On a number of occasions so far it has felt like we were in an Indiana Jones movie, but rarely as much as when we have been visiting one of the many incredible historical sites in Central America. We have had the opportunity to visit various Mayan sites including Monte Alban, Mitla, Palenque and Tikal, as well as Teotihuacan (which is Aztec). Each ancient city had unique aspects based on its location and the time period when it was at its peak of development. At the same time, each city had similar cultural characteristics and as we moved across Mexico, we had an opportunity to travel a timeline of the history of the Mayan people as they moved from location to location because of wars, resources, and the expansion and contraction of empires. This was only slightly diminished by the opportunity to deal with the swarms of hawkers selling masks, jewelry, whistles, replica pyramids…and even obsidian axes.
Our exposure to sites was mainly through the lenses created by the selective excavation, the remaining structures and the tour guides that helped us understand what we were looking at in a pile of rocks or a mound of dirt. Other times we would stand alone in awe at the base of a 150-foot temple that towered out of a jungle toped with a massive timeless stone face looking at us. We were continually reminded of how may sites have not yet been excavated and what stories still lay beneath the mounds of dirt we would walk past.
Each major city site we visited as we moved south and east across Mexico had developed along the historic timeline and had signs of advancement in the civilization as populations migrated. Sometimes this was skewed because sites that are 1500 years old have more remaining structures and visible evidence than those that are 2500 years old. Visiting the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City helped solidify our understanding of the timelines, the migration of people and the development and fall of the empires.
When we reached the site of Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico, (pictures can be seen here), it was obvious that this city had been different from others. Under a vale of a jungle canopy, we found large structures, tombs of kings, astronomical observatories, religious temples for a multitude of gods, highly advanced water and sewage systems, and signs of more interaction with other groups and potentially other far-flung civilizations.
It was suggested by the tour guides that part of the mystical feeling came from the local variety of magic mushrooms that had been cultivated by the both the ancient and current people in the area. Evidence of the use of the mushrooms was found in some of the ancient paintings and glyphs that showed mushrooms being used in ceremonies and daily Mayan life. Some guided tours provided more mystical tours but the Lonely Planet guide will suggest against these tours.
In Palenque you got a sense that you were somewhere with a spirit and you could envision people living in the city that has only been approximately 5% excavated. At the high point of the city’s development, more than 20 square kms were cleared and developed, allowing anyone to see the city colored in white, red, and blues from a great distance off. This separated the city site from other locations we have visited where you didn’t feel the place the same way.
Houses that have been vacant for 1500 years have white plastered walls with colored designs that are still visible. The plaster was made from seashells carried hundreds of kilometers from the ocean. You can lie down on stone beds that were once used by the upper class. Looking through windows that were specially designed to allow the maximum amount of light and ventilation you can imagine seeing children playing the yards. Even the hinges for doors and window covers are still visible in the stone and the remains of plaster faces of long ago kings line walls in the place.
We walked down beautifully laid stone staircases that led to incredible aqueduct systems that still produce potable water that flows from mountain springs. Stone and concrete gutter systems lined road systems that once connected houses to the main city center. Today, howler monkeys and toucans are the only locals that make you feel like the Maya people that had once lived in the great city had just left a short time ago.
After being mesmerized by Palenque, we had to visit Tikal in northern Guatemala. Tikal is considered by many people to be the greatest of the Mayan sites. Similar to Palenque, Tikal is shrouded under a jungle canopy. It sits more or less on the same line of latitude to the east. It appears, based on the placement of the cities, that relative location and distances were considered when cities were developed.
We decided to make two trips to Tikal (pictures can be seen here) - one trip in the late afternoon and one early the following morning. We had heard that the city site should be seen in different lights and that the current locals (mostly howler and spider monkeys) were often very active at these times. We stayed basically on site at one of the 3 hotels at the edge of the ancient city.
Our cartoon style of the map from the tourist office wasn’t too accurate, but it was going to have to do as we started the 20-minute walk into the jungle to find this lost city. We passed a giant ceibal, the Mayan sacred tree of life, and headed to the first location. Before we got to the site we were welcomed by a family of spider monkeys screaming hellos at us. How nice! We found the first set of ruins, and then at a short distance a second one. Each site seemed to get bigger. Large stone structures that had multiple divisions for rooms, trees growing out of walls and staircases, and archways that were still completely intact. It was definitely like an adventure with Dr. Jones.
