The development of the Maya includes four major phases:
- Pre-Mayan Culture: 12,800 BCE to 8680 BCE
- Karmic Phase - the Beginnings of the Maya: 8680 BCE to 7500 BCE
- Outward Phase: 7500 BCE to 2000 BCE
- Inward Phase - PreClassic, Classic, PostClassic: 2000 BCE to present
The Pre-Mayan Culture phase consists of the journey by sail raft from Taiwan to Monte Verde, southern Chile, later from Monte Verde to Taltal in northern Chile, and finally by four sail rafts from Chile to Toluca Beach, El Salvador, where their encounter with the Xibalba hunters begins the Karmic Phase. This phase saw extensive exploration of the American continents by sail raft and migrations by related branches to various parts of South and North America. It also saw increasing sophistication in the categorization and storage of plants, plant products and seeds, preparing for the dawn of agriculture in the Karmic Phase.
Overall Timeline of Mayan Development
| Date |
Event |
| 12,800 BCE |
Ocean journey from Taiwan to Monte Verde, Chile (beginning of second age) |
| 10,000 BCE |
Migration from Monte Verde to Taltal, northern Chile |
| 8680 BCE |
Migration by the four founders from Chile to Toluca, El Salvador |
| 8600 BCE |
Move to Isla Tigre, Honduras |
| 8300 BCE |
First cultivation of any plant (tobacco) |
| 8208 BCE |
Triple star event - beginning of the third age - and move to four islands: Teotipa, Teopan, Teokan (Tehuacan), and Teomeka (Olomega), all in El Salvador |
| 7836 BCE |
Eruption, land slide, and flood at Teotipa, Lago Güija |
| 7500 BCE |
Final defeat of the Xibalba hunters |
| 6800 BCE | Migration of the Ik' (Zapotec) lineage from Tehuacan, El Salvador, to Tehuacan, Puebla, Mexico |
| 3200-3114 BCE | Methodology for tracking eclipses, use of zero digit, creation of the long-count calendar to track eclipses (beginning of fourth age) |
| 2360 BCE | Beginning of bird man - eclipse tradition |
| 2300 BCE |
Exile of the Quiche lineage to northwest coast of Mexico |
| 2000 BCE |
Beginning of the "Pre-Classic" period |
| 2000 BCE |
Move of Olmec lineage from southeast El Salvador to Mexico-Guatemala coast; later to Veracruz gulf coast |
| 2000-1500 BCE |
Chalchuapa established. Dispersion of the Maya (Ak'bar lineage) from western El Salvador to Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico |
The Karmic Phase consists of the most important events in the formation of Mayan culture as described in the Popol Vuh. This includes the development of the 260-day tzolk'in calendar, the Mars retrograde long-count calendar, the domestication of wild animals including the parrot, jaguar, and puma, the development of cultivation and hybridization of plants, starting with tobacco and corn, the practice of veneration to the seven luminaries, the practice of fasting, the great flood, landslide, and tzuhnami at Lago Güija, and the invention of gunpowder to clear the landslide composite from the egress river at Lago Güija.
Karmic Phase Detailed Timeline
| Date |
Event |
| 8680 BCE |
Arrival at Toluca Beach, El Salvador, from Chile |
| 8680 BCE |
Capture by the Xibalba (Manik) hunters, to Corinto Cave |
| 8680 BCE |
Escape to Lempa River, invention of child's raft (inspired by Auilix) |
| 8675 BCE |
Move to Tecapa volcano (Hakawitz), discovered tobacco, inspired by Tohil |
| 8650 BCE |
Beginning of 20 day week, with first named day Toh |
| 8630 BCE |
Forced from Tecapa by Xibalba; established settlement at Jocotal, El Salvador |
| 8600 BCE |
Forced from Jocotal by Xibalba; established settlement on Isla Tigre, Honduras |
| 8550 BCE |
Established the 260-day calendar, the tzolk'in |
| 8400 BCE |
Creation of the Mars retrograde long-count calendar (9 Tz'ikin, Mars retrograde) |
| 8400 BCE |
First animal domesticated (parrot) |
| 8350 BCE |
Domestication of the jaguar (8 B'ahram, Mars retrograde) |
| 8300 BCE |
First cultivation (tobacco) and hybridization (7 B'ahk', Mars retrograde) |
| 8208 BCE |
Planetary alignment - triple star of Venus-Mars-Jupiter plus Saturn, Moon, Mercury; start of 3rd age (2 K'anir, Mars retrograde) |
| 8208 BCE |
Move to four islands in El Salvador: Teotipa (Güija), Teopan (Coatepeque), Teokan (mouth of Lempa), Teomeka (Olomega) |
| 8200 BCE |
Beginning of the meeting of the four lineages at the Lempa-Sumpul confluence, Arcatao |
| 8199 BCE |
Beginning of cultivation of teosinte and hybridization into corn at Teotipa (1 Ch'i', Mars retrograde) |
| 8000 BCE |
Sharing of cultivation and hybridization technique with Peruvians |
| 7950 BCE |
Cultivation of squash |
| 7915 BCE | Death of One Hunahpu in battle with Xibalba when he miscalculated the Mars retrograde (5 Etz'nab', Mars retrograde) |
| 7836 BCE | Eruption, land slide, tzuhnami, and flood at Teotipa, Lago Güija; egress river blocked; survivors move to Teopan (2 Tz'ikin, Mars retrograde) |
| 7810 BCE |
Hunahpu (and Xbalamque) defeat of Xibalba (1 B'ahram, Mars retrograde) |
| 7750-7700 BCE |
Invention of gunpowder in order to remove the lava and landslide debris from the Lago Güija egress river |
| 7700-7650 BCE |
Blasting out the Lago Güija egress river; draining the excess water |
| 7650 BCE |
Move of the descendants of Teotipa survivors (and others) to Igualtepec, Lago Güija |
| 7500 BCE |
Final defeat of the Xibalba (Manik) by the Maya at Corinto cave and Tecapa crater (1 Imi'x, Mars retrograde) |
The Outward Phase of the Maya consists of a time when the Maya spent more time assisting other peoples with their development than their own development. An example of this is assisting peoples in North America and South America in the development of local agriculture. This Outward Phase will be a major focus of my subsequent writing. During this phase the Maya invented the number zero and learned to track eclipses, in part with the creation of the long count calendar in 3114 BCE. The bird man tradition, associated with eclipses, began in 2360 BCE. It is also likely that Mayan writing began in this phase, although the evidence is still scant.
The Inward Phase of the Maya is already substantially known and described as Pre-Classic, Classic, Post-Classic, Colonial, and contempary. I call this the Inward Phase because this is the time that the Maya began to form civilization in the traditional sense of this term rather than focusing on other people. This is especially true of the Classic era. Part of this is the result of large population increases where it became necessary to structure local polities to manage people and resources. By the Post-Classic it appears that that much of the Outward Phase was forgotten even while the Karmic Phase was remembered through the memorized Popol Vuh oral and written tradition.
