The Urbanized Jungle: Ancient Maya Garden Cities

Dr. Simon Martin, Associate Curator, American Section, Penn Museum.
By at least 1000 BCE the ancient Maya were building massive temple platforms in the midst of dispersed settlements, an approach to urbanism that persisted for almost two millennia. The low density of these settlements was uniquely suited to their rainforest environment, based on an “agro-urban” system in which foodstuffs and other important crops were produced within the heart of the city, right up to the edge of palaces and ceremonial plazas. Major questions remain about how this system came about and functioned through time. Dr. Simon Martin’s takes us on a tour of the jungle cities, exploring the origins, operation, and ultimate collapse of one of the world’s most sophisticated tropical civilizations.

[@jon-marcyaden6265]

I love how the editor does close-ups of the visual aids. Thank you, Penne Museum, for making this fascinating knowledge available online!

[@darrah2167]

Thank you so much for putting your talks online for free and on KZbin! There is a lot of trash history on KZbin so it is amazing to have highly credible videos with excellent experts.

[@RonJohn63]

Lecture starts at 2:40.

[@jr8943]

Thank you

[@electrum310]

While investigating the water collection system at the city of El Mirador in northern Guatemala's Petén rain forest, a team of archaeologists led by Richard Hansen of Idaho State University uncovered a sculptural panel with one of the earliest depictions of the Maya creation story, the Popol Vuh. "It was like finding the Mona Lisa in the sewage system," says Hansen. The plaster panel dates to approximately 200 B.C. and depicts the mythical hero twins, Hunaphu and Xbalanque, SWIMMING into the underworld to retrieve the decapitated head of their father. The sculpture dates to the same period as some of the earliest artwork to depict the Popol Vuh, the murals at San Bartolo and a stela at Nakbe, two other nearby cities. Parts of the decorative panel extend beyond Hansen's excavation trench, so uncovering the rest of it will have to wait until next field season. In the meantime, the archaeologists have installed a climate-controlled shelter over the area to ensure the plaster remains intact.

[@BP-kx2ig]

The Maya are one of my interests and I have visited many of their cities. I found this lecture fascinating.

[@Athire5]

An amazing presentation once again, Dr. Martin! Very interesting

[@AreHan1991]

Amazing. I learnt so much new stuff here

[@luciavalencia3610]

EXCELLENT. Love the juxtapositions, descriptions of data gathering and new interpolations, and the "Pompeii" of the Maya civilization is fascinating. Wow! Also, the Equinox revelation was hilarious! I can only imagine the "down-thumb' votes were given by those who felt robbed that there was no mention of Ancient Astronaut Aliens. LoL.

[@edstar83]

Not ancient Aliens, ancient Aryans. 50:43.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWnMlnWli9iteac kzbin.info/www/bejne/raGai4Fndrd4oNk kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHnJZaOFn9qFr7M kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJLKd2iDbL9jZ6c kzbin.info/www/bejne/mITVcnqee82bf9U

[@cuscof2]

@@edstar83 By all the gods, what utterly ahistorical drivel. If you're just going to pull fantasy stories out of your nether regions don't try to cloak them in some ridiculous international conspiracy of all the world's archaeologists, paleontologists, and geneticists. Just proudly declare, "I'm an ignorant racist pig! MAGA!" Yeesh.

[@edstar83]

@@cuscof2 Thanks. I see post WWII anti white cultural marxist academia has learned you good. You sound like a triggered commie. Slander, Ridicule and or denial doesn't debunk anything. The skulls of the oldest mummies in the Americas, including those of the could warriors of Peru are Caucasian not Mongoloid. Since when are facts racists? Here are some more videos you'll enjoy. kzbin.info/www/bejne/raGai4Fndrd4oNk kzbin.info/www/bejne/envco6N8j9x7b6M kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJLKd2iDbL9jZ6c kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWrGqJyZar2fftk kzbin.info/www/bejne/aICWgoGJrciGY6s

[@opengnosis8555]

Love these lectures!

[@cuscof2]

The image at 45:08 is stunning.

[@milesjenkins1405]

Just Leave the camera zoomed in to what Dr. Martin is talking about, not the back of peoples heads.

[@Moronvideos1940]

Then you won't see the pictures on the screen ....

[@garymingy8671]

Frame the shot , - fill the screen - switch between doc and graphics and graphics solo..or a close up ..add an arrow. Or two , help with big words...

