For centuries , archeologists have been generalise from the tantalizing clues leave splosh throughout the remains of theMayan empirein order to set what life might have been like for its inhabitants . The majority of this information has been reap from the dilapidation of palaces , temple and astronomical buildings , all of which have ply an insight into the lives of theMayan elites . However , new research published in the journalLatin American Antiquityhas lastly spill some visible radiation on the lives of ordinary villager , and hint that Mayan citizens may have been more self-governing from their rulers than was previously thought .
Having been preserved in ash since a catastrophic volcanic eruption around 1,400 years ago , the hamlet ofCerenin El Salvador pop the question a intense look at what daily life was like at the moment of the disaster . Such is the level of saving that even details such as finger gull on ceramic bowls could be distinguish by researchers working at the land site . Led byProfessor Payson Sheetsof the University of Colorado Boulder – who first key out the Greenwich Village back in 1978 – the squad has gain new evidence suggest that the running of village life was left largely up to local anesthetic , thereby challenge previous understandings of theMayan empire as a " top - down " society .
For instance , researchers have discovered planetary house containing a number of tool and other artifacts that suggest the villager themselves were in guardianship of maintaining community structure and organizing agricultural activity . One building also contain a row of prominent terrace in the front room , leading Sheets to propose that it may have represent as a encounter home for Greenwich Village elders to talk over central matter and make decisions affecting the lives of locals .
According to Sheets , the evidence all points towards the fact that the 200 or so residents of Ceren had minimum inter-group communication with the Mayan elites , and belike only encountered them when trading goods at local markets . Within the village itself , however , the empirical rulers appear to have had “ no influence and certainly no control . ” These finding are important as they present the clearest word picture yet of everyday life history in the Mayan empire , with sheet of paper explaining that “ This is the first clear window anyone has had on the day-after-day activities and the quality of life of Maya common man back then . ”
Indeed , until now , most Mayan archeological findings had get from spectacular ruins such asChichen Itzain Mexico orTikalin Guatemala – with the latter having provided the mount for the rebel al-Qaida on the satellite Yavin 4 in " Star Wars Episode IV : A New Hope . " Yet thanks to the 5.2 meters ( 17 foot ) of ash tree that lay upon Ceren for almost a millennium and a half , researchers now have their finest example yet of an ordinary Greenwich Village .
However , while there is no debate as to the campaign of Ceren ’s demise , the village put up no evidence to excuse the oracular fall of the Mayan imperium as a whole . Having been one of the mighty civilizations in Mesoamerica for over 2,500 years , its speedy disappearance around 900 C.E has left archeologists baffled , launch the door for aplethora of theoriesranging from military defeat to alien abduction . More recently , researcher have proposed that climatical changes , coupled with excessive disforestation , may have get the sudden ruin of the Mayan conglomerate .
