Maya Civilization

Location Mesoamerican Cultural Region Maya - Yucatán Peninsula

The Maya Civilization lasted more than 2,000 years 300 to 900 A.D. (the Classic Period) was their hey day Civilization mysteriously declined around 1000 A.D.

Cultural Achievements Built complex cities without machinery/ metal or the wheel Grew corn, beans, squash, and cassava in an inhospitable environment Written language Accurate calendars Independently invented Zero

Tikal Capital City Location: Guatemala 10,000 people lived in its 6 square miles 3,000 temples, many palaces, ceremonial platforms, ball courts, and plazas

Tikal

Amazing Architecture The Great Jaguar Temple Built in 870 AD Built after the death of Ah Cacau Named after a shrine depicting Ah Cacau protected by a Jaguar

Jaguar in Mesoamerican Culture Strong, quick, and agile, it’s the biggest cat in the Americas Jaguar possessed the ability to cross the worlds of night and day The living and the Earth were day, the spirit world was night

The Ball Game Known as pokatok Religious significance Participants were often POWs Losers were sometimes sacrificed

TikalChichen Itza

Image Copied from Vase

How do we know what we know about the Maya?

Mayan Codex Hieroglyphs: a stylized picture of an object representing a word, syllable, or sound Mayan Codices: ancient manuscript texts in book form: made from bark Dresden Codex: oldest American book known

What Anthropologists Decoded Language consisted of 800 glyphs- either words or syllables Almanacs, history, astronomical tables, ritual schedules Number system (bars mean 5, dots mean one, shells mean zero.

Mayan Calendar Calendars were at the root of Mayan culture The Maya calendar was really three calendars in one Calendars were extremely accurate