Maya Expert Answers Maya Civilization Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED

Dr. Ed Barnhart, an American archaeologist, answers the internet's burning questions about the ancient Maya civilization. Why was the Maya calendar year only 260 days? Who did they sacrifice? Did they build more pyramids than the Egyptians? This Maya expert answers all these questions and much more.
Dr. Ed Barnhart is the director of Maya Exploration Center www.mayaexploration.org
Check out The ArchaeoEd Podcast - www.archaeoed.com for more content about the ancient Americas.
Director: Lisandro Perez-Rey
Director of Photography: AJ Young
Editor: Christopher Jones
Expert: Ed Barnhart
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Brandon White
Production Manager: Peter Brunette
Casting Producer: Nicholas Sawyer
Camera Operator: Lucas Vilicich
Sound Mixer: Kari Barber
Production Assistant: Fernando Barajas
Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin
Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant
Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen
Additional Editor: Paul Tael
Assistant Editor: Billy Ward
00:00 Maya Support
00:10 Shaping Baby Heads
00:59 Kukulkan
01:40 Maya Calendar
02:48 Maya Sandals
03:13 2012 Apocalypse
04:15 Maya vs Aztec
04:47 Sports
06:36 Sacrifice
06:57 Lost Maya City
08:53 Cacao
09:56 Maya Civilization
11:06 Pyramids
12:09 Tools
12:49 Aliens
13:16 King Pakal
14:10 Palenque
15:25 Indigenous Writing
17:26 Mayan Language
18:39 Building Ancient Cities
19:55 Astronomy
21:05 Math
22:11 Maya Today
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[@LeeshMa]

''The city that I found ' Thats gotta be the coolest thing anyone could say about themselves.

[@AntonSuprun]

I'm sure there are thousands of shallow women somewhere who find that nerdy and boring.

[@aarons3014]

@@AntonSuprun Are you able to comment on the internet without insulting women? Set your anger to one side and enjoy how cool this video is.

[@lynxthewise7233]

@@AntonSuprun spoken like someone who will never find a city.

[@FairbrookWingates]

@@AntonSuprun As a woman who finds such nerdy and fascinating, still no reason to insult others for not being interested. Good grief, each to their own makes the world more interesting over all.

[@CerciRodriguez]

​@@AntonSuprunI'm a woman and found that to be super cool! I grew up playing SimCity 4 and creating my own cities and I love history.

[@alexbucsp]

As a maya speaking person living in Yucatán, Dr Barnhart is invited to the cochinita.

[@alisterfolson]

As long as he doesn't bring potato salad with raisins 😂

[@mcwarlords4378]

@@alisterfolsonew he said he eats that?

[@erakfishfishfish]

@@mcwarlords4378nah, he’s just making a reference to Chadwick Boseman’s Black Jeopardy sketch on SNL.

[@Mikeztarp]

Your sentence means that Dr. Barnhart is a Maya-speaking person living in the Yucatán.

[@alexbucsp]

@@Mikeztarp for sentences like these you are not invited to the cochinita

[@TheAcaciaStrain1]

lmao he answered that alien question with the utmost exhaustion, like he had been asked 1000 times already haha. Which i'm sure he has.

[@user-fh6ov3wl4h]

They had him in ancient aliens. I never got a full story but in one lecture at least he made it pretty clear he was interviewed without full explanation of what his sound bites were going to be used for…

[@peculiarpig]

any person in archeology probably despises that question, especially those who focus in western indigenous communities

[@scaps2200]

​@@peculiarpigmaybe it is asked because both the Mayans, Egyptians and Aztecs built incredible Pyramids which weren't made by any other societies during the same time. So it is a fair question not a western bias.

[@AirLancer]

@@scaps2200 You know you can't use the word "both" and then go on to list 3 separate civilizations...

[@Deviantial]

He gives a great answer too.

[@vsauce4992]

The Mayans taught me that if you don't finish something, it's not really the end of the world.

[@aliciabuckley821]

Amazing & underrated comment, glad I’m here bravo 🤣

[@cacogenicist]

Maya, not Mayans.

[@DelaynaBailey-ng6ne]

LoL the calendar

[@papabeanguy]

​@@cacogenicist Wow you are so smart. Thanks for your valuable contribution.

[@8thFurno]

Ba dum tish.

