1. Chapter 11: Early Meso-American Civilizations
Lesson 3: The Mayan Civilization
Chapter 11: Early Meso-American Civilizations

2. Mayan civilization rose in what is now Mexico and Central America.
MAIN IDEAS
Mayan civilization rose in what is now Mexico and Central America.
Mayan society was divided into classes. Each class had its own way of life.
From about A.D. 250 to 900, known as the Classical period of Mayan civilization, the Maya built great cities, produced beautiful art, and made important advances in learning.

4. Birth of a Civilization EQ: Where did the Mayan civilization arise?
Overview
The Maya Empire, centered in the tropical lowlands of what is now Guatemala, reached its peak in the sixth century A.D.
The Maya excelled at agriculture, pottery, hieroglyph writing, calendar-making, mathematics, architecture and symbolic artwork.
Most of the great stone cities of the Maya were abandoned by A.D. 900.

5. The Maya

6. Birth of a Civilization EQ: Where did the Mayan civilization arise?
Lands of the Maya
The Maya lived in three separate sub-areas with distinct environmental and cultural differences:
1. Northern lowlands (Yucatan Peninsula);
2. Southern lowlands (northern Guatemala, portions of Mexico, Belize and western Honduras);
3. Southern highlands (mountainous southern Guatemala).

8. Early Mayan Life EQ: what do we know about the early mayans?
EARLY MAYA (1800 B.C. TO A.D. 250)
The earliest Maya were agricultural
They derived a number of religious and cultural traits–as well as their number system and their famous calendar– from the Olmec.
Early Maya built pyramids, constructed cities and inscribed into stone monuments.

10. glory and decline EQ: how do early & classical mayan life differ?
CLASSIC MAYA (A.D )
The golden age of the Maya Empire.
Mayan civilization grew to some 40 cities, including Tikal.
Each city held a population of between 5,000 and 50,000 people.
At its peak, the Maya population may have reached 2,000,000.

12. glory and decline EQ: how do early & classical mayan life differ?
CLASSIC MAYA (A.D )
Excavations have unearthed plazas, palaces, temples and pyramids, as well as courts for playing the ball games.
They practiced a primitive type of “slash-and-burn” agriculture and displayed evidence of irrigation and terracing.

13. 5 Lb
Solid
Rubber
Ball
Pok
-a-
Tok

14. glory and decline EQ: how do early & classical mayan life differ?
CLASSIC MAYA (A.D )
The Maya were deeply religious, and worshiped various gods related to nature, including the gods of the sun, the moon, rain and corn.
At the top society were the kings, who claimed to be related to gods and followed a hereditary succession.
Kings were mediators between the gods and people, and performed the elaborate religious ceremonies and rituals.

16. glory and decline EQ: how do early & classical mayan life differ?
CLASSIC MAYA (A.D )
Maya made significant advances in mathematics and astronomy, including the use of the zero and a calendar system based on 365 days.
Life included war between rival Mayan city-states; torture and human sacrifice were religious rituals.
Mayans made paper from tree bark and wrote in books (codices); four of these codices have survived.

18. Mayan Life EQ: Into what social classes was Mayan society divided?
Class Structures
Division of labor resulted in a class system with four social classes:
1. Ruling class: kings who governed and served as priests
2. Nobility: scholars, architects, merchants, warriors
3. Peasants: farmers, laborers were majority of population
4. Slaves: criminals, war prisoners, sometimes orphans
The Nobility
Lived in stone houses with plaster walls, often decorated with murals; wore jewelry, fancy clothes, jaguar skins, headdresses; ate much better than peasants (only nobles/rulers drank chocolate)

19. mayan social pyramid

20. glory and decline Natural Resources
EQ: why might foreign invaders have been disappointed?
Natural Resources
Limestone (for construction), the obsidian (for tools and weapons) and salt.
The environment held other treasures, including jade, quetzal feathers (used to decorate) and shells, used as trumpets in ceremonies and warfare.

21. Limestone
Jade
Salt
Quetzal
Obsidian
Shell

22. glory and decline EQ: Why might the mayan cities have disappeared?
A Mysterious Downfall
Overpopulation, overuse of the land, warfare and drought may have played a part in the downfall of the Maya in the southern lowlands.
In the highlands of the Yucatan, a few Maya cities, such as Chichén Itzá, continued to flourish until the Spanish invasion.
By the time the Spanish invaders arrived, most Maya were living in agricultural villages

23. Over
Population ?
Overuse
of Land ? ? ?
Warfare
Drought

24. Summary & so what . . . Lesson Summary
The Maya settled in Mesoamerica, where they began to develop their civilization.
Mayan society had four classes: rulers, nobility, peasants, and slaves.
The Maya built great cities, crafted beautiful art, and made advances in math, science, and record keeping.
Why It Matters Now . . .
More than 800,000 Maya live in Meso-America today.