Comparison of Educational System of the Mayan and Aztec Civilizations

While many historians state that the higher education originated in Europe and was brought over to the Western Hemisphere, they’re mistaken. They tend to overlook the indigenous civilizations in Mesoamerica.

Mayans and Aztecs were one of the first peoples’ to achieve greatness in the form of education. Power is key to success. The key to power is education and knowledge. Therefore, the Mayan and Aztec societies must of had developed ways of sharing information and passing it on to their posterity. The Mayan and Aztec cultures are the founders of education systems in the Western Hemisphere. Researchers have found signs of advanced methods of learning from their time periods, which is a good bit of time before any other evidence regarding higher learning compared to other Western Hemispheric natives.

Perhaps the Mayans were the pioneers of advanced education. The Mayans shared information through the use of complex hieroglyphic written language, which as of today is still being studied by researchers (which personally amazes me because it originated around 2600 B.C.). As said by Crum here “The Mayans developed an elaborate hieroglyphic writ¬ten language which is still being studied and analyzed by schol¬ars today.” (Crum 3).

Through engaging and learning, they have exchanged information. It was difficult for people to pass information around for obvious reasons such as no technology, but “They adopted domesticated agriculture […]” (Crum 3). One would gain the information by seeing how one's neighbor domesticated their animals and crops. The same applies to fields such as architecture, such as Copan, Tikal, and Chichen Itza, one would learn how to build through involvement in the development of urban centers.

The Mayans exchanged wisdom largely in order to educate themselves and maintain their cultural beliefs. They wanted their society to succeed as a whole, which in turn just meant more people needed to be educated and gifted with the knowledge necessary to make the Mayan civilization the best it could be. They spread their knowledge throughout their society by engraving it among a variety of different places such as statues, books, scrolls, and walls. In composed structure, the knowledge learned by each generation was accessible for future reference and was built upon as the Mayan’s grew in size and power.

The distribution of knowledge throughout themselves was one of the most important keys that led them to be so united and educated. One of the most important writings done by the Mayans were the codices “The Maya began to create codices to document beliefs, advances, and each ruler’s high rank (generally viewed as propaganda for the ruling class).” (Mayan: Context 1). These codices allowed for a general understanding of rules and were written on long papers, which were then folded to somewhat make a miniature book.

Central Mexico's Aztec society flourished soon after Mayan civilization collapsed roughly around 900 AD. Knowledge was spread by Aztec schooling, which composed of home and school training. Schooling for each kid was found extremely essential. Education started at the very youthful age “From age four or five, boys learned and worked with their fathers at a trade or craft, farming, hunting and fishing. Girls learn from their mothers all the tasks they would need in running a household.” (Aztec Education: Learning at Home and School 1). Children are taught all the necessary knowledge needed to be able to be active in their society and become successful in the roles they are given as young boys and girls. This sets in perspective how vital it was for the youth in Aztec societies to be educated at such an early age.

Another important facet for the education of the youth was being “taught a large collection of sayings called the huehuetlatolli, which incorporated Aztec ideas and teachings. The Aztec culture expected well-behaved people so children were taught to be humble, obedient and hardworking.” (Aztec Education: Learning at Home and School 2). The huehuetlatolli was essential if the Aztecs wanted to have disciplined children, which in turn would allow them to be more productive in their tasks, and for every child from age four to fourteen to have the same understanding of what is expected of them on a daily basis as a member of society.

Every single child was expected to be educated, so that they would be able to benefit the society to their maximum potential. There were two types of schooling available to the youth after they turn fourteen. One school for the average boys in or commoners called “telpochcalli” and the other school for young boys of higher social ranking called “calmecac”. While there is a set line between commoner and noble, if a child showed great potential of being something more than just an average citizen, then they would be sent to the noble school, no matter their social rank. This only happened in very specific conditions where a child was incredibly knowledgeable and knew how to impact the Aztec life in more than just the basic ways taught to all.

Aztec civilization was set up in such a fashion that the nobles were to lead the society, while commoners maintained their roles. The elites had information on an assortment of issues, along these lines were various viewpoints like political pioneers, military pioneers, political pioneers, among others. The teachers of society were the most educated people, which for the Aztecs were their priests. The Aztecs had a hieroglyphic type of written language. Their data was composed and put away in original copies, dividers, stones, and painted paper. Data was passed down through posterity. They even had their very own calendar with 365 days!

In today’s age we can and are still learning from the Mayan and Aztec lifestyles! Their prime time on earth was so long ago, yet they knew exactly how to be successful. They spread knowledge through simply experiencing it for themselves and through writing it down for other to read about. What impressed me the most was their type of writing which was mind boggling to such an extent that modern, researchers are as yet attempting to make sense of it.

Their education system also comes to mind when I think about what we could implement in today's schooling. Starting at such a young age and giving the children the knowledge they needed to be able to do their roles in the community amazes me. The children were also taught obedience and discipline, which is not very well informed in today's schools. The Mayan and Aztec empires were of such great importance to the world because they set a standard for how a civilization whether it be human advancement, schooling, culture, math, or written language, they will always have an impact upon our great world.