|
Wherever
jaguars roamed, they became important deities and icons of power and status in
the ancient civilizations of Central and South America. The OWJ expedition to
the Yucatán Peninsula is in the land of the ancient Maya, a people who
particularly venerated the jaguar, building temples to this Lord of the Underworld,
capturing its essence in art, wearing its skins in battle; today some continue
to believe that shamans can shape-shift into jaguars.
The ancient Maya developed
advanced systems of astronomy and mathematics, an accurate calendar system, extensive
trade routes, and a religion dominated by blood sacrifices. Without benefit
of metal tools, beasts of burden, or even the wheel, they were still masters of
architecture, building elaborate pyramids and sprawling cities. The collapse of
these great cities is a mystery only now being explained, but the modern Maya
remain tenacious survivors, like the jaguar itself, at the dawn of this new millennium.
|