Having joined the world market at a significantly later time
than most western nations, South American countries were predestined to
struggle in their development. Stuck in between two times, the modern technological
world and its influences, and their ancient and culturally rich past, the Maya
face the seemingly insurmountable task of moving forward without forgetting
their roots.
The conundrum of today’s Maya is not easily solved. How can a society who
reveres its past evolve when they are judged and tossed aside because of it? Unfortunately,
our society had chosen to see the Maya only for their historical contributions.
While it respects their accomplishments of earlier centuries, it continues to
see the modern Maya in the same light—as a primitive culture without much
technological advancement—and therefore, in its standards of productivity and
wealth, worthless.
So what is the modern Maya to do? If they continue to hold
their history as a part of their present, they may never be able to gain the
respect of developed nations and move forward as a society. But on the other
hand, for a culture so historically rich to deny its culture and leave it
behind could be devastating not only to the Maya themselves, but the historians
who rely heavily on the modern Maya to uncover more about their past.
