ABSTRACT
This chapter explores whether one of the major traditional cultures of Latin America, the Mayans, developed intellectual skills, such as critical thinking and rational understanding of the natural world. The ancient Mayans developed great subtlety in prediction, as their books of Chilam Balam conclusively show. To see how puzzling the Chilam Balam's astrological and prophetic predictions are, consider what is entailed in ascribing belief in a prediction. The books of Chumayel, contain numerous prophecies allegedly revealing the designs of the gods to the Mayans through their jaguar priests. The Mayans, then, seem to have believed that celestial bodies have causal powers to affect the natural world in specific ways. If rationality could only mean perfect rationality, then the case of the Mayans would present a problem since their beliefs have been shown to fall short of what is required for rationality in that sense.
