This man dropping that he discovered a Mayan city at 25 in the 90s just going off of a hunch and that he got to name it, in the same tone as the rest of his answers, has gotta be one of the coldest things I've ever heard.
Go into jungle, ask natives where the big piles of stone are, and that's how you "discover" a Maya site. That's exactly how it was done for 150 years in Central America.
@@AntonSuprun As a woman who finds such nerdy and fascinating, still no reason to insult others for not being interested. Good grief, each to their own makes the world more interesting over all.
If you're interested in such things, he did at least three lecture series with The Great Courses, all of which were fantastic. Best reason to get an Audible subscription, imo, though you could probably get them via Libby or something as well.
One of the coolest things as a mexican is hearing people speaking indigenous languages. That is what we are, and I’m really proud of it. I’m still in search of learning nahuatl as a start and traveling to more states in the center and south of the country. Mexican history is beautiful and it feels so amazing to be part of this culture.
@gondar6181 This is wrong. Most Mexicans embrace the culture of the mestizaje. Neither Mexico or any other Latin American country is a carbon copy of Spain or Portugal. We embrace the mix. There's nothing wrong with that, and that includes indigenous culture, just maybe not in a way that appeals to you.
What a brilliant man, and so humble. He literally found a city on his own, and answers the simplest questions with such a non-condescending manner. This was extremely entertaining, while being so educational.
ehhhhh disagree. He speaks in a lot of absolutes. Saying Mayans created a better math than the western world when for a large number like 5,000 you would have to write 1,000 bars. He also said Mayans beat out Egyptians in pyramid expertise though it's really like apples and oranges. He even states the Egyptians developed a pyramid 3X higher than the highest Mayan pyramid. He's a great scholar but makes some pretty bold statements that are actually subjective.
@@MinervaAlvarez-dx3jc You've misrepresented so much of what he said. He didn't say better math system, he said more elegant. And he only said that Maya beat out Egyptians in terms of HOW MANY pyramids they built.
As a descendant of the Mayan, living in Yucatán, listening to people saying "Aliens helped the Maya to build pyramids" is just sickening. You people are NOT invited to cochinita, you pelaná people. Anyway, thanks to Dr. Barnhart for the info!!
Love that he addressed the alien theories completing disparaging and discounting the abilities and intelligence of the Mayans 👏🏼 Yes they figured it out on their own!
@@milamilla1977 Same! Gotta go on one of his trips if I can swing it. Also have to shout out his podcast ArchaeoEd if anyone else wants more Ed content
As someone who has Inca ancestry & backpacked in Mexico, Belize, & Guatemala I can assure you the Mayan people are EVERYWHERE in that region despite colonization. They still speak Mayan languages & dress traditionally, as well as retain & practice much of their precolonial customs
You don't even need to leave the US to see this. Guatemalans are everywhere in the US and speak Mayan dialects in addition to Spanish. You hear it literally everywhere
They had him in ancient aliens. I never got a full story but in one lecture at least he made it pretty clear he was interviewed without full explanation of what his sound bites were going to be used for…
@@peculiarpigmaybe it is asked because both the Mayans, Egyptians and Aztecs built incredible Pyramids which weren't made by any other societies during the same time. So it is a fair question not a western bias.
Once again, Wired found the singlemost charismatic and engaging teacher for the class. This was amazing, I hope Dr. Ed will come back for Mayan Support 2!
They always kill it with the people they have on. Not only does it make me more interested in the subject that they're talking about it makes me more interested in the people telling us about the subject.
The false theory of aliens “disparaging the abilities of the Mayans” is such an important point and a perspective I hadn’t considered. This was a fascinating talk!
My theory when it comes to aliens, is that maybe the gods of ancient people were actually aliens who, however, had very limited interaction with their worshippers if any. For example aliens didn't build the pyramids, but maybe they had pyramid shaped ships and the people who saw them decided that "this shape has divine origin so we build our temples to match "
@@jpteknomana pyramid is just a way to build a tall structure that doesn't fall down It's a natural shape to find eventually The Egyptians did and the maya/aztec did too
If you or someone else interested, there is a whole TH-cam channel Miniminuteman with more of that stuff. It was truly refreshing to see how a lot of conspiracy theories or bad archaeology takes are dismissing intelligence of ancient people, have roots in scientific racism, disrespected culture which was a subject of the study, gave publicity to actual conmans, etc.
I feel I just learned more about the Maya than half a dozen documentaries (even the good non-alien kind!) in just one short video. This man is a goldmine, please bring him back again!
As a honduran, I am quite excited knowing we learn mayan math in school. The basics, but it's still fun to do. A bit dissapointed he didn't mention Copán at all though, considering its glyph staircase is very important today.
Omg Ive seen most Wired Support video but this speaker has to be top 5 material! His knowledge and passion for the Maya people are obvious and the way he tells stories and dispels myths is so engaging, I didnt want him to end! I fell in love with the culture as a teenager vacationing in Xcaret and I've been back to Yucatán many times!
Fellow archaeologist and paleoanthropologist here! I cannot appreciate enough how much he touched on the conspiracy of aliens being directed solely towards POC/Indigenous groups, as if they were not as capable as the "more white" civilizations and could never construct such impressive structures on their own - like the Greeks and Romans. He has always been such an incredible archaeologist! There is *almost* never a question of aliens (or giants) helping the Romans build the Colosseum (which had the capability to have naval battles within it), The Colossus of Rhodes or Nero, Trajan's Column, the Pantheon, the aqueduct systems, so on and so forth. These hurtful conspiracies are crucial to debunk in our field, and not everyone is willing to touch on the subject; particularly the older people in our field. Working for the museum industry, you can guess what kind of people always ask us these questions. They also tend to throw a hissy-fit when we reach the human evolution part of the Paleo tours.
My friend said the same thing about Nan Madol "omg no way people built that must've been aliens". I just asked him "this was built AFTER Venice, do you think aliens built Venice?" He finally got the point lol
It also ties into the WS ideology of the "magical savage"... original melaninated ppl weren't scientific, they "just knew" ya know kinda like animals 🙄
Lmao at me being a 5'2 Maya descendent living in the US. My great grandparents were *mostly* colonized. A lot of my older relatives still speak the language. We're still around 🙋♀️
I live in the Pacific Northwest, in the States, and it recently sort of struck me that I see _many_ more people of Maya descent up here than I do local indigenous people.
