents of Travel: Mayan Ruins

Part 4: Copan

Stela (Monument) at Copan
by Frederick Catherwood

“The sight of this unexpected monument put at rest at once and forever, in our minds, all uncertainty in regard to the character of American antiquities, and gave us the assurance that the objects we were in search of were interesting, not only as the remains of an unknown people, but as works of art, proving, like newly-discovered historical records, that the people who once occupied the Continent of America were not savages,” wrote John Lloyd Stephens’ when he first found the stelae at Copan. 

When Stephens and his artist friend, Frederick Catherwood, travelled to Central American the first time, they sailed all the way around the Yucatan Peninsula to Belize so that they could begin their exploration of lost cities at Copan, which was one of only three archaeological sites in 1839.  He continued:

“… [our guide] conducted us through the thick forest, among half-buried fragments, to fourteen monuments of the same character and appearance, some with more elegant designs, and some in workmanship equal to the finest monuments of the Egyptians; one displaced from its pedestal by enormous roots; another locked in the close embrace of branches of trees, and almost lifted out of the earth; another hurled to the ground, and bound down by huge vines and creepers; and one standing, with its altar before it, in a grove of trees which grew around it, seemingly to shade and shroud it as a sacred thing; in the solemn stillness of the wood, it seemed a divinity mourning over a fallen people."

Topled Monument
by Frederick Catherwood

In addition to the beautiful and exquisitely carved “monuments”, they found great pyramids.  Again, Stephens’ description:

Pyramid and Stela at Copan
by Frederick Catherwood

“We returned to the base of the pyramidal structure, and ascended by regular stone steps, in some places forced apart by bushes and saplings, and in others thrown down by the growth of large trees, while some remained entire.  They were ornamented with sculptured figures and rows of death’s heads.  Climbing over the ruined top, we reached a terrace overgrown with trees, and, crossing it, descended by stone steps into an area so covered with trees that at first we could not make out its form, but which, on clearing the way with the machete, we ascertained to be a square, and with steps on all the sides almost as perfect as those of the roman amphitheatre.  The steps were ornamented with sculpture, and on the south side, about half way up, forced out of its place by roots, was a colossal head, evidently a portrait.  We ascended these steps, and reached a broad terrace a hundred feet high, overlooking the river, and supported by the wall which we had seen from the opposite bank.

“We sat down on the very edge of the wall, and strove in vain to penetrate the mystery by which we were surrounded.  Who were the people that built this city?  In the ruined cities of Egypt, even in the long-lost Petra, the stranger knows the story of the people whose vestiges are around him.  America, say historians, was peopled by savages; but savages never reared these structures, savages never carved these stones.  We asked the Indians who made them, and their dull answer was “Quien sabe?” “Who knows?”.

Have you been to Copan?  Please share your story.

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-- Courtney Miller

 

 

 

2 - Incidents of Travel: Mayan Ruins



Part 2: Uxmal, featuring incidents of Travel by Rhondda Hartman



John Lloyd Stephens 1836

The last city visited by John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood in their monumental trip to Central America in 1839 and the first site revisited on their return was Uxmal.  Stephens described the ruins as follows:

“The hacienda of Uxmal was built of dark gray stone, ruder in appearance than any of the others [cities visited].  … In the afternoon, [I] set out for a walk to the ruins.  The path led through a noble piece of woods, in which there were many tracks, and [my] Indian guide lost his way.  We took another road, and, emerging suddenly from the woods, to my astonishment came at once upon a large open field strewed with mounds of ruins, and vast buildings on terraces, and pyramidal structures, grand and in good preservation, richly ornamented, without a bush to obstruct the view, and in picturesque effect almost equal to the ruins of Thebes.

Uxmal by Frederick Catherwood

“The place of which I am now speaking was beyond all doubt once a large, populous, and highly civilized city.  Who built it, why it was located away from water or any of those natural advantages which have determined the sites of cities whose histories are known, what led to its abandonment and destruction, no man can tell.



Uxmal today

“… The first object that arrests the eye on emerging from the forest is the building [House of the Dwarf, see below].  From its front doorway I counted sixteen elevations, with broken walls and mounds of stones, and vast, magnificent edifices, which seemed untouched by time.

“… The other building is called Casa de las Monjas, or House of the Nuns, or the Convent.  It is situated on an artificial elevation about fifteen feet high.  Its form is quadrangular, and one side, according to my measurement, is ninety-five paces in length.  … Like the House of the Dwarf, it is built entirely of cut stone, and the whole exterior is filled with the same rich, elaborate, and incomprehensible sculptured ornaments.”



Uxmal "The Nunnery"

“While I was making the circuit of these ruins, Mr. Catherwood proceeded to the Casa del Gobernador.  It is the grandest in position, the most stately in architecture and proportions, and the most perfect in preservation of all the structures remaining at Uxmal. … There is no rudeness or barbarity in the design or proportions; on the contrary, the whole wears an air of architectural symmetry and grandeur; and as the stranger ascends the steps and casts a bewildered eye along its open and desolate doors, it is hard to believe that he sees before him the work of a race in whose epitaph, as written by historians, they are called ignorant of art, and said to have perished in the rudeness of savage life.  If it stood at this day on its grand artificial terrace in Hyde Park or the Garden of the Tuileries, it would form a new order, I do not say equaling, but not unworthy to stand side by side with the remains of Egyptian, Grecian, and Roman art.”

Compare Stephen’s  impression of Uxmal to this visit by Rhondda Hartman:
 

Rhondda Hartman

“We went in the early 1970s and took our 2 oldest girls with us; they were about 12 & 14.  Uxmal is the most delightful of all the pyramids I have visited, and the first.   It is 'soft' and architecturally beautiful with its rounded walls and elliptical shape.   I would call it a boutique archaeological site! Chichen Itsa, by comparison, is harsh and sharp and a military compound.   Uxmal is more like a palace.

