1. MAYA Raquel Smith Espanol II - Grade 10

2. Language:  Mayan itself is a language and most Mayan descendants now speak Spanish.  There are 21 separate dialects attributed to Mayans.  The Mayan language was spoken 5,000 years ago.

3. Geography:  The Mayans lived in Central America which consists of southern Mexico. It’s located south of the tropic cancer and north of the equator.

4. Government:  Government was an important part of the Maya civilization.  Priests seemed to be the most significant and ran everything.  Many of them were rulers of the cities. One of the most famous rulers was Lord Pacal.  What was surprising was he became king at 6 and legally took the throne at 12.  He was a priest/ruler and king for about 50 years before he did.

5. Religion:  In Mayan religion it mostly consisted of the worship of nature gods. Gods like of the sun, rain, and corn.  They showed the importance of astronomy and astrology.  Rituals of human sacrifice and the building of pyramidical temples. Some of the Mayan religion still lives on today.

6. Social Levels:  The Mayans had 3 main social levels:  Royalty- lived in palaces.  Wealthy- lived in large houses near palaces.  Poor- lived in outskirts of town and they were poor.  There were slaves, peasants, artisans, nobility, priests, and leaders.

7. Daily life:  For the everyday lives of the women it was basically quite simple. They stood home and played the role of a house wife.  They woke up as early as 4:00 am and fed there families. There husbands at 5 am would go with their sons to the fields and farm.  When that was done the sons would go hunting and kill birds and things of that nature.  Husbands would come home waiting for a hot bath and dinner. The women made sure their dinner was prepared for there men.  They would only serve them, but oddly they didn’t sit down and eat with them. They would enjoy their dinner.  Later they would create clothing for their families to wear.

8. Architecture:  The hay huts were a basic structure for Mayans and most of the Mayan population lived in these types of houses.  They were made from resources around the area like the walls consisted of mud and stone.  They stood up by wooden poles. The Mayans architecture advanced over time and the buildings were big but they weren’t that tall.