Mystery of the Maya
Deep within the jungles of Mexico and Guatemala and
extending into the limestone shelf of the Yucatán peninsula
lie the fabled temples and palaces of the Maya. While Europe still
slumbered in the midst of the Dark Ages, these innovative people
had charted the heavens, evolved the only true writing system
native to the Americas and were masters of mathematics and calendrics.
Without advantage of metal tools, beasts of burden or even the wheel
they were able to construct vast cities with an astonishing degree of
architectural perfection and variety. Their legacy in stone,
which has survived in a spectacular fashion at places such as Palenque,
Tikal, Tulum, Chichén Itzá, Copán and Uxmal, lives
on as do the seven million descendants of the classic Maya
civilization.
In support of the IMAX film, Mystery of the Maya, which was co-produced by the Canadian Museum of Civilization, we present here information on Maya civilization and several exhibits that were on display at the Museum in 1995.
Exhibits on the Plaza
People of the Jaguar
