THE USE OF PUBLIC SPACE AS SACRED SPACE AMONG THE MAYA INDIANS

Abstract

At a time when the Western world was experiencing the "Dark Ages," the Maya civilization was flourishing. For over 2,700 years, from 1500 B.C. to A.D.1200, the Maya lived and flourished in Mesoamerica. From Honduras to Mexico the Maya built great cities such as Copan, Tikal, Palenque, Calakmul, and Chichen Itza. Many cities had populations between 50,000 and 150,000 inhabitants, far exceeding those of Europe during this time.1 Each of these cities or city-states was independent of the others. Each major city had its own leader and noble class supported by tribute received from smaller cities and the surrounding communities. Even though each Maya city had its own military and goverment, they were connected to their neighbors by commerce and certain mutually shared cultural traits. Many scholars have compared the Maya to the ancient Greeks.2 At the peak of both civilizations one witnesses the excellence of intellectual achievements within the areas of art, science, technology, and architecture. Each Maya city had a unique and distinctive purpose, typically based on its religious, political, or economic beliefs. Maya cities were meticulously designed to exemplify this functionality. Most Maya cities were constructed to duplicate, both functionally and symbolically, the sacred landscape created by their gods at the time of creation. Despite their autonomy, varied geographical locations, and temporal separation, most Maya cities adhered to a common architectural pattern. Like the acropolis of the Greek city-states, at the heart of all Maya cities were the great ceremonial plazas anchored by the temple pyramids.