[@maxsonthonax1020]

Every time... 😎

[@nikmills]

Frustrating Indeed. This editing is exhausting. Please zoom it and forget it. You'd think a museum would have it together.

[@kayhearleartist]

Excellent video ...

[@maureenj.odonnell4438]

I agree! As for the dolt that gave this video a thumbs down, ugh.

[@shalis16]

Great lecture by Dr. Simon Martin. I would like to point out two irregularities though. At 23:50 Dr. Martin mentions that the Danta pyramid at El Mirador is taller than the Pyramid of Khufu (Ghiza); 172 vs 146 metre. This however is incorrect, as La Danta is only 72 metres high from the forest floor (my sources: archaeological reports and lectures from e.g. Dr. Richard Hansen, director of the Mirador Basin Project). In terms of volume, it might be bigger than the Pyramid of Khufu; 2.8 million cubic metres vs 2,6 million cubic metres. The second point I would like to make is that the pyramid shown at 24:50, the one juxtaposed on the central core of Tikal, is actually the El Tigre pyramid at El Mirador, the second largest at the site at about 140 m at the base and 55 m high (again my sources include the aforementioned reports and lectures by e.g. Richard Hansen).

[@obzidianbladez2873]

Shalis Morthanien You are correct.

[@Chris.Davies]

What a terribly low-quality blunder to make and what an absurd claim! It was always true that Khufu's pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world, from the time of its construction, until the Eiffel tower eclipsed it.

[@SpinoJP]

Actually the size of the Danta pyramid depends on how the structure is defined. The actual pyramid is indeed 72 m high, but it's just considering the higher bulding on top of a huge man-made platform. I believe that the height Dr. Martin is referring to is, in fact, that of the whole structure, which is indeed bigger than the pyramids of Ghiza.

[@ludoviccelle5781]

@@SpinoJP Sorry but the height of 72m is the full structure, platform included.

[@ludoviccelle5781]

I hardly understand how such serious scholar can make such a huge mistake... Does he mention such erroneous height in other lectures and books ?

[@caseyjude5472]

I really enjoyed this talk. 🙂

[@wendywyatt8563]

thank you for this lecture. interesting. why didn't you mention the cenotes when asked about how they got water? cenotes are everywhere on the yucatan peninsula? they are soooo important for everything in the area including religious significance.

[@chacmool2581]

On the question of why the red color of the buildings, knowing the importance of the cardinal directions in Maya culture and that each direction was associated with a color, wouldn't we expect buildings to be painted to match its cardinal directions. So, for example, Temple 1 and 2 at Tikal which face one another and therefore face opposing cardinal directions would have been painted in different colors. No?

[@BP-kx2ig]

I always believed that the snake shadow only happened at Chitzen Itza at the Equinox so was disappointed to discover that this is not true! However I assume the pyramid was aligned to create this effect for 4 months a year - so still a remarkable achievement

[@pops1507]

Love the Joe Pesci, "OK, OK" My study area (Zona Maizera) has a lot of "Colli" names and I often see this written in Spanish documents as "Coyi." I reckon Northern Nahuas arrived, subdued, and were they themselves assimilated.

[@davidhoogendyke2774]

Lidar is old news now, but what a revolution in archaeology, WHEN it can be bought with limited funding. It also makes it more difficult to decide on where to dig next, with so many more choices in an increased area of occupation. Too bad they couldn't use Lidar to locate modern landmines all over the planet.

[@amo4068]

Red is for Tonalli. Or whatever the Maya equivalent was. Curanderos in the region still paint their houses or ceremonial structures red pretty often. Yes, it's related to the capacities of blood, fire, and the sun to give life or soul. Ask a Mayan curandero and I'm pretty sure they would tell you the same thing.

[@chacmool2581]

38:29 We see this system if forced residence if the elites at "the royal court" elsewhere in the world, for example Tokugawa Japan.

[@ght.s1732]

those are the cities of the future!

[@DogWalkerBill]

NASA has been doing LIDAR from space since 1994. I remember seeing a TV documentary that some scientists were using the satellite LIDAR photos to examine all of Mayan territory and discovered that there were hundreds and perhaps thousands of Mayan sites under the jungle that were never known before. I am not sure how sharp the detail is, but they would surely help identify promising sites. www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/factsheets/LITE.html

[@cuscof2]

Resolution on the satellites is pretty low, but they're sufficient to suggest where needs closer attention. They fly LIDAR-equipped aircraft over the most likely sites to get better detail.

