10 Unravelled Secrets Of The Mayan Civilization

The Maya are perhaps one of the world’s most successful and brilliant civilizations. Thanks to the hard work of dedicated researchers and archaeologists, many secrets of this once-powerful civilization are now starting to unravel.

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Ancient Maya Credited with Major Scientific Advances
It was a hot, sticky day in Belize. We had been warned to wear our hats and sunscreen and to drink lots of water. My wife, Gail, and I were visiting Altun Ha, an ancient Maya site near Belize City, the largest city in this Central American country. Our group gathered in the shade of a large tree as a tour guide explained that the Ancient Maya understood, 4,000 years ago, scientific and mathematical concepts that we take for granted today. I wondered how they developed these advanced concepts of astronomy, mathematics and time measurement so, after returning from our trip, I talked with Annebel Lewis, a socio-cultural anthropologist. Lewis, a retired professor at California State University, now lives in the Richmond area and teaches anthropology at the Chesterfield Lifelong Learning Institute. I asked her why ancient cultures became so interested in observing the skies and plotting the paths of the stars and planets.