1. Maya Civilization: Comparative Conservativeness
CHW3M
October 6-7, 2015
Palenque
Chichen Itza
Tikal
Copan

2. Map of the Maya World Central America Guatemala Mexico’s Yucatan
PBS, Nova: Cracking the Maya Code – Map of the Maya World, N.d., (Oct. 5, 2015)

3. Historical Views Have Changed
Mysterious
Lost
Sophisticated
Advanced
Human

4. Sacred Worldview
“In ancient Maya society, cosmological beliefs pervaded all aspects of life and integrated every individual into a unitary worldview and ethos.”1
Sacred = strongly connected to religion, god or gods in everyday life, not just in religious rituals
Opposite of secular = having no connection to religion
1. Lynn V. Foster, Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World (New York: Facts on File., Inc., 2002), 159.

5. Maize God
Maize = corn
British Museum, Maya maize god statue, N.d., (Oct. 5, 2015).

6. Tasks – Day 1 Tuesday: Intro Using the timeline at your table –
which features of civilization are indicated in Maya civ?
into which periods can their history be divided?
Religion – each group is to get a basic overview of their sacred worldview
Bloodletting can be included but should not be the sole focus

7. Religion What are you looking for? Not just info on gods But also:
Basic beliefs?
What were the gods like? What did they ‘do’?
Cosmos – how is it structured?
Supernatural beliefs?
Connection to nature?
Creation story?
Role of priests?

8. “The Maya believed that supernatural powers, spirits, gods, and invisible forces governed all aspects of life. The ever-present powers of the supernatural affected the ways in which they adapted to their environment and organized their society, trade, warfare, and all other aspects of culture and daily life.”
Chris Eboch, Life Among the Maya (Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2005), p. 25.

9. 250 gods (but not all separate; some visible, some invisible)
3 layer cosmos:
Upperworld (13 layers where some gods, including the sun, lived)
Earth (where people lived)
Underworld
Movements of stars and planets showed what the gods were doing and could be used as guides for people

10. Kings and priests had special jobs of communicating with gods
Ordinary people watched ceremonies, ate and drank at feasts

11. Tasks – Day 2 Wednesday Dragon’s Den comparison cities and urban life
architecture, art, building (pyramids, temples, stela)
hieroglyphs
calendar
math
agricultural methods
government (theocracy) and law
trade