@hughmann9568 ofc not! I have assimilated. My great grandparents and their peers, on the other hand, were forced to abandon their teachings(mine still did rituals in secret), change their names(mine kept theirs in secret), and learn a new language, as well as forcing their future generations to only speak the new language- spanish, etc. Just like most other Native people, the culture was erased for a lot of us and we have to take the time and effort to go back and reclaim our heritage 💖 remember this is just one example of many. You can probably find someone local to you with a similar story if you're willing to learn more. Highly recommend!
“The Aztecs sacrificed almost anybody” 😂😂😂 Idk why but this cracked me up. He’s so knowledgeable about this awesome culture with such a rich history, please bring him back for part two!
I see creators like this and roll my eyes. You proved me wrong. Thank you for knowing your stuff. I'm so tired of people spreading misinformation about my culture.
Asking where the Mayans went is like asking where the Ancient Romans went. They became "Italian", among other nationalities. The problem is that most Maya have been forced to speak Spanish and identify as "Hispanic" today, even if they've got no European ancestry.
@@KateeAngel Yeah I've been through villages where the elders could kinda speak spanish and the kids could kinda speak english but everyone talked to each other in K'iche or Que'ekche. I don't think they considered themselves Latin Americans... It's hard to get demographics numbers in the jungles but in regard to the Aztecs, at least 1.5 million still speak Nauhatl as a first language.
Lmao you clearly don't know 💩 there'd plenty in Mexico speaking their native languages and identify as Mayan and whatever else like in the US with native Americans
Hmmm intuition based on his deep knowledge of mayan civilisation, extensive studying of topography and maps of the area and ,like he said, the fact that mayan settlements are everywhere in Central America.
@@aheinrich2535 because it helps preserve cultures. A lot of cultures have been lost due to colonization. The mayan culture is one of many that are struggling to stay alive. Other native American cultures have also been wiped out, specifically in the US , so it is important to know history so we can do better in the present and future. Aztec and Inca's history is taught in AP World courses, but AP world curriculum begins in 1200 and beyond, but Mayans were there way before that time period
@@seagreen917 yeah base-level stuff should be taught in advanced classes, ive taken AP World myself, but in depth level analysis regarding the traditions of the Maya people should not be a required learning aspect in the United States curriculum lmfao
You didn't learn about them? I grew up in Los Angeles and I remember learning about the great civilizations of the Americas when I took world history in 7th grade, and then learned about them again in high school
@@supernatural5354they did do sacrifices. Pretty well documented that they sacrificed enemy warriors. And Spanish didn’t per se but they regularly massacred prisoners of war. Same thing.
@ericktellez7632 he's using the term that 99% of people will understand, not the term only 1% will. This is a video about the Maya, and he understandably decided the correct term for the aztecs was not important for the conversation.
@@ericktellez7632Mexica isn’t interchangeable with Aztec. Mexica refers to an ethno-linguistic group, and Aztec to a polity. There’s considerable overlap of course, most of the people in the Aztec empire were Mexica, but there were lots of other peoples, and many Mexica outside the empire. It’s like “Iranian” and “Persian”. Neither is incorrect, it’s a question of context. When homeboy here said Aztec, that’s what he meant, and he used it correctly.
My favorite way, as someone who studied anthropology in college, to explain to coworkers about the 2012 thing back then was "You ever roll over the odometer on your car? 'Yeah, why?" "Did the car disappear?"
Also, the Maya and Aztecs aren't the only civilizations to beat Egypt on number of pyramids, the Nubians did too. It's just that the ones in Egypt are more obvious and bigger.
I took an Mesoamerica anthropology class in college and fell in love with this topic. My college professor warned us about people trying to discredit the Mayan/ Aztec culture by saying aliens helped them. I loved your response about that and acknowledging the fact that they did it on their own. Thank you so much for researching this topic and sharing your knowledge ❤
When I was in college, I was supposed to take Western Civ, but all the classes were full so I had to take a year of Latin American Civ instead. The only thing that was really interesting and amazing to me was the pre-contact stuff. It was all so strange, foreign, and absolutely fascinating. The rest of the history...nearly all of it...every single Western-influenced country...seemed to be comprised of endless lists of unstable, unethical and corrupt governments run by dictators, military juntas, and/or shady political parties.
@ implying that you had to be there to know what’s going on is a very ignorant way of thinking, that’s not how anthropology works. You should read many books.
7:54 reminds me of the dimensional mind in Robert Greene's book Mastery where he says that high level intuitions *through an intense immersion in a field for many years*mixed with rational thinking, is what leads to discoveries
It is refreshing to hear an English speaker talk about and acknowledge the merits of a civilisation that has nothing to do with Europe (Western) without the prejudice that no one but them, the Europeans, could have had any advances in science or art. For the average WASP, ancient civilisations are a curiosity, their current inhabitants are a headache. By that logic: the ancient Middle East is history, the modern Middle East is a problem. The "dead Indian" is culture, the "living Indian", a problem. So back to the point, my appreciation to Dr. Barnhart 👏 * And I wrote it in English (even though I shouldn't) because otherwise they wouldn't bother to even press the translate button.
What are you talking about? God you seem arrogant. And deluded. Basically all that Maya are known for, by English speakers, is their advances in science and art. Pyramids and astronomy.
"For the average WASP, ancient civilisations are a curiosity, their current inhabitants are a headache. By that logic: the ancient Middle East is history, the modern Middle East is a problem. The "dead Indian" is culture, the "living Indian", a problem." that's too harsh. It happens, and happens a lot, but it is the extreme, bigot WASP these days, not the average.
You all should do one on the Aymaran, Quechua, and other pre- and post-Inca cultures and people. Those communities are also still alive and thriving today!
I held off watching this because I was afraid of another prejudiced video against people that is so often mysticized. I am so happy after watching this video because of how respectful all this knowledge was presented. It’s clear he loves his field of study and has immense respect for the maya culture and people both past and present. Thank you for posting this.
