1. What do you notice about it? What might it have been used for?
Questions to Discuss:
What do you notice about it?
What might it have been used for?
Who might have used it? (man / woman, rich / poor etc)
What material/s might it be made from? Why this material?
How might it feel? (rough / smooth, light / heavy etc)
What does it tell us about the values of the Maya?
What does it tell us about their skills and technology?
How is it similar / different to the modern version of it?
How is it similar / different to its equivalent for other historical peoples that you have learnt about? ©

2. Compare and contrast the Maya with other societies
Date
Compare and contrast the Maya with other societies
For each item/s:
Complete this sentence: I think it is a / they are … because …
Describe how it is / they are similar to the modern equivalent
Describe how it is / they are different to the modern equivalent
Extension
Describe how it is / they are similar to the equivalent from another historical period/s
Describe how it is / they are different to the equivalent from another historical period/s ©

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4. Writing (Hieroglyphs)
Individual hieroglyphs could represent sounds (like our alphabet does), as well as ideas and objects
The Maya carved hieroglyphs on to walls, buildings, pottery and precious stones
The Maya used hundreds of hieroglyphs and they were difficult to learn
Most Maya could read some hieroglyphs, although priests and nobles were probably the only ones who could read all of them
Only specially trained scribes could write all of the hieroglyphs ©

5. Example
Slide One
I think they are tiles from a mosaic because they look like they would fit together and they look like they were made by an artist.
The hieroglyphs are similar to modern letters because some of them could be used to represent sounds.
The hieroglyphs are different to our alphabet because they are pictures, rather than letters and there were hundreds of them, whereas we only have 26 letters.
Maya writing was similar to Ancient Egyptian writing because it used hieroglyphs instead of letters.
Maya society was similar to society in Britain prior to the Victorian period because only wealthy people learnt how to read and write. ©

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7. The Maya used turkey feathers as quills (pens)
Codex / Codices
Codices were made from a long strip of fig-tree bark, which was then steamed, beaten and covered in a thin layer of plaster
The bark was then folded to make ‘pages’, with jaguar skins sometimes used as covers
The Maya used turkey feathers as quills (pens)
A codex was read from top to bottom and from left to right
The Maya created thousands of Codices, but only four still exist today
When the Spanish invaded South America they burnt the other codices because they wanted the Maya to become Christian, and they thought that burning their books would help with this ©

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9. Hieroglyphs were also carved on to stelae
Stela / Stelae
Hieroglyphs were also carved on to stelae
A stela would often record the events of the reign of a particular ruler or might celebrate the end of a 20-year period ©

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11. The Maya also honoured the spirits of their dead rulers
Gods
The Maya believed that gods controlled human life and that the decisions of the gods were final; however the gods could sometimes be persuaded with gifts and sacrifices
The Maya had over 150 gods, including the fire god, the god of maize and the god of rain
The Maya worshipped their gods with splendid festivals and ceremonies; they had over 5,000 dances to use at these
The sun god Kinich Ahau was believed to disappear into the underworld each night and to return at the start of each day
The Maya also honoured the spirits of their dead rulers
Maya priests would advise people and rulers and / or try to predict the future ©

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13. Some Maya, who had no limestone, used fired clay bricks
Temples
The Maya only had simple tools, such as axes made with blades of flint (a grey-black type of mineral that can be made sharp)
Temples could be made from limestone, which some Maya were lucky to have, as it is easily cut
Some Maya, who had no limestone, used fired clay bricks
Temples were either covered with stucco (plaster made from limestone) and polished, or were painted bright red or blue
Religious ceremonies and sacrifices were led by temple priests
The Maya believed that unless they made offerings of blood and human lives, the Sun would die and the world would end
They also made offerings of food and flowers, such as maize
Rulers and their wives were also buried in temples ©

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15. Craftwork
The Maya had a small number of skilled craftspeople who could carve materials like flint and jade into ornate objects
They created ceremonial objects (like the flint one above), death masks for rulers, earrings and other body decorations ©

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17. They could also be painted with melted wax
Pottery
The Maya used clay to make objects such as cooking pots, plates, statues and bowls
All of their pottery was shaped by hand (they did not use pottery wheels)
Pots could be covered with a thin layer of red, white or black clay and polished with a smooth stone
They could also be painted with melted wax
When objects were ready to be fired, an open fire was used for this ©

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19. An observatory helps people to observe the sun, stars and moon
The image shows an observatory the Maya built at Chichen Itza
The doorways around it point to the setting sun and moon at special times of the year
Using just a pair of sticks, the Maya were able to calculate that the Moon took an average of just under 30 days to orbit the Earth
They calculated that a year on Earth was 365 days
They were also able to predict eclipses and calculated that the planet Venus took 584 days to complete its orbit (which is only one-tenth of a day off being perfectly accurate)
Their reasons for studying astronomy were religious ©

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21. The Maya used different calendars:
their Sacred Almanac was 260 days (the length of a human pregnancy) and was used for organising religious ceremonies
their Vague Year of 365 days was used for farming
their Long Count began on 13th August 3114 BC (the day the Maya thought that the Earth began)
the Long Count measured the kin (days), uinal (months of twenty days), tun (years of eighteen months), katun (twenty years) and baktun (400 years) since the Earth began
the Tzolkin (shown in the image above) was a ritual calendar with 20 days in it, with each day having a name
We know when the Maya abandoned their cities because the last date carved in a city was in the year 889 AD ©

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23. The game was played with a large rubber ball
A Ball Court
The game was played with a large rubber ball
The Maya saw the game as more than a sport; it was a religious ceremony played in honour of the gods
The ball represented the sun and the court represented the world
The aim of the game was to keep the ball bouncing on the sloping sides without letting it bounce in the central alley
Players wore elaborate headdresses and heavy padding to protect them from the big, solid ball
Players were not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or feet; instead they had to use their hips, shoulders and chests
Losing players were sometimes sacrificed to the gods
Spectators would bet on who would win, and would sometimes lose all of their clothing and jewellery to the winning team ©

24. Source of images Hieroglyphs - http://en. wikipedia
Source of images Hieroglyphs - Codex (left side of slide) - Codex (right side of slide - Stela (left hand side of slide) - Stela (centre of slide) – Stela (right hand side of slide) - Kinich Ahau - Temple - Flint craftwork - Jade mask - Pottery - Calendar - Observatory Court - ©

25. References The Maya by Robert Nicholson Look Into the Past: The Maya by Peter Chrisp Technology in the Time of the Maya by Judith Crosher Eyewitness: Aztec by Elizabeth Baquedano The Illustrated Children’s Encyclopedia of the Ancient World by John Haywood et al ©