Me too have often wondered about the uncanny similarities in Mayan and Indian civilizations.
Ancestors of the Mayas occupied the Yucatan peninsula and northern Central America about 10,000 years ago. This is similar to Indo-iranians coming into India peninsula abt 8000 years before present.
Primitive Mayan settlements are least from 2400 BC. Mayan civilization was at its peak during the Classic Period (between 250 and 900 AD).
Mayans are short, sturdy build and have broad faces and prominent noses (
Indianid type).
Both Mayans and Indian shared these similarities:
1) They built dwellings around temples / pyramids, lived in thatched roof housing, had village social organization, their kings liked self-aggrandizement and their priests conducted ceremonies.
2) Both used slash and burn method of clearing for agriculture, used sophisticated techniques of cultivation and established an extensive trade network (mayans did it with mexico and Central America to market such products as pottery, weapons, and jewelry). Both observed auspicious time before planting crops and scheduling ceremonies.
3) Both built temples on high pedestals. Gopurams typically are pyramid type tapering structures. Both tended to build temples with a flight of steps (like Ayyanar, Ayyapa temples) and they built temples on top of existing old structures (meaning location of temples did not change).
4) Both offered animal and human sacrifices, engraved birds and snakes into stones. Mayans carved hieroglyphics into staircases just like Indians carve animals, plants, symbols into temples structures, staircases, etc.
5) Mayan sacred symbols are birds and snakes. The Quetzal-Rattlesnake is similar to Garuda – Naga concept; but the Mayan Quetzal - Rattlesnake live in harmony unlike Garuda – Naga. And Quetzal is a parrot, not an eagle, but then hindus also held parrots in reverential respect. Plus, the Garuda - Naga concept of amity can remind one of Narayana as vihagaraja mrigadhiraja Nagadhiraja (king of nagas) gajaraja haydhirajah (suprabhatam) and sriman anantha garudadhibhir architangre (waited upon by garuda). A concept of universal understanding i suppose
6) Both practiced indigenous medicine and had herbal remedies for various ailments. Both weaved clothes from cotton fibre and made paper of tree bark.
7) Mayans worship Kinich Ahau or Ah Kin, the Sun God (Ahau is Ahaur?). Indians worship Surya and Vishnu as Sun god.
8) For Mayas, each day was ruled by several gods, who determined whether events would be favorable or unfavorable. Priests made astronomical calculations for showing what gods were ruling at any given time. This is just like our Indian panchangam concept.
9) Mayan priests also directed the building of temples and monuments. Ritual bloodletting and human sacrifice were common religious practices (quite vedic i wud say, kumkum after all supposedly represents blood). Though in India temple builders are not necessarily the priest class presently.
10) Mayans were obsessed with time keeping and astronomy. Mayan calendar begins around 3114 BC, when, according to the Mayans, the world began and the first Great Cycle got underway. This is similar to the dating of Kali yuga beginning around 3200BC. Mayans recognized 13 future cycles, and bad things often happened at the end of such cycles. This is similar to Indians believing in yugas and bad thing happening at the end of each yuga.
11) Mayans wrote 17 diff types of calendars, just like Indians have varying panchangams. Important Mayan calendars were
a) Haab: based on the earth's rotation around the sun. It has 365 days divided into 18 months of 20 days each and one special 19th month of 5 days.
b) Tzolk'in: based on the cycles of the Pleiades constellation. Used for divination. Pleiades cycle of 26,000 years, is divided by 1,000 to make up years lasting 260 days each.
12) This similarity can be rather too uncanny -- Itz, a warlike Toltec people, established themselves in the northern yucatan region and made chichnitza their capital. But Mayan culture survived, and guess what, the invaders were actually gradually absorbed into the Mayan civilization.
13) This is the best-est part though (courtesy: writings of Sri Ganapati Stapathi):
a) Maya word
K’ultanlini is the same as Sanskrit
Kundalini.
b) Maya word
Yok’hah is the same as Sanskrit
yoga.
c) Maya word
Chilambalam (name of a temple room) meaning hall of consciousness is same as Sanskrit
chit (consciousness)
ambara (sky) and similar in meaning to
Chidambaram, where Shiva is represented as the sky or vast formless expanse of consciousness. This Chilambalam room is found in Chichen Itza pyramid which has the same plot as a South Indian temple vimana on a grid of 8 x 8 squares. In temple architecture such a square grid, called Manduka Mandala (frog mandala) has a centre formed by a square made of four squares, corresponding to Brahmasthana. At this location, divine energy is very strong and people cannot live there. The Vasati temples and Maya pyramids share the same temple architecture. Of all Vasati temples, Chidambaram has the most immaculate proportions.
Regards.
