1. THE MAYA CIVILIZATION

2. Geography: A Growing Civilization
The Maya lived in the Yucatan Peninsula
Spread out over 125,000 square miles in the highland mountain lowland valleys.
Archaeologists think the Maya began working the land as early as 1800 B.C.
They built small farming villages
By 200 C.E., some of these villages grew into cities.

3. Cities / Temples Mayan cities were built around religious centers.
Some cities had great palaces. The Maya built flat-topped pyramids made of limestone. At the top of these pyramids were temples. That was where the Mayan priest-kings held religious rituals.
The city of Palenque was a major power that bordered the highlands and lowlands.
Tikal, Guatemala

4. An Economy Based on Agriculture
As Mayan cities grew, farmers needed to produce more food. They found ways to farm places they had not farmed before.
They farmed the sides of hills (carved into flat terraces)
They build raised fields in the wet lowlands
They burned trees and plants in forests to clear the land for farming
They moved good soil to areas that had poor soil
They dug water systems (irrigation) to bring water to dry areas

5. Agriculture: Terraces

6. Agriculture
By using these techniques, they grew corn, beans and squash.
They traded their extra food between the highland and lowland people and with people in Central America and Mexico
In return, they received goods that they couldn’t produce themselves, such as jade, feathers and cacao beans.
Cacao beans held great value (used as money) and was restricted to only the most important Mayan
Obsidian – A glass like volcanic rock was also traded/used as money

7. Products Traded
Cocoa
Feathers
Obsidian

8. The Rulers
Polytheism-The Maya worshipped many gods. The also worshipped their rulers.
They thought their rulers could influence the gods.
The Maya wanted to keep the gods happy and prevent disaster. They believe that the gods needed blood.
One Mayan ruler was named Pascal. He ruled the Maya for 68 years. Like other Maya rulers he was a priest as well as a warrior.
Priest-kings like Pascal killed animals and sometimes people as offerings to the gods.

9. Blood letting was common for Mayan rulers like Pacal
Blood letting was common for Mayan rulers like Pacal. Mayans believed that royal blood would keep the gods happy.
The City of Palenque build a temple that was used to record his achievements

10. Sacrifices for the Gods

11. Mayan Achievements: Mayan H.A.M.
H= hieroglyphs (a writing system) Each picture stood for an object and/or a sound. Some hieroglyphs stood for whole ideas, such as life or happiness.
Hieroglyphs were carved on the stone columns and record books called a codex

12. H= Hieroglyphics

13. A= Astronomy A= Astronomy- They knew exact moon phases
Able to predict sun and moon eclypses
They created very precise 365 day calendars for harvesting.
They also had a 120 day calendar for religious events.

14. M= Mathematics
Mathematics- A number system. Were the first to use the symbol of zero (binary math)
The number system was based on units of 20.

16. Recreation The Mayan Ball Game
Players tried to hit a solid rubber ball through a stone ring by using their leather-padded elbows, wrists, and hips.
People from all levels of Mayan society watched and placed bets on the outcome of the game
Slaves, land and homes could be won and lost during a game
The losing team were sacrificed and the captain of the defeated team was beheaded.

18. The End of the Maya
The collapse of the Classic Mayan civilization is one of the great mysteries.
The Mayan culture thrived for about 600 years.
By 900 C.E., the Maya had abandoned their cities to the jungle
Possible causes:
Populations of the cities grew to fast for the farming system
Long periods of drought (dry weather) causing crop failure
Warfare – wars were very bloody, hand-to-hand fighting with clubs and spears
Invaders from central Mexico helped to destroy the city-states