[@leggi_bois4eva]

Lmao at me being a 5'2 Maya descendent living in the US. My great grandparents were *mostly* colonized. A lot of my older relatives still speak the language. We're still around 🙋‍♀️

[@cacogenicist]

I live in the Pacific Northwest, in the States, and it recently sort of struck me that I see _many_ more people of Maya descent up here than I do local indigenous people.

[@hughmann9568]

"Assimilation" isn't colonization.

[@leggi_bois4eva]

@hughmann9568 ofc not! I have assimilated. My great grandparents and their peers, on the other hand, were forced to abandon their teachings(mine still did rituals in secret), change their names(mine kept theirs in secret), and learn a new language, as well as forcing their future generations to only speak the new language- spanish, etc. Just like most other Native people, the culture was erased for a lot of us and we have to take the time and effort to go back and reclaim our heritage 💖 remember this is just one example of many. You can probably find someone local to you with a similar story if you're willing to learn more. Highly recommend!

[@user-mx4fh4zp6f]

​​@@hughmann9568 when someone says theyre colonized it means the same thing as assimilated dipshit

[@80sGamerLady]

Exactly. And many are petite like you. ❤

[@aroundtheworldaly]

The false theory of aliens “disparaging the abilities of the Mayans” is such an important point and a perspective I hadn’t considered. This was a fascinating talk!

[@jpteknoman]

My theory when it comes to aliens, is that maybe the gods of ancient people were actually aliens who, however, had very limited interaction with their worshippers if any. For example aliens didn't build the pyramids, but maybe they had pyramid shaped ships and the people who saw them decided that "this shape has divine origin so we build our temples to match "

[@youdontknowme9068]

@@jpteknomana pyramid is just a way to build a tall structure that doesn't fall down It's a natural shape to find eventually The Egyptians did and the maya/aztec did too

[@minti3245]

Does that apply to the Christian god too? Was he an alien too? Ignoramus.

[@FarewellOrwell]

​@@jpteknoman please don't vote

[@romanshatalin7077]

If you or someone else interested, there is a whole KZbin channel Miniminuteman with more of that stuff. It was truly refreshing to see how a lot of conspiracy theories or bad archaeology takes are dismissing intelligence of ancient people, have roots in scientific racism, disrespected culture which was a subject of the study, gave publicity to actual conmans, etc.

[@funkkymonkey6924]

Real archeology is so much cooler than aliens.

[@lilaclunablossom]

Nah sci-fi is cooler

[@spicysalad3013]

@@lilaclunablossom yeah, fictional aliens and real history are both cool and should be kept separate

[@NYSeaNile]

@@spicysalad3013you’ll be surprised how much “history” is fake. Its all open for discussion in my book. Aliens, history etc. theres proof and theories for both

[@BobbyBermuda1986]

Asking where the Mayans went is like asking where the Ancient Romans went. They became "Italian", among other nationalities. The problem is that most Maya have been forced to speak Spanish and identify as "Hispanic" today, even if they've got no European ancestry.

[@petercarioscia9189]

European master race 😊

[@Zerbey]

Like any culture, they just got assimilated. Where did the Vikings go? They settled all over Europe.

[@KateeAngel]

Mayan languages have plenty of speakers today. Seems like you too have been misinformed

[@cyborgninjamonkey]

@@KateeAngel Yeah I've been through villages where the elders could kinda speak spanish and the kids could kinda speak english but everyone talked to each other in K'iche or Que'ekche. I don't think they considered themselves Latin Americans... It's hard to get demographics numbers in the jungles but in regard to the Aztecs, at least 1.5 million still speak Nauhatl as a first language.

[@MORE_BEANS_PLZ]

Lmao you clearly don't know 💩 there'd plenty in Mexico speaking their native languages and identify as Mayan and whatever else like in the US with native Americans

[@checkmatefurries286]

As a dude with a History degree that was more Ancient Med focused: This guy is fascinating. 10/10 would love to have him back on for more episodes

[@maya-mu3ce]

ancient med? i’d love to learn more about what you studied

[@PenguinofD00mxxx]

You should check out his KZbin Channel/ Podcast: "Archaeo Ed Podcast" if you want more.

[@BruceBoyde]

If you're interested in such things, he did at least three lecture series with The Great Courses, all of which were fantastic. Best reason to get an Audible subscription, imo, though you could probably get them via Libby or something as well.

