Guatemala first sees proof of human settlers as far back as 10,000 BC, with possible human activity as far back as 18,000 BC. During the Mayan cultural golden age (300-900 AD) they developed a very precise script of words and pictures as well as mathematical and astronomical knowledge. They developed a calendar based on exact astronomic observations and is more precise than that used by NASA today. The Mayan included the concept of zero and created trade routes and the most complex writing system of all American cultures up to their time. Major cities were commercial and spiritual centers. Each city was ruled by a k'ul ajaw, a king of god status, who ruled a united secular and religious realm. Their cities flourished across Central America, complete with remarkable pyramids, temples, observatories and libraries. All of the ruins which can be seen today survived under the thick cover of the rainforest for centuries before being uncovered.
During the Pre-Classic Era, the first nation states and cities were being formed. It is also a period that sees the first examples of the large scale architecture that characterizes the ceremonial ancient Maya. El Mirador, an important Mayan city at this time, was not only the most populated city in the Americas, but also the region’s first politically organized state. The ancient Mayan civilizations begin their mysterious fall and as the Aztecs began their domination of Mesoamerica. People immigrated into the highlands of Guatemala and continued city states among what are now the various indigenous groups of Guatemala. At the time of the Spanish invasion, the Mayan descendants lived in very simple circumstances, pursued agriculture and were in close contact to nature.
The Conquest period from 1500 A.D. to 1600 A.D. began with expeditions to Guatemala in 1518. Having conquered Mexico, Hernán Cortés would authorize Pedro de Alvarado to conquer Guatemala. Pedro de Alvarado was an especially ruthless soldier who used warring Maya factions to his advantage. Alvarado mercilessly murdered entire villages; millions of men, women and children were burned alive, dismembered, raped, fed to wild dogs or enslaved. Within a few years, they had become slaves in their own homeland, deprived of their lands, their rights, and any political or social representation of any kind. Their libraries and cities were burned and sacked, and their religion and culture were banned.
In 1490 Latin America contained 20% of the world’s population. Less than a century later, the region represented 3% of the world. Combined with the European diseases, brutality of the conquest, and enslavement, the population of the highlands diminished by 70-90% in the first century. Near the end of the 18th century, the Spanish would lose interest in Guatemala, finding little silver or gold. They would relinquish their hold over the area, causing great civil unrest in the 1800’s. Among the most important dates in Guatemala history is September 15, 1821, when the country declared its independence from Spain. Unfortunately the independence from Spain did little to improve living conditions for the majority of Guatemalans.
The 1800’s depicted struggles between Conservatives and Liberals in which there was almost permanent civil war between. Conservatives were estate owners and merchants who favored close ties with Spain, the Catholic Church and benefited from the government monopolies. Liberals favored free trade, integration to the world economy and a less control by the church in the society. Politically the country was unstable and subject to dictatorial regimes.
From 1944-1954, Guatemalan society enjoyed what is now referred to as the "Ten Years of Spring" with two popularly elected and reformist presidents. In 1944 Juan José Arévalo Bermejo becomes president following the overthrow of Jorge Ubico (1933-1944). Ubico was a dictator responsible for deprivation of all rights, tortures and shootings. He was removed following a public uprising. Arévalo initiated voting rights, the right for political parties and unions to organize, the freedom of speech, literacy programs, introduced social-democratic reforms, including setting up a social security system and redistributed land to landless peasants.
Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán was elected president in 1950, upheld most of Arévalo’s programs and instituted vast land reform. By 1954, 1000 haciendas, including 400,000 acres owned by the United Fruit Company had been expropriated and distributed to over 100,000 families. In 1954 the CIA sponsors a coup to overthrow Árbenz. Many reforms were reversed and many union and progressive activists were arrested and killed.
The war took the lives of thousands of Guatemalans, and not officially concluding until the signing of Peace Accords between the government and guerilla forces in 1996. The country has a long way to go to achieve the goals laid out in this important document. The United Nations sponsored Truth Commission, or Commission for Historical Clarification, presented its findings in March 1999. The Commission found that the Guatemalan army had committed some 93% of the total war crimes, and had carried out over 600 massacres. Moreover, the army's counterinsurgency campaign had legally constituted genocide against the Mayan people. The U.R.N.G. forces were charged with 3% of the violations.
Guatemala has a population of 14 million, 75 % live below the poverty line and the percentage is greater in the Highlands. The Mayan population composes around 60% of the indigenous population and are settled mainly in the Western Highlands and central Guatemala. Rural areas are a distinctive contrast to the urban centers. Most rural villages have no easily accessible education, electricity, paved roads or running water.
The Mayans have not accepted their fate lightly. History shows that every generation since the Spanish conquest they have rebelled even though they were quickly silenced by the oligarchy. Nevertheless, the Mayans have preserved their culture through wearing hand woven cloth, celebrating religious and cultural ceremonies, and speaking their language. Today the socio-economic structure is suggestive to the old South Africa. Being oppressed by severe racial discrimination despite the Mayans constituting the majority of the population. Even though Guatemala is the wealthiest Central American country, the rural villagers suffer an 80% malnutrition level, 80% functional illiteracy level, and the highest infant mortality rate in the hemisphere, second only to Haiti. But the elite (usually lighter skinned descendants of colonists) enjoy great wealth and social privilege. Regardless of the odds and sometimes in secret, the Mayans of Guatemala survived and maintained their heritage, religion and languages intact. There are 23 Mayan languages spoken in Guatemala today, and the people have developed a pluralism of Christianity and traditional beliefs.
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