Mayan Water Communications

Waterways were effective in that they did not need repairs and maintenance. Mayans were the only Native American civilization that mastered navigation. They swam in a dug canoe of various sizes and could go on them for thousands of kilometers. Maya themselves called their boats what ^[1] .

Maya ships, on which rowers, warriors and merchants sailed, are actively found on frescoes in Chichen Itza ^[2] . As a rule, Maya canoes were driven by rowers, but a triangular sail could be placed on especially large samples. One of these was seen by Bernal Diaz ^[3] .

Mayan dominance in coastal waters was an obvious fact. The seafarers from Chikin-Chel were called the "lords of the sea", their colleagues from Chetumal Bay - "guardians of the sands." The latter earned such a nickname because they repelled the attacks of the Miskito tribes from Nicaragua (attacked until the XVIII century), as well as the Caribbean pirate raiders ^[2] .

The coast of the Terminos lagoon (where the city of Shikalango was located ) was covered with a network of rivers, streams and sleeves of the bay. Maya could move along the coast without going into the open sea, which the Spaniards could not do with their massive ships. The Mayan inland waterways led to the Usumasinte River , upstream of which Native American navigators could make their way over more than 300 km. They were also easily walkable for canoes of the Honduras River ^[2] .

Salt was transported by sea from the salt lakes of Yucatan, where Mayan workers mined it, right along the rivers in Honduras. Cocoa with obsidian was loaded there and sailed back. The entire Atlantic coast was the single Mayan economic zone. Only merchants from Shikalango , belonging to the Nahuatl language family, had special privileges in the region ^[4] .

As a rule, Mayans swam in coastal waters. This is understandable, because the canoes were not at all adapted for ocean travel, where storms and bad weather could easily sink them. Maya placed special banners of feathers, so that it was easier for boats to swim to the shore, bypassing dangerous places. In Chichen Itza you can find frescoes with this system. Scientists and researchers have not given a definitive answer whether Maya had a complete system of lighthouses on which a fire was lit. However, it is safe to say that in some cases they still resorted to it. Maya during night trips were guided by the North Star, because they were skilled astronomers ^[3] .

Maya sailed to the islands (for example, to their shrine Cozumel ), only if they were visible from the coast. Dangerous currents did not allow them to sail freely to the islands of the Caribbean, however, due to shipwrecks of the ships of their Mayan tribes, they knew that people also lived there and they also developed navigation ^[5] .

However, the Mayan abilities in navigation were still limited. They have never been to Cuba , which is located 260 km from their land. The reason for this is a dangerous course. Despite this, Native American sailors nevertheless sailed to the Antilles . In general, if you ask how far the Mayans sailed far, the logical figure would be 3,000 miles (more than 5,550 km) along the coastline - from Tampico in the north to Margarita island, 20 km from the coast of Venezuela, as this was the only source pearls in the region, and jewelry from it were found in various temples, tombs and other places left from the Mayan civilization ^[6] .

The Mayan coast from the coast of Honduras up to the San Juan River in Nicaragua Maya was bypassed due to the fact that it was easy to land aground or hook a coral reef ^[5] .

There was no connection between the South American tribes and Maya, at least nothing was found that would testify to this ^[5] .

In the north, the Mayans sailed to Tampico , where the Huastec tribes lived, speaking a dialect of their language. Bitumen was supplied from there, which closed the cracks in the boats and from which ritual masks were made, as well as spindle blocks for the manufacture of cotton fabrics. Oil deposits and a high level of craft allowed the Mayan northern neighbors to effectively trade ^[5] .

There is evidence and Mayan shipping in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, where fishing was carried out and stingrays were caught. In Tikal, for example, stingrays tails, spikes, algae, shells and other things from the western ocean were found ^[5] .

To make a canoe, the Mayans cut down a cedar and cut a boat out of the trunk, which made it possible to make it up to 25 m long. The bow and stern were raised relative to the rest of the vessel. Maya had its own shipbuilding centers. Trees were brought there from the forest, tied with ropes to log rollers. Workers dragged the very construction. One of the woodworking enterprises was located in the city of Bakt-Tsots west of Cape Katoche . The canoes built here were widely used in salt trade on the Ekaba ^[2] .

One of the "ship's forests" Maya was in the Uyamil area near Lake Balakar . Nearby, in Matsanho , artisans specialized in boats for sailing in coastal sea waters ^[2] .

In 400 - 800 years. An important marine center was Chetumal Bay, which connected cities within the mainland (for example, Tikal) with the external sea. To the north, in Tsamabak Bay, a fleet was going to trade with Honduras and other southern regions ^[2] .

Along the Caribbean coast on Yucatan, in Quintana Roo , in Nito , in Nako and along the coast of Honduras, Maya had a large number of outlets where birds, feathers , salt and achiote were actively sold and bought. In the markets of Nicaragua actively went gold . After 900, the Mayans expanded the trading zone south to Panama, and from there gold flowed into their lands, which was a common commodity in the south. This indicates the development of mining there. In the Panama area of Cocle , gold was mined and traded with the Chibcha tribes from the Colombian mountains, who mined emeralds in Muso and Chimore , the only source of “green stone” on the entire continent of that time ^[5] .

An important role as a trade route was played by the San Pedro Martir River , which the kings of the Kingdom of Canul sought to take control of . Therefore, the kingdom of San Nikte , through whose lands the river flowed, was usually a vassal of the Canul kingdom. Thus, control over the petty kingdom provided the Kanul kingdom with control over the river, which brought him considerable profit ^[7] .

According to the hypothesis of researcher Eric Thompson , in ancient times there was a sea trade route along the entire Yucatan. Its western end was Shikalango, eastern - the southern part of the Gulf of Honduras. This is partially confirmed by archaeological finds ^[8] .

On July 30, 1502, when landing on the island of Guanaja off the coast of Honduras , Christopher Columbus discovered the Mayan fleet. The canoe was 2.5 meters wide, the length of an antique galley, and 25 Indian rowers sat there. The ship was loaded with cocoa , honey , bells , silicon swords and cotton fabrics . Goods were brought from the mainland, to which about 35 km ^[9] .

By 1511 , when the Spaniards appeared in the region, shopping centers moved north to the city of Tulum . Sakbe from him went to Shelhe , and from there - to Koba and further to Chichen Itza and deep into the mainland ^[2] .

Soon, Spanish travel to the region continued, and many notes mentioned canoes that accommodated up to forty people. In 1542, the conquistadors besieged Omoa , a trading colony in Honduras. Having traveled 400 km by sea, they were attacked by more than five hundred combat boats. Other notes noted that Maya had an active water connection between Tabasco and Panama ^[1] .

• Hagen, Victor von . Mayan Water Communications // Aztecs, Mayans, Incas. Great kingdoms of ancient America / Translated from English by L. A. Karpova. - M .: Centerpolygraph, 2013 .-- 539 p. - ISBN 978-5-9524-4841-4 .
• Gulyaev, Valery Ivanovich . Maya - "Phoenicians of the New World" // Ancient Maya: the mysteries of a dead civilization. - M .: Knowledge, 1983 .-- 176 p.
• Freidel, David ; Guenter, Stanley. Bearers of War and Creation (Eng.) // Journal "Archeology". - 2003.