[@danielpicassomunoz2752]

Nah, he called the Mexica Aztecs, unacceptable

[@JerriBush]

He’s done several Great Courses video series on North America and South America civilizations.

[@jessicatingley4591]

Fellow archaeologist and paleoanthropologist here! I cannot appreciate enough how much he touched on the conspiracy of aliens being directed solely towards POC/Indigenous groups, as if they were not as capable as the "more white" civilizations and could never construct such impressive structures on their own - like the Greeks and Romans. He has always been such an incredible archaeologist! There is *almost* never a question of aliens (or giants) helping the Romans build the Colosseum (which had the capability to have naval battles within it), The Colossus of Rhodes or Nero, Trajan's Column, the Pantheon, the aqueduct systems, so on and so forth. These hurtful conspiracies are crucial to debunk in our field, and not everyone is willing to touch on the subject; particularly the older people in our field. Working for the museum industry, you can guess what kind of people always ask us these questions. They also tend to throw a hissy-fit when we reach the human evolution part of the Paleo tours.

[@danlorett2184]

My friend said the same thing about Nan Madol "omg no way people built that must've been aliens". I just asked him "this was built AFTER Venice, do you think aliens built Venice?" He finally got the point lol

[@davidheaton6206]

The knowledge was given by someone else for all those cultures

[@Prince_Sharming]

@@davidheaton6206 we should just give you up to the aliens and call it a day

[@BigPoppa931]

People also think that aliens made stone henge. Anyone who thinks the answer is aliens is a dumbass.

[@Glory_to_the_undead_King]

The most recent episode of the skeptics guide to the universe addressed this as well. Said pretty much the same thing you did. 👍

[@lukecaverns]

Dr. Barnhart is a mentor & great friend of mine. So glad to see him get a big platform like this. Well deserved.

[@milamilla1977]

I watched all his courses on "Great Courses"! He is my teacher!

[@antewaso8876]

Such a brilliant communicator! He sets out everything so clearly I feel I learned something

[@GIR9595]

​@@milamilla1977 Same! Gotta go on one of his trips if I can swing it. Also have to shout out his podcast ArchaeoEd if anyone else wants more Ed content

[@FatTracksMusic]

He is an even better mentor and an even greater friend of mine. I'm even more glad to see him get a platform like this

[@milamilla1977]

@@FatTracksMusic I liked his appearance on Oak Island! Like: "What is it?... Vikings!"

[@s3cr3tsquar333]

"Tech Support" is one of the best quick little shows on youtube. it never disappoints and this one was no different. cheers and bravo

[@lauryn6059]

Yes I hope they continue this series for a long time

[@PM-of3fn]

I wish they were longer! I always want to hear more

[@Ylyrra]

I feel I just learned more about the Maya than half a dozen documentaries (even the good non-alien kind!) in just one short video. This man is a goldmine, please bring him back again!

[@HenryThree]

He's got roughly 52 hours worth of lectures on Wondrium, go crazy

[@aenzontll86]

He has a podcast here on youtube.

[@EyeofZai]

He hosts probably my favorite podcast, ArcheoEd, and runs the Mayan Exploration Center.

[@chamade166]

He keep ignoring African American contributions.

[@EyeofZai]

@@chamade166 genuinely, I’d like to hear a source on that

[@rachellee8533]

Please have this guy back just to talk about his time in Guatemala and the discoveries he made! I want to know more

[@ForeverLoveFelix]

he has a great podcast called archeoed on Spotify where he goes into his exploits highly recommend

[@chamade166]

Very Eurocentric view of history. He not mentioning the contributions of African Nations and Africans Americans. 👎🏿

[@Meeeey.]

Lmao latin america is literally what his PhD is about. That’s his specialty. The world doesn’t revolve ab Africans. Get over yourself

[@hilmilutfi568]

​@@chamade166WTH are you talking about, he's talking about Mayan history not African, grow up!

[@hilmilutfi568]

Dr Ed has his own channel maybe you are curious to check his channel

[@angelmidknight3119]

I live in the Yucatan peninsula and I'm so glad our culture gets a Wired episode. Great talk.

[@rokosbasilisk913]

🇬🇹🇬🇹🇬🇹

[@shredderofstrings3223]

It's so hot around there. I visited for a week and holy moly. Beautiful area though. So many different animals and natural areas

[@3RACHASUPREMACY]

so fortunate!

