3. The Maya Civilization
The Maya lived and continue to live in southeastern Mexico and northern Central America
The most widely spoken are Mam, Quiché, Kekchi, and Cakchiquel
Maya civilization consists of the highlands to the south and the lowlands to the north
Subdivisions of the Maya Area: Pacific Coastal Plain, The Highlands, The Lowlands

4. Cenote
Cenotes are natural formations, places where the surface limestone has collapsed and exposed the subterranean water table

5. Stages of Development
Formative: 1000 B.C. – 250 A.D. : Formation of a social hierarchy and a form of hieroglyphic writing
Classic: 250 A.D. – 900 A.D. : Rise in population, construction of ceremonial centers
Maya-Toltec: 900 A.D. – 1250: Toltecs from the Central Valley region invaded
Mayapan: 1250 – 1450 A.D.: Creation of independent areas controlled by chieftains

6. The Individual in Maya Society
Personal Appearance
Birth & Early Childhood
Puberty
Marriage & Family
Life & Death

7. Huipil

8. Folklore
The greatest body of Mayan tradition is contained in the Popol Vuh (Book of Council)
The Maya creation myth: Tepeu and Gukumatz
The Hero Twins: Hunapu and Xbalanque

9. Chichen Itza Ball Court
This ball court measures 545 ft. long & 225 ft. wide
Ball games were part of Maya political, religious, & social life
Played with a rubber ball & ballplayers wore protective equipment
The ball game was associated with Hero Twins
The ball court was seen as the threshold between this world & Xibalba

10. Ideology & Cosmology
All things animate or inanimate were infused with an unseen power
Order was the foundation of the Maya world
Human destiny was linked with the celestial beings
The basic unit of order was the day, the kin
Certain numbers were sacred to the ancient Maya and were imbued with special powers

11. Maya Deities
Itzamna, a reptilian deity: means “reptile house” in Yucatec Mayan, was considered the lord of the heavens, and lord of the day and night
Kinich Ahau, a sun deity: the day aspect of Itzamna, closely associated with Maya rulers
Chac, a rain deity: associated with creation and life. Chac was important to farmers
Ix chel, goddess of childbirth – wife of Itzamna, often buried with the dead
Kukulkan, the feathered serpent, god of creation and learning

12. Itzamna
Kinich Ahau
Chac
Ix Chel

13. Rituals and Ceremonies
Rituals and ceremonies were performed to communicate with the forces that governed their lives
The main purpose of rituals was the procuring of life, health, and sustenance
All were preceded by fasting and abstinence, symbolic of spiritual purification
Sacrifices were an important part of Maya worship

14. Arithmetic, Calendar, Astronomy
Maya pursued these realms for both mystical and practical purposes
Mayas believed that numbers, time, and the cosmos were ruled by supernatural forces
Each passing cycle brought with it the possibility of repeated destiny – cyclical time
1Day = Kin, Month = Uinal (20 days)
1 baktun = 144,000 days, 1 katun = 7,200 days, 1 tun = 360 days
13 baktuns = 5,128 solar years

16. El Caracol - The Observatory
Mayans were interested with the annual travels of the sun across the sky
Several of the windows of the Observatory point towards the equinox sunset

17. Architecture
Types of construction: ceremonial platforms, temples, palaces, towers, pyramids, ball courts, observatories
The materials used for building Mayan structures included limestone and mortar
To the Mayans, the outside appearance of their buildings was more important than the inside
Early Classic Maya vs. Late Classic Maya

18. An example of early Classic Mayan architecture
Temple of Masks in Uaxactun, located in the Petén Basin in Petén, Guatemala
An example of early Classic Mayan architecture

19. This is a temple in Tikal that measures 154 ft.
Located in the Petén Basin located in northern Guatemala
Early Classic Maya Architecture ca. 200 to 900 A.D.

20. Corbelled Arch – False Arch
To form a corbel, masonry walls were built to the desired height
At the spring of the vault, flat stones were placed closer & closer together until they could be spanned by a single capstone

21. Palenque
Palenque is located in southern Mexico in the state of Chiapas
It dates back to 226 B.C. to 1123 A.D.
Architects set corbelled vaults parallel to one another, with a light, cut –out roof comb over the central wall

22. The temple of Kukulcan was built between the 9th & 12th century
El Castillo – The Castle Pyramid
Maya Toltec Style
The temple of Kukulcan was built between the 9th & 12th century
Each of the sides of the pyramid has 91 steps when you do the math and add the platform it equals to 365 steps

24. Sculpture & Painting
The Maya were known for their stone monuments carved with portraits of rulers & writing of their deeds
Early paintings found depict musicians, families, bloodletting, and a meeting of important Lords
Rio Azul and Bonampak paintings

25. Pacal the Great
Upakal K'inich

26. Rio Azul in northeast Peten tomb paintings
The side walls are marked with wavy, beaded symbols that indicate liquid, most likely the watery surface of the underworld
Paintings are monochrome, a reddish brown hematite pigment

27. Located in Chiapas, Mexico Date ca. 790 A.D. (Maya Classic Period)
Bonampak paintings depicts Mayans in a unified work celebrating the festivities and bloodshed rituals
Located in Chiapas, Mexico
Date ca. 790 A.D. (Maya Classic Period)

28. Language & Writing
Ancient Maya writing system is known as the most significant achievements of the pre-Colombian New World
Dresden, Madrid, and Paris codices
Maya writing is built on a system of individual glyphs, grouped into glyph groups
Glyph groups are organized into rows and or columns
About 800 Maya glyphs have been decipher