 But the Spanish invasion is not the only reason for the collapse of the Mayan culture. Not much is known about the reason that th Mayans fought, but there were certaintly constant battles between the Mayan city-states. This weakened the Mayans. Then something mysterious happened. Around the year 840A.D. the Mayans began to abandon their cities. By the year 880A.D. the Mayans had all but vanished completely from the face of the earth. this made them an easy target for other civilizations such as the Spanish and the Aztecs. Eventually, the Mayans were taken over by the Aztecs. The Aztecs were in turn beaten by the Incas. Then the spanish came again, and all the civilizations were forced to adapt the spanish culture. Only a select few people continued to worship their own gods, and live by the old ways. Now, all civilizations live side by side, although the Mayans, Aztecs and Incas no longer offer sacrafices. |
Mayan WeaponryIn the beginning, the Mayans were ahead of their time. They used many of the same weapons as other civilizations, but then they took things a step further. Just as most civilizations at that time, they used spears. But instead of throwing the spear, they invented a device called the "Atlatl". They also used a special type of stone in their weapons called obsidian. Obsidian is very sharp, yet on impact it will break apart. They often used this rock in arrowheads so that it would cut deeper, then break off and shatter inside the enemy. However, at some point the Mayans stopped advancing, and when other civilizations moved on to iron weapons, the Mayans continued to use stone. Still the Mayans were very skilled with their weapons and continued to thrive no matter what the odds. It wasn't until the Spanish invaded with guns & gunpowder that the Mayans met their match.  |
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