[@ericktellez7632]

@@rokosbasilisk913Yucatan is in Mexico not Guatemala wtf

[@frisco9568]

@@rokosbasilisk913🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽

[@Dhi_Bee]

As someone who has Inca ancestry & backpacked in Mexico, Belize, & Guatemala I can assure you the Mayan people are EVERYWHERE in that region despite colonization. They still speak Mayan languages & dress traditionally, as well as retain & practice much of their precolonial customs

[@microbios8586]

You don't even need to leave the US to see this. Guatemalans are everywhere in the US and speak Mayan dialects in addition to Spanish. You hear it literally everywhere

[@Dhi_Bee]

@@microbios8586 I’m aware. There are a lot of Mayans where I live. Palm Beach County has tons, especially in the Lake Worth Beach area (Florida)

[@Kermode48]

Really noticing the ardent use of the correct term Maya and not Mayans, loved this vid

[@ericktellez7632]

Yet they are still using “Aztec” and not Mexica and Mexicas

[@cronchybo]

oh, Mayan is incorrect? i didn't know that

[@skanderbeg152]

​@ericktellez7632 he's using the term that 99% of people will understand, not the term only 1% will. This is a video about the Maya, and he understandably decided the correct term for the aztecs was not important for the conversation.

[@theghosthero6173]

​@@cronchybo Mayan is a language family, Maya is the name of the people

[@maxbennett1765]

@@ericktellez7632Mexica isn’t interchangeable with Aztec. Mexica refers to an ethno-linguistic group, and Aztec to a polity. There’s considerable overlap of course, most of the people in the Aztec empire were Mexica, but there were lots of other peoples, and many Mexica outside the empire. It’s like “Iranian” and “Persian”. Neither is incorrect, it’s a question of context. When homeboy here said Aztec, that’s what he meant, and he used it correctly.

[@bluwasabi7635]

It's soo refreshing to actually learn about real Mayan culture instead of in the context of "aliens" or "human sacrifice". Great presentation too.

[@frijolero6048]

Or Apocalypto.

[@supernatural5354]

unfortunately, he did reduce the Aztecs to savages and said that they did sacrifices, which they did not.

[@danlorett2184]

@@supernatural5354 Uh WHAT? The Aztecs were the largest enjoyers of human sacrifice in HUMAN HISTORY, big dog.

[@supernatural5354]

@@danlorett2184 i don't think you understand what the word sacrifice means, little boy.

[@lebitelexie9350]

Soo good to listen to a passionate expert who knows what he is talking about. Been hearing too much ancient alien mumbo jumbo lately.

[@gregpena7131]

Here here!

[@irissupercoolsy]

Why do you have to bring Mumbo Jumbo into this 😭😭

[@irissupercoolsy]

ah wait, mumbo jumbo is actually slang. Sorry, English isn't my first language. Didn't know

[@alnamusica]

You all should do one on the Aymaran, Quechua, and other pre- and post-Inca cultures and people. Those communities are also still alive and thriving today!

[@bestpinoza]

Mapuche! Mapuche!

[@thegodofsoapkekcario1970]

They’ll probably do the Inca since they’re popular, but it would be cool if they did Chiloe or Chimu people.

[@joaquinbendezu]

The would definitely do an Inca Support

[@bentoth9555]

My favorite way, as someone who studied anthropology in college, to explain to coworkers about the 2012 thing back then was "You ever roll over the odometer on your car? 'Yeah, why?" "Did the car disappear?"

[@bentoth9555]

Also, the Maya and Aztecs aren't the only civilizations to beat Egypt on number of pyramids, the Nubians did too. It's just that the ones in Egypt are more obvious and bigger.

[@user-ie1tz5rm8x]

Fingers crossed for a happy 4772

[@digitalnomad9985]

Yes, but it was a Lada and it had a "Free Ukraine" bumper sticker.

[@basketcase289]

Man that whole King Pakal question made me remember my intro to archeology class in college where the prof was an expert on Mesoamerican civs mostly Mayans and the man went on a 50min rant about how dumb ancient aliens are and used Pakal as an example. One of the funner classes we had

[@justsomeguy583]

Once again, Wired found the singlemost charismatic and engaging teacher for the class. This was amazing, I hope Dr. Ed will come back for Mayan Support 2!