[@nikmills]

I feel like downloading this and re-editing it so that we stay zoomed in on the images in question and stop jumping back and fourth into the room with the lady's hair in the foreground.

[@rechargedimpetus6644]

to a name is a tattoo over time which cannot be scrubbed

[@matthewmann8969]

As beautiful as Chinese Gardens

[@edstar83]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWnMlnWli9iteac kzbin.info/www/bejne/raGai4Fndrd4oNk kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHnJZaOFn9qFr7M kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJLKd2iDbL9jZ6c kzbin.info/www/bejne/mITVcnqee82bf9U kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZPdaYaefp6Sj6s

[@JimFortune]

2:35

[@1911Earthling]

Stone Age people who are only one of four civilizations that invented writing independently.

[@GEM850]

Eric Thompson’s misguided opinion held back Mayan understanding and research for decades. He bullied those who disagreed with him until silenced.

[@electrum310]

At 1:08:29, the sculpture represents a « flying figure with a mask on his back ». Commenting on the same sculpture, Richard Hansen says a « swimming figure with a severed head on its back ». (I trust Richard Hansen).

[@garymingy8671]

This I's older I think,,lidar is new? 25 years old , 10 in miltary use ,restricted , ground penetrating radar , an magnetic anomoly dectecters are - not free to the public . Some folks have seen the data , but you can't take notes ,

[@gypsysnickerdoodle4354]

22:49 gee, maybe the highland in the background are the bigger pyramid structures?

[@Cc-le4dt]

33:50

[@electrum310]

I am not a specialist of Maya civilization but I have always been interested in it. According to Richard Hansen, the plaster which was used to cover the pyramids and stone buildings required huge amounts of lime and the same amount of green wood which was burnt for the process. R. Hansen says that the Mayas therefore cut every single tree to produce the plaster. In my opinion, Hansen’s hypothesis makes more sense than a urbanized jungle. What do you think ?

[@galevanvorous3457]

You

[@terranrepublic7023]

The audience are almost as ancient as the Maya lmao

[@jrileycain6220]

Fascinating information. The lecturer has great knowledge but seems nervous speaking in public....too many "ums and ahs."

[@ChillWill2050]

Why do present day “Maya” look different than the people displayed on the walls?

[@maxsonthonax1020]

"👏" - Sarcasm.

[@amparocruz951]

They Don’t

[@amparocruz951]

The look the same, and also have everything they had

[@melissab8500]

Waited for anything to do with the title for too too long

[@loganx1039]

Funny my people would grow food in their cities and homes. Now everyone is trying to dyi and grow food at their homes so they don't have to go to a market for low quality and high prices.

[@pg9193]

Dr. Martin, you forgot to mention that the Conquistadores contributed to the demise of the Maya

[@RonJohn63]

Stop trying to change the subject.

[@mr.e93tilinfinity49]

He was talking about the demise of the terminal classic Maya, circa 950 CE... The post-Classic Maya did fiercely resist Spanish conquest until their last stand at Nojpeten around 1697

[@chrislecky710]

I simply do not have the means at present because you've all spent most my life pulling the rug from under me. But i know for a fact 100% i could design an entire reality and civilisation far better than what we exist within today.

[@captaindiabetes4244]

man they gonna find alien tech at el mirador

[@paulbrown1585]

He makes this uninteresting.

[@karlshaner2453]

What I find very interesting is the date of 378AD. How would a young man of 20 with a third-grade education know and write a story of a civilization that was destroyed with such accuracy 100+ years before the known world knew of it?

[@edstar83]

@@karlshaner2453 kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWnMlnWli9iteac kzbin.info/www/bejne/raGai4Fndrd4oNk kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHnJZaOFn9qFr7M kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJLKd2iDbL9jZ6c kzbin.info/www/bejne/mITVcnqee82bf9U kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZPdaYaefp6Sj6s

[@maxsonthonax1020]

There's always Nat Geo Channel & the one-legged dude & his magic trick: "[Shazzam!] Remove the trees!" He's great at pretending stuff.

[@electrum310]

A rain forest ? To my knowledge there is no rain forest in Yucatan. It is dry. Lack of water was a problem for the Mayas. That is why they prayed Chaac and even sacrified people in Cenotes for some rain. What do you think ?

[@frankedgar6694]

Perhaps your knowledge of Yucatán is lacking. Look up the RAINY season for much of Central America. Rainy season (hence the reservoirs they built) was discussed in the video.

