Universal Language: Mayans Used the Same Facial Expressions as Modern People

The Mayas lived about 3,500 years ago, during a time of frequent war, and people were sacrificed to the gods. Despite the time gap, new research revealed that Mayans used the same facial expressions as modern humans.

The researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, had 325 people study the facial expressions of 63 ancient American sculptures. They found out that people can guess the sculpture's facial expressions, such as pain, sadness, love, etc.

They tried showing them the grandmother's sculpture with a child and the face of someone carrying a massive deer. The participants were able to tell the differences in their facial expressions.

Facial Expressions Are the Universal Language

Dr. Alan Cowen and psychology professor Dachner Keltner asked their 325 participants to assign emotions to the 63 sculptures of ancient American people presented to them. They wanted to investigate whether facial expressions are natural and unchanging or if they change over time.

Dr. Cowen said that the results appear to suggest that at least some of the facial expressions mostly stayed the same even after thousands of years. He said that although a Mayan could hardly imagine how people live nowadays, it would still be able to recognize facial expressions like pain, love, determination, anger, and sadness in a modern human's face.

It is remarkable to think of the facial expressions modern humans make when the Wi-Fi freezes are the same as a Mayan warrior being taken as prisoners by their enemy.

The study, published in the journal Science Advances, presented 63 different sculptures depicting eight contexts: carrying a heavy object, being held captive, embracing some, playing music or sport, fighting stance, and holding a baby.

The participants were grouped in which some of them see only the faces of the sculptures, and others see the sculptures in context. In the end, five facial expressions were identified that seemed to echo across the centuries.

The participants are more likely to identify emotions of pain and fear in the sculpture as they were being tortured or in the context of war.

Sadness is seen in sculptures of the warriors being captured, joy in the faces of people touching each other or with their family, and determination in sculptures carrying a heavy object as if showing effort in their faces.

Modern people recognizing Mayans' facial expressions, whom they never met, suggest that facial expressions are natural, unchanging, and, therefore, the universal language throughout human history.

Who were the Mayans?

The Mayan civilization lived for nearly 3,000 years in Central America. They have highly advanced art and architecture, and also mathematical and astronomical systems aside from being known as the only fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas.

They believed that the cosmos affected their everyday lives and used their knowledge in astrology to tell when to plant crops and harvest them, setting their own calendars.

It was believed that they built their cities based on astrology. For instance, the Chichen Itza was made according to the sun's location during the equinoxes that happen during spring and autumn. As the sun sets, the serpent god casts a shadow that makes it look as if it was descending towards the underground.

Mayan influence can be seen in the Honduras, Guatemala, Western El Salvador, and central Mexico. They never disappeared; their descendants are scattered to sizable populations throughout the Maya area and maintain a set of distinctive traditions and beliefs.

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