[@GenJuhru]

React to movies like El Dorado(one of my top animated) & Apocalypto.

[@riceexperiment]

The experts you select to do these are so entertaining and engaging with their styles.

[@kawumbakawumba2782]

we are kindly requesting "Linguist answers Language questions"

[@hathawyn]

As a linguist, I volunteer lmao I could talk about languages all day

[@seileach67]

Paging Dr. Geoff Lindsey!! @drgeofflindsey

[@blue---monday]

omg ur so right i cant believe they havent done that one before

[@plsnthxu]

please

[@adeleaslan8182]

@@hathawynwhat’s your favorite language and why

[@tsirakura1684]

I held off watching this because I was afraid of another prejudiced video against people that is so often mysticized. I am so happy after watching this video because of how respectful all this knowledge was presented. It’s clear he loves his field of study and has immense respect for the maya culture and people both past and present. Thank you for posting this.

[@jonelfilipek7848]

I’ve lived in Yucatán for 7 years and I’m so fascinated about Maya culture and history. Can’t tell you how happy this made me.

[@bananasplit3925]

What an impressive man, discovering that at 25 sounds insane!!

[@irissupercoolsy]

yeah, I'm 25 right now and can't imagine that

[@TomTom-yu1xp]

No amount of ridicule of "space aliens gave ancient humans their technology" is too much.

[@reidschott5517]

This video needs a part 2 for sure. Could watch him talk ab this all day

[@meganegan5992]

That detail abour reservoirs is genuinely fascinating! It's a really ingenious way to get a stable water supply that you'd never imagine at first!

[@Venom1846]

Another fun fact, headbinding isn't exclusive to the Maya. It's found in South America, North America, and across the Asian Steppe

[@krono5el]

Always imagined it was a way to shape the head so they could wear certain giant headdresses. just a thought tho

[@PuzzledMonkey]

I was thinking of the flathead tribe, myself. Could the practice have migrated with the culture of corn?

[@xoMishkaa]

His joke about peasants secretly squeezing their kids heads made me crack up

[@hmunoz314]

As an avid ancient Greek sport historian, I love this.

[@Sigismund]

Dr Barnhart also does an excellent lecture series for the Great Courses on Ancient Mesoamerican history- pleasantly surprised to see him in my KZbin feed with this now

[@Anyextee]

Dr. Barnhart has always been generous and informative to my email inquries regarding the Maya. Nice to see him on this platform.

[@blue---monday]

whaaat, are u currently studying archeology? and if ur not do u just.. email him? should i probably do that too? lol because i really want to

[@Anyextee]

@@blue---monday I’m an independent researcher, author and tour leader, I just sent him an email to verify something and he was kind enough to reply.

[@sephestra.]

Wow, I could listen to Dr. Barnhart talk about the Maya all day.

[@lukecaverns]

It’s been a great pleasure of my life to experience this

[@cholulahotsauce6166]

Good news, he has a podcast and a bunch of Great Courses lecture series.

[@lauracontreras8585]

I took an Mesoamerica anthropology class in college and fell in love with this topic. My college professor warned us about people trying to discredit the Mayan/ Aztec culture by saying aliens helped them. I loved your response about that and acknowledging the fact that they did it on their own. Thank you so much for researching this topic and sharing your knowledge ❤

[@luma4902]

Bring an aztec especialist in the future please i wanna know more about them

[@RobespierreThePoof]

The Aztec ... They were the wild ones in meso-america.

[@omarorihuela606]

@@RobespierreThePoofwe are also the most iconic.

[@erlannderrantem6972]

@@RobespierreThePoof*north America

[@Dhariuz_T]

Well for starters, the term "Aztec" although popular is slightly incorrect. "Mexica" would be a more precise way to represent how they named themselves. Just how the expert said, they were more focused on Combat, War and Sacrifice. Of course there's a reason for it. Whats certain is that there a lot of things often overlooked, they were just as prolific as the Maya in many aspects.

