WHAT WAS THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE MAYANS LIKE? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The social organization of the Maya was characterized by being complex and quite stratified. There was a privileged group quite different from the rest of the inhabitants, who held power and had many benefits in different areas.

The Mayan culture was present on the world stage for 2000 years and was responsible for important inventions that meant significant advances for humanity. Examples of this are architecture, hieroglyphic writing and various numbering systems full of complexity and depth.

The Mayan social organization was characterized by being stratified and rigid. Source: Lacambalam

This Mesoamerican civilization was distributed throughout Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize and Honduras, and its practices related to agriculture and construction technology meant an important evolution in the original populations.

One of the most relevant characteristics of the social organization of the Maya was the low mobility of each actor. Generally, the status was hereditary, which is why it was very difficult to advance socially; it was a caste system.

As well as status, occupations also tended to be inherited; that is, the parents' jobs determined what their children would later do. As for women, they were free to form part of the economic, religious and governmental spheres of society, although they could only marry members of the same social stratum.

The ruling class was the most important and the most privileged. It was made up of the families that governed each city, as well as the nobles and priests. As we mentioned earlier, these positions were inherited.

Social organization of the Mayans: the 7 most relevant classes

Rulers

Within this class were the families who were in charge of directing each of the cities of the Mayan culture. Only members of these families could become rulers and they were characterized by living surrounded by great wealth and luxury.

There was only one way for someone outside the ruling family to reach that social position, and that was after a war. The winning family took control and from that moment only their heirs were in charge of governing.

The rulers dressed in a peculiar way, much more ostentatious than the rest of the members of the Maya, and in religious ceremonies they used elaborate headdresses that made them look taller.

Nobility

Those who belonged to the nobility were able to read and write. This was a privilege that only they and members of the religious class enjoyed.

Some nobles carried out productive activities, but generally did not have the need to work. Those who worked were dedicated to leading the areas of trade or military service.

The nobles did not pay taxes and were also characterized by living in luxury. They had a lot of economic, social and political power within the cities.

Priests

Mayan priest

According to various researchers, it is possible to affirm that the most powerful within the Mayan culture were the members of the religious class: they were even more powerful than the rulers themselves.

The general population fervently believed that priests were capable of communicating directly with the Mayan gods. For this reason, these clerics constantly received money and gifts from the community; likewise, many people worked for them without charging for their services.

Merchants

The merchants used to be part of the nobility, although they could also be peasants who were dedicated to creating and marketing articles of art or other elements.

The members of this stratum were in charge of important economic activities in the cities. The Mayans developed quite efficient and complex commercial networks that connected cities directly.

There were two types of commerce: local, which was the one in which most of the merchants participated; and the global one, in which only the most powerful, members of the nobility and highly relevant components of the Mayan elite participated.

Soldiers

Mayan warrior, Jaina Island, Campeche. Wmpearl

As we mentioned earlier, the military leaders were noble, but the soldiers could come from a variety of backgrounds. Usually this was a stratum that was also inherited, so in general they were the children of soldiers.

However, within this class there were also peasants, who in many cases were forced to leave their lands in times of war and join the army to fight enemies.

Within the dynamics of the soldiers, those members who were of peasant origin were less respected than those who were children of soldiers; this is a sign that there were marked differences between members of this class.

Farmers

Peasants used to live on the outskirts of cities, near the fields where they worked. It was a stratum with very few privileges and opportunities within the Mayan cities.

There were peasants who worked with greater emphasis as artisans. These were part of the merchants, but did not have the same rights as the nobles.

However, artisans were considered slightly more important than peasants and lived within cities.

In any case, the peasants in general lived with economic hardship and without any kind of luxury or comfort. In fact, they were candidates to be sacrificed in religious ceremonies when there were no slaves.

Slaves

It corresponds to the lowest class of Mayan society. According to various investigations, it has been determined that many slaves had better living conditions than peasants, who performed strenuous tasks. It was not the reality of all slaves, but many of these were treated with consideration during their captivity.

Despite this, the main disadvantage that affected the slaves is that they did not enjoy any type of rights. They were the ones sacrificed before the gods in ceremonies.

Slaves could have various origins; They could be enemies of war who had been captured, members who had misbehaved in various fields, or orphans.

References

1. "Maya social structure" at Mr. Donn's site for kids and teachers. Retrieved on December 8, 2019 from Mr Donn's site for kids and teachers: mrdonn.org
2. “Political and social organization” at Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile. Retrieved on December 8, 2019 from Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile: uc.cl
3. "Mayan culture" in Wikipedia. Retrieved on December 8, 2019 from Wikipedia: wikipedia.org
4. Sharer, R. and Griswold, S. "The ancient maya" in Google Books. Retrieved on December 8, 2019 from Google Books: books.google.cl
5. "The social organization of the Mayans" at the University of Alicante. Retrieved on December 8, 2019 from the University of Alicante: ua.es
6. Muscato, C. "Maya class system and structure" in Study. Retrieved on December 8, 2019 from Study: study.com