Man that whole King Pakal question made me remember my intro to archeology class in college where the prof was an expert on Mesoamerican civs mostly Mayans and the man went on a 50min rant about how dumb ancient aliens are and used Pakal as an example. One of the funner classes we had
As someone of Maya descent, it's always been an interest of mine to learn more about my distant ancestors. One day I hope to visit the Maya people living in Central America.
@@spicysalad3013you’ll be surprised how much “history” is fake. Its all open for discussion in my book. Aliens, history etc. theres proof and theories for both
I was a little skeptical when I saw a white American answering these questions, but I can tell this guy has dedicated his life to learning about the Maya culture and has a great vision, understanding, and respect for this great civilization. Respect.
I really appreciate the comment on how the aliens stuff is a way to undermine the capabilities of any civilizations that aren't Eurocentric. All of this was so cooooooooll and informative!!!
I just visited Chiapas in may! Mayan peoples abound in this state of Mexico. I also had the chance to visit Palenque, it was an amazing experience. As Dr. Ed mentioned, the site is HUGE. Chiapanec people speak different mayan dialects, visitng comunities around the state was amazing. This area has a deep, rich culture that the people defend to keep alive. I hope to go back to spend another month here soon!
Dr Barnhart also does an excellent lecture series for the Great Courses on Ancient Mesoamerican history- pleasantly surprised to see him in my TH-cam feed with this now
I love how he said that the mayas had a more elegant way of reading numbers. Here in the south of México we are required to learn how to do math as the mayas did and its pretty cool that for simple math problems you can count better than with actual numbers
That is interesting with the nine-month gestation period being the basis for the Mayan calendar. Similarly, if people ever wonder why certain civilizations or groups had/have calendars different than the western, Gregorian, 365-day-year format, it really has a lot to do also with seasons. Our western calendar was more or less formed in colder or places more temperate climates, with “actual” seasons. It’s easy to divide a solar cycle twelve ways when you have four seasons that are roughly three months long, respectively. But the Maya (and other civilizations closer to the equator, or in deserts, mountains, etc.) likely experienced slightly different weather patterns. This would probably affect their organization and division of a solar cycle…
Hello there! Mexican living in the maya area here. The 260 day calendar is a ritual calendar used for divination and certain rituals and it was called Tzolkín. The maya also used the 365 day solar calendar called "Haab" for daily purposes. They had other very important calendar like the calendar round (a combination of the 260 day calendar and the 365 day solar calendar) and long count (used to count long periods of time), and many other cycles.
More if this man, please! As someone who worked with Mayan immigrants to the United States, I love the acknowledgment of their beautiful, resilient cultural presence today. Guatemala is still very much a predominately Mayan nation, ethnically and culturally, and is steeped in that incredible history. Also, some of the most kindhearted and resilient people in the face of blistering persecution and governmental corruption.
Fascinating about the Mayan numbers! I actually came up with a similar system for my conlang! An open dot is 1, a closed dot is 2, a vertical bar is 5, and a horizontal bar is zero.
I have fallen in love with the Maya after going to Cancun. I was so completely blown away by their amazing civilization. I plan on going back as many times as I can to visit as many sites as possible.
The immature size of me kinda died laughing at 18:13. As a Guatemalan, even I had no clue that Mayan's weren't into sacrifices. Always thought it was shared passion between Aztecs and Mayans
This was an absolute treat!!! These kinds of videos always bring smile to my face because it's such a pleasure to hear people truly passionate about their jobs explain their field and area of expertise! Would love to see Dr. Barnhart again!!!
I appreciate how elegantly he answered the questions about aliens. I think a lot of people just want to believe cool sounding theories regardless of how likely they are to be true just because it would be neat if it were true. But this man very gently reminded us how disrespectful the idea of ancient aliens is to those people.
I recently read a Nat Geo article about how they're finding SO many new Mayan cities and temples with lidar! Lidar is SO fascinating in what it can do for the archaeological world! I love this guy's passion for the Maya - I fell in love with the Inca after a school project many many years ago now, and along the way I begant o love the Maya and the Egyptians as well... truly, these ancient civilizations were SO hyper intelligent, and they rarely get credit for it. The Mayan capital had a road that was effectively the size of an 8 lane highway that lead to it, it was so busy at the height of Mayan civilization!! I cried, reading that Nat Geo article, realizing how amazing it is that Lidar is able to help us learn so much more about the Maya, and how profound a civilization they were before their culture was crushed by outsiders.
I love these videos just because listening to an expert talk about the subject they know very well always interests me. There is SO MUCH to know about the world, as well as the universe beyond our own planet, and it takes a lot of knowledgeable folks to keep track of it all. I am thankful for all of them.
More videos with Dr. Barhart- explaining Mayan architecture, power centers, lines of travel and communication between city states, Olmec influences, etc. or whatever his personal area of expertise is.
We need more people like this gentleman - an excellent teacher and speaker who is also a passionate expert who's spent his whole life studying and researching what he loves - to drown out all the 'it looks like something so it must be' Such as - that's a purse on that rock - and that's an alien ship - and that's a smart-phone 🙄
My dad always talked about "The Mayan" he was so so soooo fascinated by them and told me a lot of things, i guess i just learned so much more about them now!
This man dropping that he discovered a Mayan city at 25 in the 90s just going off of a hunch and that he got to name it, in the same tone as the rest of his answers, has gotta be one of the coldest things I've ever heard.
Go into jungle, ask natives where the big piles of stone are, and that's how you "discover" a Maya site. That's exactly how it was done for 150 years in Central America.
You obviously are a do-gooder Democrat. You peopl.e hate everygthing and everybody
@@jimmoses6617 then you do it
Well done as I ignore the complaints. What are you working on now,
@@jimmoses6617 facts.
says he discovered it off a "hunch" 🤣
''The city that I found '
Thats gotta be the coolest thing anyone could say about themselves.
I'm sure there are thousands of shallow women somewhere who find that nerdy and boring.
