Latin American History Video Storytelling Project

An article in the journal Latin American Antiquity concerning Inca Stone Ancestors. Published by the Society of American Archaeology.

Small Caves and Sacred Geography: A Case Study From the Prehispanic Maya Site of Maax Na, Belize

An article about the Maya Huey Tozoztli Festival, the springtime festival dedicated to the rain god Tlaloc

Diego de Landa is a person who changed the course of Mayan history forever, and as most of these stories, go the outcome was not a positive one. Diego de Landa was a Spanish priest who was given the task of converting the Mayan people to Catholicism, and in the process almost singlehandedly destroyed the Mayan language.

The Yucatán Peninsula is a porous limestone shelf with no above-ground rivers or lakes. Instead there are underground rivers, lakes, sinkholes and caves. The caves of the Yucatán were sacred places for the Mayas and are impressive places to visit. When visiting the caves it is important to ALWAYS enter with a guide.

The remaining Maya were conquered by the Spanish and converted (at least nominally) to Roman Catholicism. The present-day Mayan peoples are spread mainly across southern Mexico, with small numbers in Guatemala and Belize. They practice a religion that combines Roman Catholicism with Mayan cosmology, deities, and domestic rituals. (See Christianity)

Maya religion was far more complicated than the simple worship of gods of nature. The Maya world was composed of 3 layers - the Heavens, the Earth, and the Underworld. The village chief acted as the leader of political life, as well as the priest.

By Gary Feinman and Dean Arnold in Religion and History. Maya Blue is a colour that is more than a pigment; it had roles in status, ritual and performance, being daubed onto pots and people before sacrifice. Here researchers use experimental and

Wednesday, October 08, 2014 LIMA, PERU-Peru's Ministry of Culture announced that human remains have been unearthed in Hatun Xauxa, an Inca administrative and ceremonial center in the central Andean region of Junin. The burial site may be an offering related to the founding of the city.

The leading rank The Hanan-sector was reserved to organize the governmental and religious matters. This is in contrast to the Urin-sector where handicrafts were practiced. The animal used to represent the whole of this section is the Puma, lying down on the big abyss of Machu Picchu.

The thin air and harsh, rocky slopes of the Peruvian Andes wouldn't seem to be a likely locale for the capital of an extensive pre-Columbus empire. Any community seeking to thrive under these conditions would need to be equipped with tremendous ambition - and no small amount of political and mechanical ingenuity.

Share on Facebook Tweet Add My Story "I entered the untouched forest beyond, and suddenly found myself in a maze of beautiful granite houses!..." In 1911, Hiram Bingham, an American explorer adventuring in Peru, uncovered the now famous Incan ruins of Machu Picchu. Though locals were aware of its presence, ...