[@jvaish]

They were violent dummies who found Toltec leftovers and tried to imitate them with limited success

[@scrommy6185]

He found a city at 25 using his intuition? That has to be the biggest flex in the history of flex

[@erikm8372]

That is interesting with the nine-month gestation period being the basis for the Mayan calendar. Similarly, if people ever wonder why certain civilizations or groups had/have calendars different than the western, Gregorian, 365-day-year format, it really has a lot to do also with seasons. Our western calendar was more or less formed in colder or places more temperate climates, with “actual” seasons. It’s easy to divide a solar cycle twelve ways when you have four seasons that are roughly three months long, respectively. But the Maya (and other civilizations closer to the equator, or in deserts, mountains, etc.) likely experienced slightly different weather patterns. This would probably affect their organization and division of a solar cycle…

[@rolandoantoniomirandamendo4633]

Hello there! Mexican living in the maya area here. The 260 day calendar is a ritual calendar used for divination and certain rituals and it was called Tzolkín. The maya also used the 365 day solar calendar called "Haab" for daily purposes. They had other very important calendar like the calendar round (a combination of the 260 day calendar and the 365 day solar calendar) and long count (used to count long periods of time), and many other cycles.

[@steverussell7005]

I’ve listened to this guy’s lectures on great courses. They’re really good

[@jaykaufman9782]

I've always wondered about cultures whose "year" wasn't 365 1/4 days long. Arabs, Maya, Aztecs. Did they live in areas near the equator where there was no apparent passage of the seasons, no natural yearly cycle, so they had to look elsewhere for a natural cycle? Arabs adopted a monthly cycle. Now I'm told the 260-day Mesoamerican year was inspired by the human gestation period; makes sense.

[@noctisocculta4820]

The Mayans had a solar year, out to 4 decimal places. That involves measuring all three years (tropical, sidereal, and lunar) and correctly figuring out how they tie together. The equinoxes for tropical year(seasons), and the background stars for the sidereal. Just wasn't their daily standard. Even had extremely accurate dragonic years (eclipse years).

[@luvitrbs]

Well, the 365 day calendar might be the unnatural one here :)

[@jonatanmarklund7473]

@jaykaufman9782 it could be a good theory but it's simply not true. Areas near the equator do have seasons like the rest of the world with stark contrasts throughout the year, it just doesn't look like the ones in the ex northern hemisphere with snow, but the temperature still drops a great deal, a big part of the world (especially when looking at ancient text and writing), what we call winter they call the "rain season", meaning downfall. Etc. Cultures around the equator also celebrate, have traditions or mark the start and end of said rain season with feast. It would be weird if a strip of the earth do not experience seasons :)

[@blarfroer8066]

@@luvitrbs what's unnatural about earth rotating around the sun?

[@ericthompson3982]

​@@blarfroer8066Just a slightly pedantic nitpick: revolves around the sun. It rotates on its axis. Sorry, physics/astronomy was my major in college, so I get a little nitpicky.

[@xodiaq]

Wired gets the best experts every time! They all have a really similar comfortable, conversational vibe.

[@rasmusn.e.m1064]

Most fascinating one of these in a while! Not only did we learn about the Maya; we also learned to write and calculate how they did.

[@newkkl]

This was great! I would love to see Dr. Barnhardt do a whole series of videos about the Maya. Great job, Wired! Keep it going!

[@aenzontll86]

He has a podcast where he has done several episodes on the Maya. It's called ArchaeoEd and can be found both on youtube and elsewhere.

[@newkkl]

@@aenzontll86 Thank you, I will look for this.

[@imastropaolo]

I have fallen in love with the Maya after going to Cancun. I was so completely blown away by their amazing civilization. I plan on going back as many times as I can to visit as many sites as possible.

[@niemandfaxenmindestlohn]

How do they always find those people who look exactly like you would imagine someone looking who is interested in their professional field

[@entropyachieved750]

Didn't think this would be as interesting as it was. This guy knows his stuff and is a pleasure to listen to

[@r01d2]

why this guy can't be my teacher when I school decades ago, why teachers can't be like this guy.

[@beoweasel]

Trust me, we want to.

[@robinohara226]

i recommend auditing a class at your local university, it's very fun and cheap

[@timmy-wj2hc]

Can't believe how much damage the Ancient Aliens show and popular myths have done to the study of Ancient Civilozations.

[@noctisocculta4820]

And Graham Hancock with his drivel. People want to believe in conspiracies, no matter how insane, because it makes them feel special.

[@JPage-fj7mb]

Hands down, the most thorough Wired "Support". Thanks, Dr. B..

[@Gwenx]

My dad always talked about "The Mayan" he was so so soooo fascinated by them and told me a lot of things, i guess i just learned so much more about them now!