@@AntonSuprun Are you able to comment on the internet without insulting women? Set your anger to one side and enjoy how cool this video is.
@@AntonSuprun spoken like someone who will never find a city.
@@AntonSuprun As a woman who finds such nerdy and fascinating, still no reason to insult others for not being interested. Good grief, each to their own makes the world more interesting over all.
@@AntonSuprunI'm a woman and found that to be super cool! I grew up playing SimCity 4 and creating my own cities and I love history.
As a dude with a History degree that was more Ancient Med focused: This guy is fascinating. 10/10 would love to have him back on for more episodes
ancient med? i’d love to learn more about what you studied
You should check out his TH-cam Channel/ Podcast: "Archaeo Ed Podcast" if you want more.
If you're interested in such things, he did at least three lecture series with The Great Courses, all of which were fantastic. Best reason to get an Audible subscription, imo, though you could probably get them via Libby or something as well.
Nah, he called the Mexica Aztecs, unacceptable
He’s done several Great Courses video series on North America and South America civilizations.
One of the coolest things as a mexican is hearing people speaking indigenous languages. That is what we are, and I’m really proud of it. I’m still in search of learning nahuatl as a start and traveling to more states in the center and south of the country. Mexican history is beautiful and it feels so amazing to be part of this culture.
My last name is Chimalpopoca. I wish to do the same, honor the last name and not die without being able to speak it.
Same! Wish I knew more Nahuatl over
Spanish, that would be cool.
I'm Mexican too and I feel exactly the same. It's great to see these people around and hear them speaking their native tongue. Makes me proud.
@gondar6181 This is wrong. Most Mexicans embrace the culture of the mestizaje. Neither Mexico or any other Latin American country is a carbon copy of Spain or Portugal. We embrace the mix. There's nothing wrong with that, and that includes indigenous culture, just maybe not in a way that appeals to you.
Is avocado way cheaper in Mexica? In Russia it costs, expressing in MXN, 105 peso per kilogram.
What a brilliant man, and so humble. He literally found a city on his own, and answers the simplest questions with such a non-condescending manner.
This was extremely entertaining, while being so educational.
ehhhhh disagree. He speaks in a lot of absolutes. Saying Mayans created a better math than the western world when for a large number like 5,000 you would have to write 1,000 bars. He also said Mayans beat out Egyptians in pyramid expertise though it's really like apples and oranges. He even states the Egyptians developed a pyramid 3X higher than the highest Mayan pyramid. He's a great scholar but makes some pretty bold statements that are actually subjective.
@@MinervaAlvarez-dx3jc Wikipedia Maya_numerals. They're pretty neat
@@MinervaAlvarez-dx3jc You've misrepresented so much of what he said. He didn't say better math system, he said more elegant. And he only said that Maya beat out Egyptians in terms of HOW MANY pyramids they built.
@@Jack_Stones yeah its definitely more elegant because if you look at the final answer you know the individual pieces.
As a 4"10' descent of the maya living in the US, you made me feel seen. 😂 We ARE still here, just look down!
You aren’t kidding. I am a giant at 5’1” 🤣🤣🤣
I like the look down joke, it works both ways.
Bro my brothers are 6 feet tall this is just a stereotype
@treejay818 it's not, maya people are genetically shorter, but you can still be 6 feet and maya, it's just rare
"Just look down" omg 😂
As a maya speaking person living in Yucatán, Dr Barnhart is invited to the cochinita.
As long as he doesn't bring potato salad with raisins 😂
@@alisterfolsonew he said he eats that?
@@mcwarlords4378nah, he’s just making a reference to Chadwick Boseman’s Black Jeopardy sketch on SNL.
Your sentence means that Dr. Barnhart is a Maya-speaking person living in the Yucatán.
@@Mikeztarp for sentences like these you are not invited to the cochinita
"Tech Support" is one of the best quick little shows on youtube. it never disappoints and this one was no different. cheers and bravo
Yes I hope they continue this series for a long time
I wish they were longer! I always want to hear more
As a descendant of the Mayan, living in Yucatán, listening to people saying "Aliens helped the Maya to build pyramids" is just sickening. You people are NOT invited to cochinita, you pelaná people. Anyway, thanks to Dr. Barnhart for the info!!
Vast majority of us don't believe alien nonsense anyway.
So? I thought the same and I’m Mexican. You’re NOT invited to the carne asada for being disrespectful to theories
Love that he addressed the alien theories completing disparaging and discounting the abilities and intelligence of the Mayans 👏🏼 Yes they figured it out on their own!
Dr. Barnhart is a mentor & great friend of mine. So glad to see him get a big platform like this. Well deserved.
I watched all his courses on "Great Courses"! He is my teacher!
Such a brilliant communicator! He sets out everything so clearly I feel I learned something
@@milamilla1977 Same! Gotta go on one of his trips if I can swing it. Also have to shout out his podcast ArchaeoEd if anyone else wants more Ed content
He is an even better mentor and an even greater friend of mine. I'm even more glad to see him get a platform like this
@@FatTracksMusic I liked his appearance on Oak Island! Like: "What is it?... Vikings!"
As someone who has Inca ancestry & backpacked in Mexico, Belize, & Guatemala I can assure you the Mayan people are EVERYWHERE in that region despite colonization. They still speak Mayan languages & dress traditionally, as well as retain & practice much of their precolonial customs
You don't even need to leave the US to see this. Guatemalans are everywhere in the US and speak Mayan dialects in addition to Spanish. You hear it literally everywhere
@@microbios8586 I’m aware. There are a lot of Mayans where I live. Palm Beach County has tons, especially in the Lake Worth Beach area (Florida)
This is refreshing to hear
Mayan descendant here, living in Port Saint Lucie Florida
Go to Los Angeles at mac Arthur Park there's a lot
lmao he answered that alien question with the utmost exhaustion, like he had been asked 1000 times already haha. Which i'm sure he has.
They had him in ancient aliens. I never got a full story but in one lecture at least he made it pretty clear he was interviewed without full explanation of what his sound bites were going to be used for…
any person in archeology probably despises that question, especially those who focus in western indigenous communities
@@peculiarpigmaybe it is asked because both the Mayans, Egyptians and Aztecs built incredible Pyramids which weren't made by any other societies during the same time. So it is a fair question not a western bias.
