1. CH 12, Section 2

2. Developed on the Yucatan Peninsula in Central Mexico. Today the Yucatan Peninsula is the southeastern tip of Mexico.

3. 1,000 BC- Early Maya lived in the jungle lowlands. This area was covered in thick rain forest, Maya cleared farm land using the Slash-and-Burn method.

4. The jungle provided the Maya with important resources: Deer, monkey & many jungle plants provided food sources. Homes were constructed from wood poles, vines, and mud.

5. Mayas established a great civilization that lasted hundreds of years. Maya civilization was greatly influenced by the Olmec People. Greatest period was from 200 AD – 900 AD. 200 AD- the Maya began to build large cities throughout the area that can still be visited today!

6. As the Maya civilization spread across the Yucatan Peninsula it obtained new resources. Cities in the highlands traded with lowland areas for resources they could not produce on their own.

7. The climate of the lowlands was good for growing beans, maize, squash, cotton, rubber trees, and cacao beans. Cacao makes chocolate, a resource valued by the rulers and believed to be the food of the gods. The highlands could not farm, they traded valuable jade and obsidian stones for lowland crops.

8. Mayan society was split between upper and lower classes. Upper class: Rulers, nobles, merchants, warriors and priests, lived in large city palaces. Lower class: Farm families and slaves, lived on the edges of the city. Life was very different for the upper and lower classes.