Wisuru‘s Biography Podcast

In this part of our biography podcast, we look at one of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas - The Mayas.

Would you rather read about the Maya? Read it here: Maya. If the link doesn't work, copy and paste this URL into your browser - https://wisuru.com/history/the-maya/

The earliest Maya settlements in North America date back to 1800BC [Citation 1]. At that time, they were just a bunch of farmers. But they expanded continuously for the next 2000 years. As a result, by the year 250AD, there were several powerful Maya cities. 

The Maya were very religious people. According to them, the gods needed nourishment. So, they offered human blood and human sacrifices to them. 

Each of these cities was ruled by a king. The king was at the center of the Maya culture. He was the political, religious, and military head of the country. All the people other than the king fell into one of these three classes - the upper, middle, and lower classes.

While the Maya were socially divided into three classes, their empire was regionally divided into several city-states. Each of these city-states had a king. But people in these city-states were not politically united. They did not share a common identity either. But these cities thrived greatly until the ninth century.

Then, in the ninth century, these cities were deserted by their own people. The reason for that could be one or a combination of more than one of the below factors:

• Overexploitation of resources made the soil infertile

But regardless of the reason, the Maya cities were abandoned. As a result, when the Spanish came to these places, all they saw were the remnants of what was once a great empire.

Finally, this episode ends by discussing some fun facts/common myths about the Maya people, in the below order.

1. Where did the Maya get their name from?

2. Why did the Maya make human sacrifices? [Citation 3]

3. Did the Maya really sacrifice the losers of their ball game, Ulama? [Citation 4 & Citation 5]

4. Did the Maya really predict that the world would end on December 21st, 2012?

1. https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-americas/maya

Resources

1. An illustration of the Maya Social class - http://www.historyshistories.com/maya-society.html

Donation link

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In this part of our biography podcast, find out about the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, whom Christopher Columbus met. We will first find out who the ancestors of these Indigenous Peoples were. Then, we will proceed to find out how these Indigenous People lived.

Would you rather read about the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas? Read it here:

1. The Indigenous Peoples of the Americas. If the link doesn't work, copy and paste this URL into your browser - https://wisuru.com/history/the-indigenous-peoples-of-the-americas/

2. The Caribs and the Arawaks. If the link doesn't work, copy and paste this URL into your browser - https://wisuru.com/history/caribs-and-arawaks/

The first humans came to the Americas through the Bering bridge, which is also known as Beringia. Since the global temperature at that time was 8°C lower [Citation 1] than it is today, and a lot of water was in the form of ice, Beringia was not covered by water. So, people came to this Beringia, 24,000 years ago [Citation 2] & [Citation 3], because it offered them better chances of survival [citation 4]. They stayed there for around 10,000 years or lesser and then moved to the Americas [Citation 5]. These people were the ancestors of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas.

Two Indigenous Peoples lived in the Caribbean during the time of Columbus' arrival. They were the Lokono and the Kalinaga.

• Friendly people who loved peace

• Fierce people who loved war and fighting

When Christopher Columbus first came to the Caribbean, he met the Lokono. Then, he sailed further south and met the Kalinaga. He called the Lokono as Arawaks and Kalinaga as Caribs.

The Caribs had a custom of eating human flesh to acquire the characteristics of the person who died. It was a ritual for them. They used this ritual before going to a battle and when they trained children. But they did not eat human flesh like for the taste or pleasure of it. But Columbus used their custom to spread the rumor that they were cannibals. So, he was able to acquire Queen Isabella's permission to capture the Caribs.

Christopher Columbus used the queen's permission as an excuse to capture Caribs and Arawaks and use them as slaves. In the years that followed, most of the Caribs and Arawaks died not only due to abuse and inhuman working conditions, but also due to the diseases brought by the Spanish.

1. https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/ice-age-climate-was-cooler-than-expected/46613272

Resources

1. A map of Beringia - https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/sunken-bridge-size-continent/

Donation link

Do you like our work and want to donate to us? You can do so by using this Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/wisuru

Have some suggestions to share with us? Just tweet to us using our Twitter link: https://twitter.com/WisuruBiography

In this part of our biography podcast, find out about why people set sail in the 15th century. Listen to the biography of Christopher Columbus now.

Read our blog post

Would you rather read his biography? Read it here: History of Christopher Columbus. If the link doesn't work, copy and paste this URL into your browser - https://wisuru.com/biography/history-of-christopher-columbus/

Donation link

Do you like our work and want to donate to us? You can do so by using this Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/wisuru

Contact us

Have some suggestions to share with us? Just tweet to us using our Twitter link: https://twitter.com/WisuruBiography

In this part of our biography podcast, find out how Walt Disney made a big decision that affected the entire animation industry. Also find out what he did in his last years, how he died, and some interesting facts about him. Listen to the biography of Walt Disney now.

Read our blog post

Would you rather read his biography? Read it here: Biography of Walt Disney. If the link doesn't work, copy and paste this URL into your browser - https://wisuru.com/biography/biography-of-walt-disney/

Resources

1. Snow White and the seven dwarfs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJOCqDl9Dtc

Donation link

Do you like our work and want to donate to us? You can do so by using this Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/wisuru

Contact us

Have some suggestions to share with us? Just tweet to us using our Twitter link: https://twitter.com/WisuruBiography

In this part of our biography podcast, find out how Walt Disney became a famous cartoon maker after being betrayed by his own film distributor. Listen to the biography of Walt Disney now.

Read our blog post

Would you rather read his biography? Read it here: Biography of Walt Disney. If the link doesn't work, copy and paste this URL into your browser - https://wisuru.com/biography/biography-of-walt-disney/

Resources

1. Walt Disney's 'Laugh-o-grams' - https://youtu.be/51CRL1EtMN4

Donation link

Do you like our work and want to donate to us? You can do so by using this Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/wisuru

Contact us

Have some suggestions to share with us? Just tweet to us using our Twitter link: https://twitter.com/WisuruBiography

In this part of our biography podcast, find out about Walt Disney's ancestors, how his childhood was, and how his last name originated. Listen to the biography of Walt Disney now.

Read our blog post

Would you rather read his biography? Read it here: Biography of Walt Disney. If the link doesn't work, copy and paste this URL into your browser - https://wisuru.com/biography/biography-of-walt-disney/

Donation link

Do you like our work and want to donate to us? You can do so by using this Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/wisuru

Contact us

Have some suggestions to share with us? Just tweet to us using our Twitter link: https://twitter.com/WisuruBiography