  
“My belief is that the sacrificial rituals that are attributed to the Mayans were introduced by other civilizations of Toltec and Aztec!   As in Chichen Itsa,  Mayans are a peaceful culture, I think, at least Uxmal feels that way to me!  We were on a tour and our hotel was nearby.  One of my daughters and I could not wait for the guide.  We went on our own and climbed all over the pyramid and surrounding areas and felt so comfortable.   [House of the Dwarf pictured below]

 
“We also joined the tour at the established time, but when that was done, we wandered off by ourselves again and found the un-restored area of the park.  A kind worker saw our interest and gave us a tour of the jungle-covered part of the Mayan city and outside the walls where the commoners lived.  We were so comfortable and felt as though it was familiar territory for us. We seemed to know where we were and where to go!  Well, do I need to tell you that it sparked an interest in the Mayan civilization for both of us?  And you can be sure that if there is reincarnation, my daughter and I lived there!

 
“It was about that time that I went to UCD to get a Masters and I took several courses on the culture.  I have an interest in a trip to see the more important Mayan cities of Tikal , Palenque , Copan and Bonampak.  I cannot revisit Uxmal since the first time was so magical I could probably never achieve that experience again!”

-- Rhondda Hartman is an expert on natural childbirth, renowned speaker and is the author of “Exercises For True Natural Childbirth”.  Rhondda has travelled all over the world and says that one of her favorite places in the world is Uxmal.

 

Have you travelled to see the Mayan ruins? I would like to hear your story. If you are willing to share your story, please submit it by clicking here. Throughout this series, I will be posting stories from readers and comparing their experiences with those of Stephens and Catherwood.

 

Link to Part 1

 

-- Courtney Miller

Inconvenient Arrogance, Part 4 -- The Maya

For all his learning or sophistication, man still instinctively reaches towards that force beyond. Only arrogance can deny its existence, and the denial falters in the face of evidence on every hand. In every tuft of grass, in every bird, in every opening bud, there it is.”

-- Hal Borland

Mayan City of Tikal

The Mayan culture of Central America was arguably one the most advanced civilizations in the world.  The architecture was magnificent; the Mayan calendar is still the most accurate and complex ever invented;  their knowledge of astronomy still astounds us; and their sophisticated written language is still being deciphered today.  There is good evidence that the Maya or their predecessors the Olmec had an advanced understanding of the cosmos and a written language as early as 3000 B.C.  I point to the dates on their monuments that originate from 3113 B.C.

 

But unlike the Moche culture that I described in Part 3 of this series, the Mayan culture did not fail all at once because of a single climatic event.  There are a number of reasons and I shall touch on some of them, but I still see evidence of the devastating role that arrogance played on each of the collapses.

 

Frederick Catherwood lithograph of Tulum, 1844

Unlike the Moche empire, the Maya never unified the many grand empires under a single rule.  Probably the biggest factor was that the terrain forced the different cities to be isolated and were separated by great distances.  The difficulty of agriculture to provide for the huge populations needed to support the massive cities required ever expanding cultivation of land surrounding the cities.  There is evidence of terraced hill slopes to retain soil and moisture, irrigation systems, and complex canal systems to enhance production and extend the fertility of the soil beyond what was possible with slash and burn techniques, but, because of the low protein crops, lack of domesticated animals, high humidity that curtailed storage, and difficulty of transporting crops (again no domesticated animals) a typical farmer could only produce twice what he needed for himself and his family.  A paltry surplus compared to other advanced cultures.

 

It is easy to see the affect that climate change had on the Mayan empires.   The pre-classic rise of El Mirador coincides with the wet climate that prevailed from 250 B.C.  to 125 A.D.  Then El Mirado collapsed during the drought from 125 A.D. to 250 A.D.  The rise of the classic period coincided with the return of a wetter period from 250 A.D. to 500 A.D.  The momentous event that started the collapse of the Moche culture in 536 A.D. also appears to have affected the Maya. This event coincides with the so-called “Mayan Hiatus” in 6th and 7th centuries when no monuments were erected at the well-studied site of Tikal.  There is no doubt that turmoil and confusion gave the cultures reason to pause during the several years when the sun was blocked by acidic particles in the atmosphere (refer to Part 3) and temperatures cooled.  Following the cooling period, the worst drought in the last 7,000 years peaking around 800 A.D. coincides with the collapse of the classic period.  End dates on monuments for clusters of Maya centers fall into three clusters – 810, 860, and 910 which match the severe droughts that occurred around those three dates.

 

Time and time again, the cities would expand and grow during periods of favorable weather until they were vulnerable to periods of drought and failed.  And, as we saw with the Moche, the Kings and nobles who had taken credit for prosperity were blamed for the climate change.  And, like the Moche, cruel ritual ceremonies of human sacrifice developed and increased as each empire went into collapse.

 

As Jared Diamond wrote in his Pullitzer Prize winning book “Collapse”, “In Maya society the king also functioned  as high priest carrying the responsibility  to attend to  astronomical and calendrical rituals, and thereby to bring rain and prosperity, which the king claimed to have the supernatural power to deliver because of his asserted family relationship to the gods.  That is, there was a tacitly understood quid pro quo: the reason why the peasants supported the luxurious lifestyle of the king and his court, fed him corn and venison, and built his palaces was because he had made implicit big promises to the peasants.  … [the] kings got into trouble with their peasants if a drought came, because that was tantamount to the breaking of a royal promise.”

 

Once again, the “inconvenient arrogance” that man can influence or control climate most likely brought down the magnificent Mayan culture as it did the incredible Moche. 

Continue to Part 5

 

-- Courtney Miller