@@scaps2200 You know you can't use the word "both" and then go on to list 3 separate civilizations...
He gives a great answer too.
This guy is great. I'd watch an entire documentary. He's so respectful and approachable.
He has 50+ hours of content on the great courses much more in depth than this
@@GizkaStew THANK YOU!
He went of alex fridman recently too
Mayans having the concept of zero and using it so long ago is quite advanced. It opens a whole world of mathematics.
Once again, Wired found the singlemost charismatic and engaging teacher for the class. This was amazing, I hope Dr. Ed will come back for Mayan Support 2!
React to movies like El Dorado(one of my top animated) & Apocalypto.
They always kill it with the people they have on. Not only does it make me more interested in the subject that they're talking about it makes me more interested in the people telling us about the subject.
The false theory of aliens “disparaging the abilities of the Mayans” is such an important point and a perspective I hadn’t considered. This was a fascinating talk!
My theory when it comes to aliens, is that maybe the gods of ancient people were actually aliens who, however, had very limited interaction with their worshippers if any. For example aliens didn't build the pyramids, but maybe they had pyramid shaped ships and the people who saw them decided that "this shape has divine origin so we build our temples to match "
@@jpteknomana pyramid is just a way to build a tall structure that doesn't fall down
It's a natural shape to find eventually
The Egyptians did and the maya/aztec did too
Does that apply to the Christian god too? Was he an alien too?
Ignoramus.
@@jpteknoman please don't vote
If you or someone else interested, there is a whole TH-cam channel Miniminuteman with more of that stuff. It was truly refreshing to see how a lot of conspiracy theories or bad archaeology takes are dismissing intelligence of ancient people, have roots in scientific racism, disrespected culture which was a subject of the study, gave publicity to actual conmans, etc.
I feel I just learned more about the Maya than half a dozen documentaries (even the good non-alien kind!) in just one short video. This man is a goldmine, please bring him back again!
He's got roughly 52 hours worth of lectures on Wondrium, go crazy
He has a podcast here on youtube.
He hosts probably my favorite podcast, ArcheoEd, and runs the Mayan Exploration Center.
He keep ignoring African American contributions.
@@chamade166 genuinely, I’d like to hear a source on that
As a honduran, I am quite excited knowing we learn mayan math in school. The basics, but it's still fun to do. A bit dissapointed he didn't mention Copán at all though, considering its glyph staircase is very important today.
Omg Ive seen most Wired Support video but this speaker has to be top 5 material! His knowledge and passion for the Maya people are obvious and the way he tells stories and dispels myths is so engaging, I didnt want him to end! I fell in love with the culture as a teenager vacationing in Xcaret and I've been back to Yucatán many times!
Fellow archaeologist and paleoanthropologist here! I cannot appreciate enough how much he touched on the conspiracy of aliens being directed solely towards POC/Indigenous groups, as if they were not as capable as the "more white" civilizations and could never construct such impressive structures on their own - like the Greeks and Romans. He has always been such an incredible archaeologist! There is *almost* never a question of aliens (or giants) helping the Romans build the Colosseum (which had the capability to have naval battles within it), The Colossus of Rhodes or Nero, Trajan's Column, the Pantheon, the aqueduct systems, so on and so forth. These hurtful conspiracies are crucial to debunk in our field, and not everyone is willing to touch on the subject; particularly the older people in our field. Working for the museum industry, you can guess what kind of people always ask us these questions. They also tend to throw a hissy-fit when we reach the human evolution part of the Paleo tours.
My friend said the same thing about Nan Madol "omg no way people built that must've been aliens". I just asked him "this was built AFTER Venice, do you think aliens built Venice?"
He finally got the point lol
@@davidheaton6206 we should just give you up to the aliens and call it a day
People also think that aliens made stone henge. Anyone who thinks the answer is aliens is a dumbass.
The most recent episode of the skeptics guide to the universe addressed this as well. Said pretty much the same thing you did. 👍
It also ties into the WS ideology of the "magical savage"... original melaninated ppl weren't scientific, they "just knew" ya know kinda like animals 🙄
Lmao at me being a 5'2 Maya descendent living in the US. My great grandparents were *mostly* colonized. A lot of my older relatives still speak the language. We're still around 🙋♀️
I live in the Pacific Northwest, in the States, and it recently sort of struck me that I see _many_ more people of Maya descent up here than I do local indigenous people.
"Assimilation" isn't colonization.
@hughmann9568 ofc not! I have assimilated. My great grandparents and their peers, on the other hand, were forced to abandon their teachings(mine still did rituals in secret), change their names(mine kept theirs in secret), and learn a new language, as well as forcing their future generations to only speak the new language- spanish, etc. Just like most other Native people, the culture was erased for a lot of us and we have to take the time and effort to go back and reclaim our heritage 💖 remember this is just one example of many. You can probably find someone local to you with a similar story if you're willing to learn more. Highly recommend!
@@hughmann9568 when someone says theyre colonized it means the same thing as assimilated dipshit
Exactly. And many are petite like you. ❤
The Mayans taught me that if you don't finish something, it's not really the end of the world.
Amazing & underrated comment, glad I’m here bravo 🤣
Maya, not Mayans.
LoL the calendar
@@cacogenicist Wow you are so smart. Thanks for your valuable contribution.
Ba dum tish.
“The Aztecs sacrificed almost anybody” 😂😂😂 Idk why but this cracked me up. He’s so knowledgeable about this awesome culture with such a rich history, please bring him back for part two!
QT
@@legitbeans9078 simp
I see creators like this and roll my eyes. You proved me wrong. Thank you for knowing your stuff. I'm so tired of people spreading misinformation about my culture.
Asking where the Mayans went is like asking where the Ancient Romans went. They became "Italian", among other nationalities. The problem is that most Maya have been forced to speak Spanish and identify as "Hispanic" today, even if they've got no European ancestry.
European master race 😊
Like any culture, they just got assimilated. Where did the Vikings go? They settled all over Europe.
