There are times when I just am amazed with the essential trivia I learn from podcasts. In this case, I was listening to “Fall of Civilizations, episode 3. The Mayan Collapse — Ruins Among the Trees”
https://soundcloud.com/fallofcivilizations/3-the-mayan-collapse-ruins-among-the-trees
The ancient capital of the Mayan empire was Tikal. It had several pyramids, including this one, 154 ft high. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikal
It’s the building on the left.
And they built these with no wheels, no pulleys, no beasts of burden, and no 3-point shot. They did, however, have a base-20 number system, including a glyph for zero, and hot cocoa.
Per the podcaster, the Mayans conducted two kinds of warfare. (36 mins into the podcast). The first was known as Axe Wars, which were minor skirmishes, which allowed them to capture some poor enemy nobles, and chop their heads off in a religious ceremony. Ooops.
The 2nd kind of warfare would involve a clash of civilizations. Major fighting. It was called
.
.
.
and this is taken from the Mayan glyphs
.
.
.
(and there is no known acknowledgment of any geopolitical connection)
.
.
.
but let me drop a hint.
.
.
.
Here’s a screenshot of a rebel base called Yavin, including pyramids.
.
.
.
The 2nd kind of Mayan warfare was written as
.
.
.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_warfare
Now you know.
(April 1st is a good day for me to post this. Nobody believes me anyway.)
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
PBS/Nova did an outstanding series called “Cracking The Maya Code” about the Mayan Glyphs. Here’s 2 links to buy the program:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/cracking-maya-code.html
and
