Even with just a basic understanding of the Mayans, it’s clear they were a truly fascinating civilization. Dating back to the era of ancient Egypt, their pyramids were constructed using remarkable building blocks.

The Mayans were gifted mathematicians and had a more advanced knowledge of astronomy than European scientists in the 1800s. They were also the first indigenous tribe in the Americas to develop a written language. Despite this, much of the Mayan culture remains a mystery to many, but delving into these captivating tales can help unveil their incredible achievements and history.

The Mayans regarded human sacrifice as an immense honor and a form of Release

When the first Spanish explorers encountered the Mayans, they met a group of highly amicable people. The Spaniards, who had a penchant for incorporating gory details into their depictions of local life, often painted scenes of men with their insides exposed, plunging to their deaths from the tops of pyramids. This allowed the Mayans to point the finger at the Aztecs and claim it was their doing, not theirs.

However, recent archaeological excavations have revealed a different side to the story. The Mayans indeed practiced human sacrifice, which they considered a favor. They believed that in order to reach paradise, one had to traverse a terrifying underworld and ascend through thirteen additional levels to attain eternal happiness.

This journey was so arduous that not every soul could complete it. The only individuals exempt from this epic quest were those who had been sacrificed, women who perished during childbirth, individuals who died in war, those who took their own lives, and people who died while playing ball.

Those chosen for sacrifice were considered messengers for the gods. Mayan astronomers and mathematicians used calendars to determine when sacrifices were to take place and which messenger would be most effective. As a result, most sacrificial rituals occurred within the tribe itself.

They were probably seafarers

It’s frustrating to figure out all the mysteries about the Mayans. Even though most scientists agree that native tribes moved to America over a land span between Alaska and Russia over the last ice age, some still insist that the Mayans came from Asia and Africa across the water. Using the Codex as evidence, they say that the underwater cities show that the Mayans used to be sailors. Another strange thing was that the Olmec culture was still around when the Mayans started to become a civilization. Dual civilizations are not uncommon, and it’s possible that the Mayans learned a lot from the Olmec, such as how to make chocolate drinks, play ball, make sculptures, and honor animal gods. What’s surprising is that there’s no sign of where the Olmec came from or how they went away. They built the first pyramids in Mesoamerica and left some huge stone heads behind. Some people thought the Olmec people must have been giants because of how big their buildings were, but the details that made them look real started the overseas debate. The Olmec are shown to have full lips, short, wide noses, and eyes with heavy lids. People who believe that people moved during the time of the Bible say that this shows that the Olmecs came from Africa. The Olmecs seemed to appear out of nowhere around 1500 BCE, and they were busy for 1300 years before they stopped living. Some of the oldest Mayan artifacts are more than 7,000 years old. If they came from Asia, it happened long before Moses split the Red Sea. But you know what happens when you talk to one burning bush: all of a sudden, everyone is interested only in you.

They didn’t have spaceports, but they had an observatory

Although there is no substantial scientific evidence to suggest that the Mayans possessed flying machines, managed space traffic, or even operated cars, they did have an intricate system of paved roads and an advanced comprehension of celestial movements.

One of the most remarkable examples of their connection to the heavens is the domed structure known as El Caracol, located on the Yucatan Peninsula. Widely recognized as an observatory, this 48-foot tower features numerous windows through which the equinoxes and summer solstice could be observed.

The observatory’s position appears to have a particular focus on the planet Venus, which held great significance for the Mayans. It is believed that they used the Tzolkin calendar, a system with a rotating sequence of days and months corresponding to Venus’ orbit, to schedule events, holidays, agricultural planning, and even war preparations.

A reason for the Mayan-alien connection

One prevalent conspiracy theory among those interested in extraterrestrial life posits that aliens have visited Earth in the past, leaving advanced knowledge with ancient civilizations. Erich von Daniken, a Swiss high school dropout, popularized this notion in the late 1960s, earning millions of dollars from his books on the subject. He claimed that otherworldly beings influenced human development, elevating us from our primitive state to a higher level of consciousness.

Some mysteries in history remain unexplained, such as the simultaneous rise of Egyptian living standards and the popularity of pyramid architecture. Similarly, enigmatic phenomena like the Nazca lines in Peru, which are so expansive that they can only be fully appreciated from the air, continue to baffle scientists.

Daniken attributed these mysteries to the ancient Mayans possessing flying machines, gifted to them by extraterrestrial visitors. He claimed that drawings found on pyramids, which appear to depict individuals wearing bubble helmets and floating with their feet off the ground, served as evidence of this advanced technology. However, these theories remain controversial and lack solid scientific backing.

They could have come from Atlantis

The Mayans, with their rich and captivating history, are often considered as enigmatic and fascinating as the ancient Egyptians. However, piecing together an accurate picture of Mayan history has proven to be a challenge. Much of their written history was destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors, who, driven by superstition, believed that the peculiar Mayan symbols were associated with witchcraft.

Only three codices—the Madrid, Dresden, and Paris Codices, named after the cities to which they were relocated—were salvaged when the Mayans attempted to discard their books. As historians endeavored to translate the cryptic codex scripts, they discovered a list of ancient ruins obliterated by earthquakes, floods, and fires.

Interestingly, these cities were not located on the North American continent, but were vaguely described as submerged in the ocean. One interpretation of these passages suggests that the Mayans originated from an area that is now underwater, potentially linking them to the fabled lost city of Atlantis.