The World of the Mayas

Maya Civilization The civilization flourished between 300 and 900 A.D. in the Yucatan Peninsula. They grew crops on raised fields that caught and trapped rainwater. This caused their cities to grow rapidly.

Temples and Palaces They built huge pyramids to perform religious sacrifices. In the palaces, they had huge stones with carvings that recorded Mayan events. They also traded honey, cocoa, cotton cloth, and feathers.

Social Classes The Maya set up more than 50 independent city-states: each having its own king who claimed ancestry to the sun god. These city-states often fought for land and slaves. Nobles and priests assisted kings in governing Below them: farmers, artisans, and hunters: this class paid taxes and worked together on large building projects

Religion Believed the gods controlled everything, so had many ceremonies to please them- including human sacrifice. The priests watched the sky to understand the gods’ plans- this is how they learned about astronomy.

Advances in Learning They Mayans made a system of hieroglyphics. Scribes kept their sacred knowledge in books of bark. Many priests were also mathematicians and astronomers, so they would know when ceremonies were to take place.

Calendar As a result, the Mayans developed two calendars: a 365-day calendar based on the orbit of the earth around the sun for events related to the seasons and agriculture, and a 260-day calendar for religious events.

Mathematics Counting system based on 20 and used the concept of 0 They also had a numbering system to record numbers and dates.

Decline Around 900 A.D., the Mayans abandoned their cities. They may have left because of frequent warfare with city-states, overpopulation, or peasant revolts. The Mayan language is still rooted in Guatemala and southern Mexico today.

Mayan Religion Reading Your assignment is to create a Mayan Mural. This mural should illustrate the following: Mayan Agriculture and more importantly Mayan religion. For this portion there should be at least 4 aspects shown-the 4 should correspond to the 4 paragraphs in the reading You may compartmentalize your mural or let all pictures run together. Your mural should be incredibly ornate and detailed and should also be colored. You do not have to write an explanation b/c your picture should tell the story by itself.