I've been wondering this for a while:
The shaman guy bugging out, was he tripping because he inhaled human heart? Or was he just insane?
The leader looking guy with the green eyes and big feathers on his back, what was his role? Why did he keep looking at the announcer with such a deep and meaningful stare?
The Shaman guy is their spiritual leader, I'm guessing he was 'bugging out' because he was supposed to be communicating with the Gods or something.
The King (guy with the green eyes) to me he looked bored or really high on something, the entire elder royal family did. He's the king, nothing more. I feel like he was watching the main sacrificial guy in anticipation of the eclipse. They used their knowledge of the stars, eclipses ect to control the masses who weren't as education on such thing and saw them as miracles or as Gods pleasure/displeasure in them.
The people on top of the pyramid represents the "rulers" and the "priests".
The movie is not so much about Mayans, but society through all history.
The priests, who have the "secret knowledge" used the eclipse to cheat the mass of people about their power.
With the excuse of sacrifice to bring back the sun, they murder their political enemies in stupid pointless sacrifices.
They used it in order to give the king dominion over the people. You see the king's family as degenerated drugaddicts fatsos, who are affraid of losing power (we see the kid laughing like a retard, but the king is very nervous, waiting for the trick to convince the people he still has power).
The priest laughs out of the ignorance of the people, and how he easily manipulates them (with knowledge), the king (with fear) and his family (with drugs).
The fact they burn a heart doesn't cause anything. They actually were burning "spiced" stuff. It was just a symbology of drugs.
They knew their civilization was collapsing. They needed to keep the masses sweet for as long as possible and the use of the eclipses and sacrifices were the method to do that.
shareIt was all a big scam like any other religion. They knew the eclipse was coming, they realized they could use it to retain control over the masses.
The priests understood some level of astronomy and figured why not put a little fear into the commonfolk by making the sun disappear and bringing it back?