[@prestonphelps1649]

This guy keeps citing the names of different archaeologists. We aren't interested mate.

[@robertbrewer2190]

Academic courtesy, at least, requires the names of other investigators. It eases inquiry as to the areas of knowledge and work of know researchers. The Hollywood version of all this will be entirely fact free.

[@MH-ms1dg]

@@robertbrewer2190 agreed, citing names is actually one of the most important aspects of peer-reviewed research

[@sirrathersplendid4825]

Keeps things sweet among academics. Like all people we like to have our work acknowledged and get offended when it’s not.

[@jennjenny1984]

Lol forestry Engineers call it lie-dar you should shoot it with a drone instead of a plane make it super cheap.

[@NoddyTron]

about 31:50 they show the drone they used

[@VickyFernandez-jy6yh]

just lie the babilonia gardens

[@enrgz]

Diversionary sloth like delivery of bad interpretations reflecting required constraints.

[@Sanjeevani8]

Enrique Gonzalez He got too cheap a laugh over Equinox at El Castillo.....he does not know that the snake MOVES down during Equinox days.

[@eldoradoreefgold]

BAAL AS A GOD FROM PALESTINE AND THE WORD FOR JAGUAR AND LORD BAALAM IN CENTRAL AMERICA IS VERY TELLING LINGUISTICALLY AND DESERVES MORE ATTENTION! AS RECENT DNA ANALYSIS OF ELONGATED SKULLS IN PERU HAVE SHOWN GENETIC TIES TO THE CAUCASUS/GEORGIAN AREA IN PRESENT DAY FORMER SOVIET TERRITORY IN SOUTHWESTERN ASIA!

[@jean-francoisaubry]

Yep...the elongated skull present on mayan murals...Brien Foerster follower i presume

[@frankedgar6694]

Since elongated skulls appears in other cultures as well, you point is academic. Unrelated pyramids around the world, separated by centuries would indicate that IDEAS of how to do things is an easy explanation. And that dna nonsense - how many thousand years separate the two societies? .

[@chrislecky710]

You want a race? OK ill prove my confidence in myself is not misplaced. How about a race to design and build an example of a variation on civilisation that has not existed yet. Can you do it? every thing must be unique and original ie no example of your method found anywhere on earth. i can do it,,, but can you?? Only maybe 2% of the population even have the ability to create that which has not existed because to get there you must be able to invent in isolation of the the things that already exist. this is an ability i have, but do you?

[@lowersaxon]

Slow, without fire, boring.

[@tobystewart4403]

Why did they paint the temples red? Watch Deadpool. If you are in the business of carnage, white ain't going to cut it.

[@nibiruresearch]

The Mayas, Incas, and Aztec people were part of an earlier civilization that is at least 25,000 years old. Historians and archaeologists are walking in the dark as long as they deny ancient books like the Popol Vuh, that tell us that Earth is suffering from a cycle of natural disasters. Such a cycle can only be caused by a heavenly body that approaches the Earth with long intervals. That must be Planet 9. These disasters create a cycle of civilizations. If you don't know this cycle, history is incomprehensible. To learn much more about the cycle of civilizations, recurring floods, and ancient high tech, read the eBook: "Planet 9 = Nibiru". Search for: invisible nibiru 9

[@the0point]

Why would a planet that doesnt exist affect Earth?

[@nibiruresearch]

@@the0point We show eyewitness accounts of that approaching planet and abundant convincing evidence from all over the world.

[@cuscof2]

The Popul Vuh was written during the Spanish occupation. Twenty five thousand years ago 'high technology' was the atlatl.

[@nibiruresearch]

@@cuscof2 My books are written in the last eight years. But they contain information from thousands of years ago. I suppose that the Popol Vuh was translated during the spanish occupation.

[@jennjenny1984]

so poorly done

[@canadiankewldude]

Mayan are actually a pre flood society, drowned in Noah's Flood. That is why their pyramids are under earth, clay, rubble, depending which region.

[@johnd.leonard9946]

Noah's flood?. Really? Ridiculous

[@frankedgar6694]

Since the food pre-dates the Mayans by thousands of years, I disagree. Since Jesus’s approximate birthdate starts our calendar, much of recorded Mayan history is 500-1,000 years AFTER Jesus birth. Explain that.

[@jennjenny1984]

Soooo boring not worth watching.

[@telasmshinges6850]

Hiring I need jobs cuperaintdome