Mayan languages have plenty of speakers today. Seems like you too have been misinformed
@@KateeAngel Yeah I've been through villages where the elders could kinda speak spanish and the kids could kinda speak english but everyone talked to each other in K'iche or Que'ekche. I don't think they considered themselves Latin Americans... It's hard to get demographics numbers in the jungles but in regard to the Aztecs, at least 1.5 million still speak Nauhatl as a first language.
Lmao you clearly don't know 💩 there'd plenty in Mexico speaking their native languages and identify as Mayan and whatever else like in the US with native Americans
I live in the Yucatan peninsula and I'm so glad our culture gets a Wired episode. Great talk.
🇬🇹🇬🇹🇬🇹
It's so hot around there. I visited for a week and holy moly. Beautiful area though. So many different animals and natural areas
so fortunate!
@@rokosbasilisk913Yucatan is in Mexico not Guatemala wtf
@@rokosbasilisk913🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽
He found a city at 25 using his intuition? That has to be the biggest flex in the history of flex
Hmmm intuition based on his deep knowledge of mayan civilisation, extensive studying of topography and maps of the area and ,like he said, the fact that mayan settlements are everywhere in Central America.
That was implied
@@pmc8451still he was just 25. that is impressive!
right?? hes so cool :)
A flex? Yeah. The biggest flex in the history of flex? Not even close
7:22 With modern tech, we found a Mayan city ACCIDENTALLY just the other day! (It's currently October 2024)
This information needs to be taught in schools, it's a disservice to our young people that it isn't a required part of U.S. curriculum
Why would it be
@@aheinrich2535 because it helps preserve cultures. A lot of cultures have been lost due to colonization. The mayan culture is one of many that are struggling to stay alive. Other native American cultures have also been wiped out, specifically in the US , so it is important to know history so we can do better in the present and future. Aztec and Inca's history is taught in AP World courses, but AP world curriculum begins in 1200 and beyond, but Mayans were there way before that time period
@@seagreen917 yeah base-level stuff should be taught in advanced classes, ive taken AP World myself, but in depth level analysis regarding the traditions of the Maya people should not be a required learning aspect in the United States curriculum lmfao
You didn't learn about them? I grew up in Los Angeles and I remember learning about the great civilizations of the Americas when I took world history in 7th grade, and then learned about them again in high school
@@bi_swamp_thing I didn't, unfortunately
It's soo refreshing to actually learn about real Mayan culture instead of in the context of "aliens" or "human sacrifice". Great presentation too.
Or Apocalypto.
unfortunately, he did reduce the Aztecs to savages and said that they did sacrifices, which they did not.
@@supernatural5354 Uh WHAT? The Aztecs were the largest enjoyers of human sacrifice in HUMAN HISTORY, big dog.
@@danlorett2184 i don't think you understand what the word sacrifice means, little boy.
@@supernatural5354they did do sacrifices. Pretty well documented that they sacrificed enemy warriors. And Spanish didn’t per se but they regularly massacred prisoners of war. Same thing.
Really noticing the ardent use of the correct term Maya and not Mayans, loved this vid
Yet they are still using “Aztec” and not Mexica and Mexicas
oh, Mayan is incorrect? i didn't know that
@ericktellez7632 he's using the term that 99% of people will understand, not the term only 1% will. This is a video about the Maya, and he understandably decided the correct term for the aztecs was not important for the conversation.
@@cronchybo Mayan is a language family, Maya is the name of the people
@@ericktellez7632Mexica isn’t interchangeable with Aztec. Mexica refers to an ethno-linguistic group, and Aztec to a polity. There’s considerable overlap of course, most of the people in the Aztec empire were Mexica, but there were lots of other peoples, and many Mexica outside the empire. It’s like “Iranian” and “Persian”. Neither is incorrect, it’s a question of context.
When homeboy here said Aztec, that’s what he meant, and he used it correctly.
My favorite way, as someone who studied anthropology in college, to explain to coworkers about the 2012 thing back then was "You ever roll over the odometer on your car? 'Yeah, why?" "Did the car disappear?"
Also, the Maya and Aztecs aren't the only civilizations to beat Egypt on number of pyramids, the Nubians did too. It's just that the ones in Egypt are more obvious and bigger.
Fingers crossed for a happy 4772
Yes, but it was a Lada and it had a "Free Ukraine" bumper sticker.
The water irrigation/ and sanitation system is fascinating, especially that picture of gathered water wow
Respect for this person for having patience for many stupid questions like the Oreo calendar and alien stuff
Please have this guy back just to talk about his time in Guatemala and the discoveries he made! I want to know more
he has a great podcast called archeoed on Spotify where he goes into his exploits highly recommend
Very Eurocentric view of history. He not mentioning the contributions of African Nations and Africans Americans. 👎🏿
Lmao latin america is literally what his PhD is about. That’s his specialty. The world doesn’t revolve ab Africans. Get over yourself
@@chamade166WTH are you talking about, he's talking about Mayan history not African, grow up!
Dr Ed has his own channel maybe you are curious to check his channel
I took an Mesoamerica anthropology class in college and fell in love with this topic. My college professor warned us about people trying to discredit the Mayan/ Aztec culture by saying aliens helped them. I loved your response about that and acknowledging the fact that they did it on their own. Thank you so much for researching this topic and sharing your knowledge ❤
When I was in college, I was supposed to take Western Civ, but all the classes were full so I had to take a year of Latin American Civ instead. The only thing that was really interesting and amazing to me was the pre-contact stuff. It was all so strange, foreign, and absolutely fascinating. The rest of the history...nearly all of it...every single Western-influenced country...seemed to be comprised of endless lists of unstable, unethical and corrupt governments run by dictators, military juntas, and/or shady political parties.
Must be a very very old professor...by definitely knowing how history portrayed
@ implying that you had to be there to know what’s going on is a very ignorant way of thinking, that’s not how anthropology works. You should read many books.
Soo good to listen to a passionate expert who knows what he is talking about. Been hearing too much ancient alien mumbo jumbo lately.
Here here!