As we walked down the path, our excitement was building. What could the next site look like? We saw a very large mound and it seemed rather important and as we turned the corner, we realized that we had been walking along the backside of a massive temple. It was completely intact with a walkway up to a room on top and even original wood pieces were still protruding from the sides. It was topped with a roof boasting unique designs.
Next we passed into the main courtyard where there were trees with weaverbird nests hanging (these look like large straw bags). There we saw a local tour guide and we decided to approach him about getting a tour in the morning. Even better than the tour in the morning - he also invited us to finish his afternoon tour with his group. We walked through the ancient city with our guide and up to one of the highest temples. We climbed a staircase to the top where with a quick word with the security guard, our guide took us pass a “Do Not Enter Sign” and to the closed off west facing view. We watched the sunset over the city, wondering how the next day could possibly be better than this one.
Tomorrow came quickly when we went to meet our group at 4:30 am at the ranger checkpoint. Catherine talked with the guys with sawed-off shotguns about the weather as we watched shooting stars rip across the perfect twilit sky. It must have been pretty close to a new moon, because we had an almost perfect blanket of stars.
We headed back into the city ruins with our Mayan tour guide like a bunch of miners heading into the earth. As we approached the city, it was completely unlike the day before. Everything looked different and with the assistance of our guide we got a much more complete picture of the various temples and locations. He explained numerous aspects of Mayan astronomy and the use of different buildings to track time. After visiting multiple locations we went back to our sunset temple, this time to watch the sunrise. It was incredible to see the sky lighten and the city appear out of the dark and a shimmer of mist to reveal all of the white limestone structures through a jungle that went horizon to horizon. It seems like it was the first sunrise that anyone on the tour had seen and everyone was completely silent for the next 30 minutes (well, except the late-arriving boisterous German tour guide, but he was promptly shushed by the rest of the observers). We could tell the morning was in full swing when all of the birds and monkeys started discussing the beautiful day.
After the sunrise we had a tour of the ancient observatory that consisted of structures that were used to determine time and the movement of the universe. Measurements and recordings were done daily in Tikal from a series of buildings that made up an observatory. Buildings were placed with their center points perfectly aligned with the solstices (longest and shortest days) and the equinoxes (equal night and day).
A funny story was that the early astronomers didn’t know that the year was not divided into exact days and that there was a need for a leap year every 4 years to make up the difference. Archeologists discovered that the Mayan astronomers had the city builders add a layer of plaster to the south facing wall on the buildings each year to ensure that the center of the building was still in place when the king showed up to see the position of the sun on important days. This was done for over a hundred years before someone figured out the math and that adjustments needed to be made to the calendar system. This creative ingenuity probably allowed some folks to keep their heads.
We also learned that at Tikal, the Mayan people as had set up a library and archives for the city and potentially for the civilization. They had used a type of bark paper to record astronomical observations, government functions, and their language (an incredible achievement including a full inventory of all of the Mayan language glyphs). Then the Spanish showed up, examined a handful of the books, didn’t like the look of some of the glyphs, claimed it was witchcraft and, predictably, burned the entire archives. I wonder if they did it because they could only claim that the Mayans were savages if the civilization did not have more advanced systems than the Spanish themselves, or were they just that stupid. Who is to say what was lost?
During the morning we also got to talk monkey with the howler monkeys, see spider moneys jump across the canopy, watch toucans and a variety of other birds including wild turkeys. But no snakes; Dr. Jones doesn’t like snakes anyways.
By about 10 am when we were leaving the site, it was overwhelming to think of what we had had an opportunity to see at the different sites. However, Tikal was definitely the crowning jewel for our tour through the Mayan sites. It is incredible to think of what was accomplished, especially without the use of a wheel or beasts of burdens such as the horse. The Maya are still furiously proud of their heritage, culture, and way of life and rightfully so. It will be interesting to see what other aspects of this incredible history is uncovered as 95% of the sites and potentially the information that still lies under the jungle.
