There are many theories about the origin of cultures and peoples that inhabited the once vast expanses of Central and North America. Until now scientists don't agree on how appeared the ancient Mayan civilization and for what reasons it was extinguished. Some believe that the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica came out of Egypt. They brought with them the ability to build pyramids and write hieroglyphs.


Others believe that the ancient inhabitants of this continent, were descendants of immigrants from Asia. This, incidentally, is confirmed by the similarity of the genetic blood tests taken from representatives of American natives and residents of North-Eastern Asia. Apparently, Asians began to penetrate to America 50 000 thousand years ago. Probably, they brought with them knowledge of the calendar, ceremonial and hunting skills.

In the XIX century was extremely popular theory that the Maya were descendants of the inhabitants of Atlantis or the continent of Mu, which went under water. In XX century there was an assertion that if aliens from outer space brought to the territory of Mesoamerica elements of alien civilizations.

Whatever it was, around the Mayan there was always an aura of mystery. Until recently, scientists believed that the Maya were peaceful and educated nation of priests and astronomers. It was thought that they did not live in the cities and not in rural villages and in towns with nearly a Communist form of human coexistence. It is usually contrasted Aztec way of life, with the massacre at the pyramids and bloody conquests. However, later it turned out that the Maya were not pacifists. They respected the power of weapons. Priests of Maya, as the priests-the Aztecs, brought the gods of human sacrifice.

Especially modern scientists were surprised that the city-States emerged in almost impenetrable jungle, where the Mayan civilization has faced great difficulties. In General, all the land of the Indians was covered with vegetation, which had for them sacral. Force, filling plants, the earth and the rain, were sacred. In the center of the universe was a huge tree Ceiba, which today is one of the symbols of Guatemala. The roots of it went into the underground world. The barrel was in the middle, and top in heaven, or the upper world. The Maya believed that the souls of the dead had risen and had gone down in the world axis-the trunk of a tree, on top of which sat a divine bird symbolizing the heavenly Kingdom. One of Mayan there existed a belief that before the beginning of creation God had been in the form of a tree, which became pregnant potential life. Then God is the tree began to flower, the fruit he took off and split inwards and flung on the ground that must exist. The Indians believed that the Seibu covered 400 000 papillae, sucked all things.

The life of the Maya-quiche, perhaps, the most numerous tribe of peoples Maya, was imbued with an obsession of transfer of power. The source of this power was considered cosmic beings and the Royal ancestors, embodied in the figure of the ruler, his flesh, blood, clothing and behaviour. The rulers, as well as cosmic tree, were the center of all things in heaven and on earth. They were called "Mach Keene"or "the Great rulers of the Sun". They were sacred part because of the service, fanciful ornament and color of the brilliant things. It is the ruler was a Central figure, whose rituals had updated the world and inspire citizens to an unprecedented labor achievements. In the book of the Maya-quiche "Popol Vuh", "the Book of the Council", tells that before the creation of man the gods created the firmament. She appeared suddenly, as soon as the gods said the word "earth". Three times higher beings tried to create man, but all attempts ended in failure. Only the fourth time from white and yellow maize gods created humans who have become debtors. Now the existence of people became dependent on divine gifts in the form of children and harvest. The man was obliged to take care of the gods, to give them food and recognition. One of the victims, which brought the rulers, was bloodletting. It was believed that through wounds on sexual organs in the human world penetrated the Supreme being and the ancestors, which were combined with the ruler. Through sores on the genitals in the world descended the divine power of the heavenly bodies, which gave the world the vital energy. Letting the blood from the penis, Indian rulers imitated a woman's ability to menstruate, which means to give life. In other words, the rulers of the Maya were for their compatriots both men-protectors and women-nurses gods.

In ancient settlements, which were located on the territory of Guatemala, as well as in the rest of the Mesoamerican the world, lived a rich and the poor. About it tells the settlement structure in the city-States. Closer to the ritual centres settled know. Peripherals been settled for a simple Indian Nations. The priests have been monitoring the heavenly hosts and check their progress with a unique calendar, the greatest achievement of this ancient Indian civilization.

Time seemed to priests as something material, existing in three different planes. People lived in a time that is created by the gods at the earth's surface. It was noted by a yearly calendar. The course of human time was carried out supernatural powers of heaven and underground origin, who converged on the earthly level. There was a time cycle associated with the struggle of the gods, kidnappings, loss of honor and unsoldering divine entities. The third time is the Supreme God, God the Creator. Each of these times were in contact with each other. From this human life is filled with specific power and energy.

Almost all drawing and writing scenes Maya contain calendaristice characters. Some scientists call these scenes Indian comics. The Maya believed that the universe has existed for at least four centuries. The modern era began in 3114 B.C. and will end on December 23, 2012 by strong earthquake. In addition pyatidesyatyletia cycle there were a number of other calendar cycles that Maya noted, celebrated, and sometimes feared. The first time cycle covered 52-year period. It consisted of two calendars. One of them, ritual consisted of 260 days. Each day was given one of the 20 names and were given one of the 13 rooms. A different calendar 52-year cycle consisted of 360 days. It dovetailed with ritual calendar. The Mayan monuments contain characters and more complex calendar system that allowed to determine the day on the temporary site of 9 million years. This calendar was necessary to trace a long chain of births and deaths ancestors.

The Maya believed in life after death. One of the ways, which the Indians had expressed his hope for the revival of the earth after testing, it was the view of the heroic journey through the land of the dead - Xibalba. In the underworld who died were subjected to hardest trials, including dismemberment, the paralysis of fear, meeting face to face with the rulers of the Kingdom of the dead. Among them, by the way, there were: the Collector of the Blood Seven Deaths, the Owner of Pus, Lord of Jaundice. One of the goals of these tests was to obtain sacred knowledge about the mystery of existence, of life after death and the power of revival. With the help of friendly spirits heroes Maya, as a rule, dealt with all the tests that were out of the terrible Xibalba and have achieved immortality.
One of the unsolved mysteries of history is the collapse of the greatest civilization of the people. In short, about a century, a period of almost universally many cities and ceremonial centers of the Maya were destroyed or abandoned. The reasons of this tragedy for the most part unknown. In "the Book of the Council", "the Popol Vuh", a kind of Indian Bible, we find the following lines: "let's go and find you, and we'll see there is someone who will keep our sign. And we will find that we will have to tell them, and thus we will live. "No detention for us" - then said the Jaguar Quiche, Jaguar Night, Jaguar Nothing and Jaguar Wind. They heard the news about the city and went". It is likely that large areas of civilization underwent a series of internal and external shocks. Demographic explosions could lead to hunger. The lack of food and changing weather conditions, perhaps, was the reason for the emergence of infectious diseases. Perhaps the aggressive foreign policy that began leaders Maya, has led to acts of mass disobedience and internal rebellions. However, none of the above assumptions, until today, has no confirmation.