[@aliceholmes4952]

Thank you for making this video

[@AirLancer]

If I recall correctly, there was a Mayan who knew the Spanish were destroying their books, and so collected many of the remaining ones. Tragically, that collection was found and then burned, either that or it burned by accident but still...

[@Wladislav]

We desperately need another episode!

[@matthew_thefallen]

When I studied ancient mesoamerican civilizations at university I realized how amazing Mayans were/are. Underrated!

[@RCSVirginia]

Dr. Ed Barnhart has done several terrific series in The Great Courses that are well worth watching.

[@ask230]

This guy was terrific. Super knowledge and with great delivery. Please bring him back.

[@jamirkai8197]

This was amazing. Now let's get a Tech Support edition featuring an expert on Ancient Sub-Saharan society!

[@Kolmaryn]

As someone of Maya descent, it's always been an interest of mine to learn more about my distant ancestors. One day I hope to visit the Maya people living in Central America.

[@natalyawoop4263]

Their art is so gorgeous

[@YuBeace]

Last time I checked, finishing a calendar didn't mean the world ending, it means you get a new calendar. But on top of that, if their measures of time were circles because time is in cycles... ...then the end would also mean a new beginning.

[@pamelagutierrez947]

Thank you WIRED for these videos, this is my favorite KZbin series ever!

[@Cragdognamedbear]

I love how passionate these experts are in these videos. Super fun, super engaging and super informational

[@aleistalking]

Me, a Guatemalan, waiting for him to mention Guatemala and then boom just around 10 min there is it!! 10:17

[@erlannderrantem6972]

It‘s hard to talk about maya and not mention Guatemala

[@riceexperiment]

Could you do a series addressing the myths of dietary supplement ingredients effectiveness and the huge risk of contamination? Its in the military A LOT and opss does a good job talking about how scary ingredients appear in these products marketed directly to active soldiers.

[@Theodor-rp1iw]

this is definitely my favourite series on this channel

[@yukifuki1621]

It's always fascinating seeing professionals read out ancient texts and putting them in the right context etc.

[@cacogenicist]

The people are "Maya." The group of languages are "Mayan."

[@VienerVater]

Cacogenicist what an apt name

[@MorganTiller]

Hey thanks!

[@merrymachiavelli2041]

It's a bit of a side point, but one thing I've noticed (and I think read somewhere, although I'm not sure how robust this is), is that cultures at higher latitudes tend to prioritise tracking the solar year more in their calendar systems, probably because at higher latitudes the seasons have more of an extreme effect on agriculture than in the tropics (although monsoons are obviously also important)

[@yeuxdal]

Well this certainly contradicts that idea, which sounds dicey

[@RobespierreThePoof]

Hmmm. .. I don't think this actually holds true.

[@noctisocculta4820]

They still have stars, equinoxes, and seasonal crops. Mayans calculated the solar year to 4 decimal places, which requires calculating tropical, sidereal, and lunar years, then correctly working out the solar year. Astronomy was extremely important, that's why the clergy was hanging out atop the pyramids.

[@shinwonderboy]

i was genuinely so sad when this video ended! i could have listened to him for a long long time. also, as a 25-year-old with a history degree- hopefully i can discover an ancient city too before my next birthday!

[@andrewalmeda4901]

This man just overwrit like 90% of the knowledge I thought I knew about Mayans. What a knowledgeable fellow.

[@phila3884]

More videos with Dr. Barhart- explaining Mayan architecture, power centers, lines of travel and communication between city states, Olmec influences, etc. or whatever his personal area of expertise is.

[@Jaxxv01]

I love this guy and his presentation of the information. I hope we can see a part 2!

[@fidanguliyeva519]

This was an absolute treat!!! These kinds of videos always bring smile to my face because it's such a pleasure to hear people truly passionate about their jobs explain their field and area of expertise! Would love to see Dr. Barnhart again!!!

[@the_meccaneer]

Thank you for making this video!

[@CheifR0cka]

Wow. That finding the temple story is incredible. What a feat!!

[@tchmilfan]

Fascinating. Thanks Dr Barnhart This is one of the best expert-answers-Twitter-questions across all channels, not just Wired.

[@wolves44445]

This episode was great. He should come back for another round of questions.

[@joew4656]

This is fantastic. Videos like these are what makes KZbin great. Well done Dr. Barnhart.