Why do you have to bring Mumbo Jumbo into this 😭😭
ah wait, mumbo jumbo is actually slang. Sorry, English isn't my first language. Didn't know
7:54 reminds me of the dimensional mind in Robert Greene's book Mastery where he says that high level intuitions *through an intense immersion in a field for many years*mixed with rational thinking, is what leads to discoveries
It is refreshing to hear an English speaker talk about and acknowledge the merits of a civilisation that has nothing to do with Europe (Western) without the prejudice that no one but them, the Europeans, could have had any advances in science or art.
For the average WASP, ancient civilisations are a curiosity, their current inhabitants are a headache. By that logic: the ancient Middle East is history, the modern Middle East is a problem. The "dead Indian" is culture, the "living Indian", a problem.
So back to the point, my appreciation to Dr. Barnhart 👏
* And I wrote it in English (even though I shouldn't) because otherwise they wouldn't bother to even press the translate button.
What are you talking about? God you seem arrogant. And deluded.
Basically all that Maya are known for, by English speakers, is their advances in science and art. Pyramids and astronomy.
"For the average WASP, ancient civilisations are a curiosity, their current inhabitants are a headache. By that logic: the ancient Middle East is history, the modern Middle East is a problem. The "dead Indian" is culture, the "living Indian", a problem."
that's too harsh. It happens, and happens a lot, but it is the extreme, bigot WASP these days, not the average.
15:20 “it has not settled more than 2 cm in 1000 years” that’s honestly insane. My driveway settles more than that every year.
😂😂😂
your house is built on quicksand
F
You all should do one on the Aymaran, Quechua, and other pre- and post-Inca cultures and people. Those communities are also still alive and thriving today!
Mapuche! Mapuche!
They’ll probably do the Inca since they’re popular, but it would be cool if they did Chiloe or Chimu people.
The would definitely do an Inca Support
There are 80 indigenous languages in Mexico. So why not study Purepecha or Mixtec or Naual ?
The experts you select to do these are so entertaining and engaging with their styles.
I could listen to Dr. Ed Barnhart speak for hours. His deep knowledge of the Maya civilization is fascinating. Wow!
I love this! my favorite wired presenter so far, so cool to hear these ancient anecdotes that usually are not in the official history guide books.
I held off watching this because I was afraid of another prejudiced video against people that is so often mysticized. I am so happy after watching this video because of how respectful all this knowledge was presented. It’s clear he loves his field of study and has immense respect for the maya culture and people both past and present. Thank you for posting this.
and then you read comment by 'a Mexican and descendant of Aztec and Tzotzil' who thinks it was all built by aliens...
Man that whole King Pakal question made me remember my intro to archeology class in college where the prof was an expert on Mesoamerican civs mostly Mayans and the man went on a 50min rant about how dumb ancient aliens are and used Pakal as an example. One of the funner classes we had
I’ve lived in Yucatán for 7 years and I’m so fascinated about Maya culture and history. Can’t tell you how happy this made me.
So cool seeing someone as lovely and charismatic as dr Barnhart. Not many ppl can say they found an ancient city. That’s cool af
3:30 watching this for the first time and checked the calendar, it’s august 13. I feel special knowing this.
As someone of Maya descent, it's always been an interest of mine to learn more about my distant ancestors. One day I hope to visit the Maya people living in Central America.
Your guatemalan ?
Real archeology is so much cooler than aliens.
Nah sci-fi is cooler
@@lilaclunablossom yeah, fictional aliens and real history are both cool and should be kept separate
@@spicysalad3013you’ll be surprised how much “history” is fake. Its all open for discussion in my book. Aliens, history etc. theres proof and theories for both
Negative. Dinosaurs are not real. Archeology is a manipulated historical timeline.
Agrees. And it’s real.
That detail abour reservoirs is genuinely fascinating! It's a really ingenious way to get a stable water supply that you'd never imagine at first!
I was a little skeptical when I saw a white American answering these questions, but I can tell this guy has dedicated his life to learning about the Maya culture and has a great vision, understanding, and respect for this great civilization. Respect.
I really appreciate the comment on how the aliens stuff is a way to undermine the capabilities of any civilizations that aren't Eurocentric. All of this was so cooooooooll and informative!!!
Didn't think this would be as interesting as it was. This guy knows his stuff and is a pleasure to listen to
This video needs a part 2 for sure. Could watch him talk ab this all day
Dr. Barnhart has always been generous and informative to my email inquries regarding the Maya. Nice to see him on this platform.
whaaat, are u currently studying archeology? and if ur not do u just.. email him? should i probably do that too? lol because i really want to
@@blue---monday I’m an independent researcher, author and tour leader, I just sent him an email to verify something and he was kind enough to reply.
I just visited Chiapas in may! Mayan peoples abound in this state of Mexico. I also had the chance to visit Palenque, it was an amazing experience. As Dr. Ed mentioned, the site is HUGE. Chiapanec people speak different mayan dialects, visitng comunities around the state was amazing. This area has a deep, rich culture that the people defend to keep alive. I hope to go back to spend another month here soon!
I’ve been telling everyone about this video every day for the past few days. This is literally so good, I can’t
Ed has a podcast called ArcheoED it’s great
we are kindly requesting "Linguist answers Language questions"
As a linguist, I volunteer lmao I could talk about languages all day
Paging Dr. Geoff Lindsey!! @drgeofflindsey
omg ur so right i cant believe they havent done that one before
please
@@hathawynwhat’s your favorite language and why
Wow, I could listen to Dr. Barnhart talk about the Maya all day.
It’s been a great pleasure of my life to experience this
Good news, he has a podcast and a bunch of Great Courses lecture series.
What an impressive man, discovering that at 25 sounds insane!!
yeah, I'm 25 right now and can't imagine that
Please do more of these with Asian, Polynesian, Aztec, Inca, other ancient South American civilations, Africa, Native American historians 💕
I went to Chichén-Itzá about 20 years ago and absolutely loved it. I could listen to this guy talking all day long!
Another fun fact, headbinding isn't exclusive to the Maya. It's found in South America, North America, and across the Asian Steppe
Always imagined it was a way to shape the head so they could wear certain giant headdresses. just a thought tho
I was thinking of the flathead tribe, myself. Could the practice have migrated with the culture of corn?
