Elements of Civilization Celebrating the Maya

The Magnificent Maya NEWS The Magnificent Maya Where in the World? Date 2000 BC – 1500 AD What elements of Mayan civilization do you see in these pictures? Where in the World? The Magnificent Maya The Maya lived mainly on the Yucatan Peninsula. Education The Maya had a complicated writing system. It was created to record the change of power over time. This writing was made of scratches on stone and wood, and was usually on the inside or outside of buildings. They also created books called folding tree books. These books were made from fig tree bark and usually placed in the royal tombs.

Chichen Itza is a Myan Temple. Religion Maya daily life and culture was based around religion. The priests decided almost everything, such as when to plant, when to marry, and who to sacrifice. The Maya world was made of three layers. They were called the Heavens, the Earth, and the Underworld, sometimes called the Otherworld. The Maya worshipped the gods of nature. Some Maya gods were the God of Rain and the God of Maize, or corn. They thought that without the help of these important gods, there would be no crops and everyone would starve. They also believed in an afterlife. If they had a difficult life, it would be made up to them in their afterlife.

GOVERNMENT One noble family controlled each city. When the ruling noble died, his job was passed to his son. The Maya believed the noble families were directly related to the gods. The ruling noble did not do his job alone. Part of his job was to select a council of elders and warriors to help him rule. People were chosen to help run the government. Some people were chosen to enforce laws. Others were chosen to act as judges. Maya law was very strict. They held trials and evidence was presented before a judge. Anyone who committed a crime would be punished. If citizens broke a law, their hair would be cut short. Short hair was a sign of disgrace.                                                                                A large ball court was used for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame. Recreation Each Maya city had at least one huge ball court similar to stadiums we have today. For enjoyment, people watched the games in the stadium seating that surrounded each court. These courts were usually built at the foot of a temple because ball games were played to honor Maya gods and goddesses. The courts had a large area with a stone hoop mounted high at one end. The game people liked to play was Pok-a-tok. They used a hard, solid rubber ball. The object of the game was to hit the rubber ball through the stone hoop using their hips, shoulders, or arms. The winning team got to keep the jewelry of the losing team. Some games were played with captives, people from other Indian tribes that Maya warriors had captured. The Maya people especially liked to watch these games. Poorly fed, exhausted, beaten captives made up one team, and professional Maya ball players made up the other. The captives always lost these games. After they lost, they were sacrificed.