[@s70driver2005]

He is great at talking!!!! I could listen to him all day!!!

[@sumittripathi12a97]

Please make an episode like this on Indus valley civilization 🙏

[@kittykat490]

This man dropping that he discovered a Mayan city at 25 in the 90s just going off of a hunch and that he got to name it, in the same tone as the rest of his answers, has gotta be one of the coldest things I've ever heard.

[@Vabeeotchay]

i love how the last day of the third “creation” ends in 3,114 BC which reminds me of PIE

[@paulitikox]

This is one of the best episodes of support I have watched. So interesting!

[@kathhobson5727]

Best tech support video yet - amazing expert

[@wiadroman]

17:10 those books are beautiful, that's not just a writing system, it's an artform.

[@milivanilli1979]

As a Guatemalan woman, I appreciated this in so many ways!! Also appreciated that he used BCE and CE

[@BOMBON187]

Exactly, not everyone believes in Christ.

[@AmiCestLaVie]

It's crazy that indigenous people of the Americas had fully fleshed out cities and civilizations just like Europeans, but we hardly learn about them.

[@kaclama]

Thanks colonialism

[@omarorihuela606]

Well in the grand scheme of things really did not contribute to much to modern civilization. The Arabs, and Indian civilizations contribuir a lot yet we still do not really learn about them. Again the west will teach about the west.

[@gsxss3741]

I'd argue they did, but we don't learn much about it given how eurocentric everything we see and learn about tends to be.

[@josiahbrown7258]

Really enjoyed the video and all the answers. As a mathematics major, I do take issue with the claim that the Mayan number system is more elegant than what is commonly used now. That's an extremely vague term to use and the claim is incorrect. If he is arguing that it was simpler and easier to learn I can totally agree and see that, but that simplicity makes expressing larger number extremely inefficient and harder to read. It is somewhat reminiscent of roman numerals which while functional for every day use, had their own issues for more complex endeavers. There is a reason that even today we use multiple numeric systems for different tasks. The claim he makes just sounds like he is saying it because it is in his field of study.

[@spikyballoon6207]

I thought that too! He seems like a bit of a Maya fanboy like when he claimed they invented rubber and writing in the Americas even though the Olmec were the ones to actually do so

[@p51abc]

Yes, and the Mayan system (I really have no knowledge though) seems very similar to the Roman numeral system, not overly complex.

[@markhoops24]

The part about the ball game was so cool to me for whatever reason

[@josiahhager4046]

Before today, I could never have told you what a Mayan history expert looks like, but this is exactly right.

[@jaymar9087]

Love these history series so much! Thank you for sharing all this knowledge!

[@AbhishekChatterjee-ic1om]

Very informative, I really didn't knew anything about Mayan culture but I gained a lot. Thank you 🙏

[@megangeiger7629]

More if this man, please! As someone who worked with Mayan immigrants to the United States, I love the acknowledgment of their beautiful, resilient cultural presence today. Guatemala is still very much a predominately Mayan nation, ethnically and culturally, and is steeped in that incredible history. Also, some of the most kindhearted and resilient people in the face of blistering persecution and governmental corruption.

[@3RACHASUPREMACY]

yes 🩵🩵🩵 proud Guatemalan here

[@apollo-iy8hy]

loved this so much! i studied mesoamerican archaeology and found this video so enjoyable ! thank you!

[@Jorge-rw6nz]

Imagine being able to say you found an ancient city

[@SteffidelaM]

This was really fun! The Maya are fascinating and I can totally see why someone would devote their life to studying them

[@christabelle__]

I recently read a Nat Geo article about how they're finding SO many new Mayan cities and temples with lidar! Lidar is SO fascinating in what it can do for the archaeological world! I love this guy's passion for the Maya - I fell in love with the Inca after a school project many many years ago now, and along the way I begant o love the Maya and the Egyptians as well... truly, these ancient civilizations were SO hyper intelligent, and they rarely get credit for it. The Mayan capital had a road that was effectively the size of an 8 lane highway that lead to it, it was so busy at the height of Mayan civilization!! I cried, reading that Nat Geo article, realizing how amazing it is that Lidar is able to help us learn so much more about the Maya, and how profound a civilization they were before their culture was crushed by outsiders.

[@babysnowowl]

0:32 I knew the Mayans loved Korn 🤘