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300
Mayan Civilization
The Maya civilization flourished between AD 300 and 900, and is known to have existed as long ago as 2000 BC. The Mayans were most advanced in astronomy, efforts to plot the movement of the sun, moon, and especially Venus. They also specialized in architecture, and were successful famers. -
300
Glyphs
The Maya hieroglyphic writing bears no resemblence to any other known writing. It is very complex with around 1,500 glyphs that make up the written language. Writing was so significant to the Mayans because Itzamna was considered to be the inventor of writing. -
500
Mayan Religion
The Mayans worshiped to many gods, but the most significant one was Itzamna. The Mayan belief conceived the earth, heaven, and underworld as one unified whole. In their culture, there was a religious element to their understanding of time: each day would belong to a different divine leader. This created a never-ending cycle for the gods to influence life through their rule, over particular periods of time. -
Jan 1, 1544
Audiencia
The Audiencia was a high court of judges and administrators, and was the highest governmental authority in the territory. During most of the colonial period, the president of the audiencia was also governor and captain general (Captaincy General of Guatemala) and was charged with administrative, judicial, and military authority. The governor was appointed by the Spanish king and was responsible for him. The colony was sometimes reffered to as the Kingdom of Guatemala. -
Independence
Pedro de Alvarado defeated the Mayans in 1524 and became the first governor of Guatemala.
In 1821 Guatemala gained independence from Spain but was annexed by Mexico. -
Civil War
Under Colonel Carlos Arana Osorio's power, the military started a campaign of terrorism and slaughter. More than 15,000 people were killed by military death sqauds. Then, a new government was elected in 1990 that offered to investigate the abuse of human rights. This bloody war lasted 39 years... all the way until 1996. -
Urbanization of Guatemala
The majority of rural to urban migration over the last two decades is due to the recent civil war. This affected the rural highland areas, and shifts to less labor-intensve crops have forced many traditional migrant workers into the city. Becuse of this, nearly1/5 of all Guatemalans now live in its capital, Guatemala city. With rapidly growing populations, the need for more develpoment in some parts of the country is dire. -
Changes in Civilization
The only period when the urban centers were important was from 300-900 AD. The culture of the Mayas, however was barely changed, Maya culture was largely tribal and rural all throughout the Classic period. What distinguishes Classic from post-Classic Maya culture was the importance of urban centers and their structures in the religious life of Mayans. The decline of the urban centers after 900 AD involved religious change; an explosion of cultural creativity all throughout the region occured.
