AMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS INCA MAYAN AZTECS AMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS

THE RISE OF CIVILIZATIONS As mankind began to develop more complex ways of life, and as cities began to increase in size and complexity, a new type of society emerged. These societies are known today as civilizations. A civilization is a nation or people that share a common culture, common laws, a common economy, and typically a common faith or religion. THE RISE OF CIVILIZATIONS

MAYA CIVILIZATION

The Maya originated around 2600 B. C. and rose to prominence around A The Maya originated around 2600 B.C. and rose to prominence around A.D. 250 in present-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador. The Maya developed astronomy, calendrical systems, hieroglyphic writing, ceremonial architecture, and masonry without metal tools. Maya Civilization

Like the Egyptians, the Mayas are well known for pyramids, which vary in shape depending on where they were built. The Maya occupied the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico.

The Maya were noted as well for elaborate and highly decorated ceremonial architecture, including temple-pyramids, palaces and observatories, all built without metal tools

The Maya developed astronomy, calendric systems, hieroglyphic writing, and ceremonial architecture

The Maya developed a highly complex system of writing, using pictographs and phonetic or syllabic elements. Their writing was highly sophisticated, probably only members of the higher classes were able to read their symbols. The Maya carved these symbols into stone, but the most common place for writing was probably the highly perishable books they made from bark paper, coated with lime to make a fresh white surface. These "books" were screen-folded and bound with wood and deer hide. They are called codices, codex is singular. Because of their perishable nature and zealous Spanish book burning, only four codices remain today.

The Maya of the Classic period (A. D The Maya of the Classic period (A.D. 250-900) developed a sophisticated artistic tradition, producing sculpted stone, painted ceramics, clay figurines, and screen-fold bark books of drawings and hieroglyphic writing.

The Maya adopted a hierarchical system of government with rule by nobles and kings. Their society consisted of many independent states, each with a rural farming community and large urban sites built around ceremonial center.

In common with the other Mesoamerican civilizations, the Maya used a base 20 (vigesimal) and base 5 numbering system. Also, the preclassic Maya and their neighbors had independently developed the concept of zero by 36 BC.

The Mayas: Religion The Maya practiced human sacrifice. The Mayan religion centered around the worship of many nature gods. Their amazing architecture remain as great ruins at centers they used for religious ceremonies, including Palenque, Uxmal, Copán, Tikal and Chichén Itzá. The Maya practiced human sacrifice. The Maya believed that the cosmos had three major planes, the Earth, the underworld beneath and the heavens above.

The Mayans: Legacy The Maya culture left an enormous cultural legacy, developing a unique architecture, the design of jewelry and ceramics, the construction of an advanced written language, and an amazing knowledge of mathematics and astronomy, more advanced than that of European civilization at the time.

End of the civilization About AD 300 to 900 the major centers including Palenque, Tikal, and Copán were mysteriously abandoned. The reasons are still unknown. A few centers continued until the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. End of the civilization