Egyptians
Dr Barnhart also does an excellent lecture series for the Great Courses on Ancient Mesoamerican history- pleasantly surprised to see him in my TH-cam feed with this now
When I studied ancient mesoamerican civilizations at university I realized how amazing Mayans were/are. Underrated!
Never delete this video. Just fabulous.
I love how he said that the mayas had a more elegant way of reading numbers. Here in the south of México we are required to learn how to do math as the mayas did and its pretty cool that for simple math problems you can count better than with actual numbers
As an avid ancient Greek sport historian, I love this.
That is interesting with the nine-month gestation period being the basis for the Mayan calendar. Similarly, if people ever wonder why certain civilizations or groups had/have calendars different than the western, Gregorian, 365-day-year format, it really has a lot to do also with seasons. Our western calendar was more or less formed in colder or places more temperate climates, with “actual” seasons. It’s easy to divide a solar cycle twelve ways when you have four seasons that are roughly three months long, respectively. But the Maya (and other civilizations closer to the equator, or in deserts, mountains, etc.) likely experienced slightly different weather patterns. This would probably affect their organization and division of a solar cycle…
Hello there! Mexican living in the maya area here. The 260 day calendar is a ritual calendar used for divination and certain rituals and it was called Tzolkín. The maya also used the 365 day solar calendar called "Haab" for daily purposes. They had other very important calendar like the calendar round (a combination of the 260 day calendar and the 365 day solar calendar) and long count (used to count long periods of time), and many other cycles.
More if this man, please!
As someone who worked with Mayan immigrants to the United States, I love the acknowledgment of their beautiful, resilient cultural presence today. Guatemala is still very much a predominately Mayan nation, ethnically and culturally, and is steeped in that incredible history. Also, some of the most kindhearted and resilient people in the face of blistering persecution and governmental corruption.
yes 🩵🩵🩵 proud Guatemalan here
Prof is like “yeah I found a lost city of the Maya at 25. It was pretty cool.” My man has swagger.
Fascinating about the Mayan numbers! I actually came up with a similar system for my conlang! An open dot is 1, a closed dot is 2, a vertical bar is 5, and a horizontal bar is zero.
Wired gets the best experts every time! They all have a really similar comfortable, conversational vibe.
Most fascinating one of these in a while!
Not only did we learn about the Maya; we also learned to write and calculate how they did.
I have fallen in love with the Maya after going to Cancun. I was so completely blown away by their amazing civilization. I plan on going back as many times as I can to visit as many sites as possible.
Palenque is very developed, like modern city.
MOre! More! That was so good. Dr Barnhart made the hour fly and was pretty engaging! Yes, please, more!
The immature size of me kinda died laughing at 18:13. As a Guatemalan, even I had no clue that Mayan's weren't into sacrifices. Always thought it was shared passion between Aztecs and Mayans
I’ve listened to this guy’s lectures on great courses. They’re really good
This was an absolute treat!!! These kinds of videos always bring smile to my face because it's such a pleasure to hear people truly passionate about their jobs explain their field and area of expertise! Would love to see Dr. Barnhart again!!!
Hands down, the most thorough Wired "Support". Thanks, Dr. B..
I appreciate how elegantly he answered the questions about aliens. I think a lot of people just want to believe cool sounding theories regardless of how likely they are to be true just because it would be neat if it were true. But this man very gently reminded us how disrespectful the idea of ancient aliens is to those people.
Bring Dr. Ed Barnhart back! He is EXCELLENT! I want to learn more about what he knows!
I recently read a Nat Geo article about how they're finding SO many new Mayan cities and temples with lidar! Lidar is SO fascinating in what it can do for the archaeological world! I love this guy's passion for the Maya - I fell in love with the Inca after a school project many many years ago now, and along the way I begant o love the Maya and the Egyptians as well... truly, these ancient civilizations were SO hyper intelligent, and they rarely get credit for it. The Mayan capital had a road that was effectively the size of an 8 lane highway that lead to it, it was so busy at the height of Mayan civilization!! I cried, reading that Nat Geo article, realizing how amazing it is that Lidar is able to help us learn so much more about the Maya, and how profound a civilization they were before their culture was crushed by outsiders.
Can't believe how much damage the Ancient Aliens show and popular myths have done to the study of Ancient Civilozations.
And Graham Hancock with his drivel. People want to believe in conspiracies, no matter how insane, because it makes them feel special.
It's like the information age got hijacked by idiots and became the misinformation age instead.
As a Guatemalan woman, I appreciated this in so many ways!! Also appreciated that he used BCE and CE
Exactly, not everyone believes in Christ.
@@BOMBON187 And yet BCE and CE are based on christianity, nothing more than coping :D
I love these videos just because listening to an expert talk about the subject they know very well always interests me. There is SO MUCH to know about the world, as well as the universe beyond our own planet, and it takes a lot of knowledgeable folks to keep track of it all. I am thankful for all of them.
Doc, you're the living definition of the Keep Austin Weird slogan. (That's a compliment.)
This was amazing. Now let's get a Tech Support edition featuring an expert on Ancient Sub-Saharan society!
This guy was terrific. Super knowledge and with great delivery. Please bring him back.
More videos with Dr. Barhart- explaining Mayan architecture, power centers, lines of travel and communication between city states, Olmec influences, etc. or whatever his personal area of expertise is.
My man really brought his "guayabera" to this session. I respect that.
We need more people like this gentleman - an excellent teacher and speaker who is also a passionate expert who's spent his whole life studying and researching what he loves - to drown out all the 'it looks like something so it must be' Such as - that's a purse on that rock - and that's an alien ship - and that's a smart-phone 🙄
My dad always talked about "The Mayan" he was so so soooo fascinated by them and told me a lot of things, i guess i just learned so much more about them now!
17:10 those books are beautiful, that's not just a writing system, it's an artform.
I love how passionate these experts are in these videos. Super fun, super engaging and super informational
Brilliant explanation! This expert totally rocks, leaving us wanting more.
Eyyy us Zapotecs got a shout out! ❤ thank you for sharing!