Who were the Mayans? What was their culture like? What innovations did they have that made them different from other indigenous cultures?

Answer 1

Is that all you want to know?

Okay, your question is very broad and you can easily find a lot of basics on your own, so I will offer an overview for you. The Mayans had a culture based on farming and occasional warfare, with a very strong emphasis on pain and blood. I will leave it to you to find out the specifics of a Mayan manhood ceremony, for example, but fair warning: it will make your stomach turn! Suffice it to say that Mayans believed drawing blood by piercing parts of the body and drawing long strings though them proved their bravery and strength.

You have probably heard about their sacrifices. I will not defend them, but I would like to add context: apparently, they suffered a major famine earlier in their history. They claim that their god Panther tore his flesh apart and scattered it across the landscape, making their land fertile once more, and so they had to return flesh to him regularly so he could one day return to them. It is like the Eucharist inside-out.

They were skilled astronomers, and much of their mythology revolved around the motions of Mars and Venus. You can read their ancient holy book, the Popol Vuh, but be warned that it is very confusing. You are well-advised to learn their calendar first, though I suppose there is an app for it by now. I found it messy but not all that hard. Learning their language is even harder, but I have been making modest progress despite being bad at languages, so you can too.