Works Cited

"Nicaragua". Central Intelligence Agency: The World Factbook. 18 Dec. 2008. 21 Jan. 2009. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nu.html>.

"Guatemala". Central Intelligence Agency: The World Factbook. 18 Dec. 2008. 22 Jan. 2009. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gt.html>.

"Guatemala". Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 22 Jan. 2008. 22 Jan. 2008. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemala>.

"Nicaragua". Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 21 Jan. 2008. 22 Jan. 2008. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaragua>.

Nicaragua and Guatemala

The Maya civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization that started around 1000 BC. The height of the Maya civilization occurred between 250 and 900 AD and began declining during the 8th and 9th century. The Maya are known for having the first fully developed language of the pre-Colombian Americas. They are also known for their architecture, art, and mathematical and astronomical systems. In Guatemala, Spanish is the official language. However, among some indigenous people Spanish is not spoken. There are twenty-one distinct Mayan languages that are spoken; mostly in rural areas. There are also several non-Mayan Amerindian languages that are spoken. About forty-four percent of Guatemala’s population is of Maya descent. The other 56% is of Guatemala is Mestizo/Ladino descent which is a mix of European and Amerindian.

Nicaragua is located in Central America with Honduras to the North and Costa Rica to the south. To the east is the Caribbean Sea and to the West is the Pacific Ocean. The capital of Nicaragua is Managua which is located in the western part of the country on the southern shores of Lake Managua.

Tikal and Oaxactun

Tikal is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin, in what is now modern-day northern Guatemala. The site is part of Guatemala's Tikal National Park and in 1979 was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tikal, in its prime, was one of the major cultural and population centers of the Maya civilization.

Uaxactun is an ancient ruin of the Maya civilization, also located in archaeological region of the Petén Basin. The site lies about 25 miles north of the major center of Tikal. The name "Uaxactun" was given to the site by its rediscoverer, United States archeologist Sylvanus Morley, in May of 1916. He coined the name from Maya words Waxac and Tun, to mean "Eight Stones". But recent achievements in the decipherment of the ancient Maya hieroglyphic writing system, it has been determined that the ancient name for this site was something like Siaan K'aan or "Born in Heaven".

The Popol Vuh is a sacred book of the Mayas, containing the Mayan creation story, among other mythologies. Francisco Ximénez, a priest of the Order of Santo Domingo was dispatched in 1694 to work with the natives of Guatemala. Here he gained the trust of the natives and obtained a copy of the Popol Vuh. Ximénez copied and translated the manuscript before, it is believed, returning it to the Guatemalans. Several years later Karl von Scherzer, an Austrian explorer and natural scientist, also copies the Popol Vuh.

Guatemala's location and the El Petén region

Guatemala is bordered on the north by Mexico, on the east by Belize and its southern border is comprised of Honduras and El Salvador.
The Capital of Guatemala is Guatemala City.
The El Peten region is the northernmost part of Guatemala, the capital of the El Peten region is Flores. El Peten is significant because of its rich Mayan history and the ruins that still exist there today.

Acahualinca

Acahualinca is famous for footprints left in ash during the great Indo-American migrations that is purported to have solidified approximately 6000 years ago. The distance between the prints indicate a "walking gait," which dispelled rumors that the settlers might have been fleeing from a full volcanic eruption.

Indigenous Influence of Nicaragua

Modern Nicaragua is the place where South American and Mesoamerican indigenous people intermingled. Remains of the inhabitants is visible in pictographs left by various tribes as well as fossilized footprints from Acahualinca. The indigenous people of the area were closely related to the Maya, and had extensive trade relations with peoples off of Caribbean islands, which we can find evidence in leftover from trade artifacts. These peoples were some of the first to encounter conquistadors, through which infectious disease killed a great many, and others were interbred with the Spanish.

Nicaragua: Economy and Exports

The Nicaraguan currency is the gold cordoba but the U.S dollar is accepted virtually everywhere. The current exchange rate is 19.35 Cordobas to 1 U.S dollar.

Nicaragua is a agricultural country and its national economy is based largely on exporting goods. The Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) has been in effect since 2006 and has helped Nicaragua to expand its export opportunities.
Nicaragua exported $2.313 billion worth of goods in 2007. Major export commodities for the country included; coffee, beef, , tobacco, sugar, peanuts, shrimp and lobster. Even though Nicaragua is located in Central America, its largest trading partner, by far, was the United States whom it sent 31.7% of its exports in 2007. The country's next largest trading partners were El Salvador 14%, Honduras 9.3%, Costa Rica 7.2%, Canada 5.8%, Guatemala 5.5%, and Mexico 4.8%.

Even with the rising potential of Nicaragua's exporting capabilities the country continues to have widespread underemployment and unemployment. It has the third lowest per capita income in the western hemisphere and one of the highest levels of income inequality in the world. The economy has moved toward increased stability in recent years and Nicaragua has also recieved help with foreign debt reduction which will hopefully help to improve the country's GDP which has been far too low to meet the needs of its citizens.