THE

AMERICAS:
Maya
Civilization
THE MAYA KEY TERMS DEFINITIONS
Maya Empire that dominated Mesoamerica (Central America) from
the 200s-900s
Olmec - Empire that dominated Mesoamerica (Central America)
before the Maya
Mayan Calendar symbol calendar developed by the Maya to
track the seasons
Terrace Farming technique to grow crops on steps on the
sides of hills
Meso-America: Means Middle America - Area in Central America
where the Mayans, Olmec and Aztecs lived
Human Sacrifice killing a person to please the gods
What vocab word is this?
EQUATOR EQUATOR
Archeologists tend to look at the
native cultures of North America
according to these regions. Each region
contains groups of tribes that tend to
share common languages or cultures.
Great Basin
Great
Plains
Southwest
Southeast
Eastern Woodlands
Arctic and Sub-Arctic
Plateau
Northwest
California
Native Americans: Introduction
In Central and South America, the native cultures were
vastly different from Native Americans of North America. First
of all, there were tropical rainforests and jungles in
Mesoamerica and South America that were not found in North
America. Secondly, the dominant civilizations of
Mesoamerica and South America were infamous for their
styles of warfare and human sacrifice.
Mesoamerica
Guess what
this Mayan
item was used
for
Urn: to hold a
corpse
Beads: to be strung on a
necklace
Mayan
knives
Leaf-daggers
Knife holder
Grinding stone
Hoop used for
a ball game
(use this to answer question # 8 and #14)
THE MAYA (MAYANS)
They were powerful and dominant
from the 200s-900s. Although
they werent as powerful
after the 900s, they were still
around until the 1500s when
the Spanish arrived and
conquered the region
South or
Central
America?
use this to
answer
question
#9
Class Structure
(use this to answer questions #1, #2, #4)
Mayan Hierarchy
1 On top: Ruler, his family, Royal court, & priests
2 useful architects, merchants, and craftsmen
3 Commoners like artists, traders & minor officials,
4 Farmers (who lived outside cities in villages & fields)
5 Bottom: Slaves (Ppentacob)
Where did Mayan slaves come from?
1. Born into slavery
2. Punishment for crime (since there were no jails)
3. Captured as prisoners of war
4. Orphans became slaves also
Slaves had to grind corn, work the most
dangerous and heaviest construction jobs, carried
goods long distances between the highlands and
the coast, or paddled canoes
(use this to answer questions #4, #5 & #6 )
Family Life
Mayan girls were to get married at age 14 and men at age 18. These
marriages were arranged by a matchmaker and groom's parents. The
bride's family paid a dowry to the grooms' family. The wedding day was
set by the priest and the wedding was held in the brides home. The
wedding would be finished with an exchange of gifts and a feast. Newly
weds would live with the bride's family for a year before starting their own
household.
Mayans lived in extended family units in village compounds. The
extended families were combined into larger groups called lineages and
lineages usually larger units called clans.
(use this to answer question #20)
Beauty
To the Mayans, beauty
meant looking like a cat.
Therefore, they
considered a flattened
forehead and crossed
eyes to be signs of
physical beauty.
So infants in Mayan
society strapped
wooden frames to their
heads elongating their
skulls. Also an object
was dangled above
their eyes to cause
them to cross.
(use this to answer question #10)
(use this to answer question # 13)
Blue was a
symbolic color for
the Maya since it
symbolized death,
war, & sacrifice.
Historians have drawn many comparisons between the natives
of the planet Pandora in the 2009 film Avatar and the Ancient Mayans
of Meso-America. From the cat-like features to the jungle lifestyle and
obsession with the color blue, the Navi are strangely similar to the
Maya.
WarfareThe most common pattern of Maya warfare was simply
a bunch of raids where they rapidly attacked and retreated. It was
usually done by relatively small numbers of nobles and was done
for ceremonial purposes, like human sacrifice (as depicted in Mel
Gibsons film Apocalypto)
(use this to answer question # 13)
Beliefs
The Maya were a deeply religious people. They believed in many gods. All
events centered around their religious beliefs. They wanted to stay in favor with
the gods. In their belief system, the gods would bring the rain, heal the sick,
bring plentiful harvests, and ensure the health and safety of the people if they
were honored. If the gods were angry, they would send drought, famine and
disaster to the people.
(use this to answer question # 3)
Kings would also give blood offerings
(considered very sacred). Noble
women would also practice blood-
letting by pulling a rope with broken
glass and thorns through a hole in
their tongue. Human sacrifice was
often practiced. No, they didnt use
animals in their religious ceremonies.
(use this to answer questions #21)
Beliefs
In order to keep the gods
happy, Mayans believed a
daily sacrifice of blood
was necessary. Blood was
voluntarily offered by
community members.
They would open a wound
and let the blood drip onto
a paper. The paper would
then be burned in an
offering to the gods. It was
believed that the priests
could see the spirits in the
smoke.
Art, language, Architecture
The complex pictures of Maya glyphs are like no other writing system. All of our
words are formed from various combinations of 26 signs (Alphabet)
By contrast, all Maya words are formed from various combinations
of nearly 800 signs, and each sign represents a full syllable
so that list of signs is called a Syllabary, not an Alphabet.
(use this to answer questions #18 and #19)
= ONE
= FIVE
= ZERO
The Mayans
would put one finger
in clay for one, a
side of the hand for
five and a fist for
zero or twenty.
What did they eat?
They were known as people
of the corn but they also ate:
Maize (corn)
berries
mangos
bananas
beans
tomatoes
avocados
cilantro
doves
monkies
rabbits
armadillos
tapirs
Fish
sea turtles
Write down
5 things
(use this to answer questions # 11 & # 12)
The Maya had many farming techniques, including
Terrace Farming, where sides of hills were cultivated like
giant steps. They did not practice farming with floating
gardens called Chinampas.
(use this to answer question #16)
The Maya built
massive Temples, many
of which can still be seen
today (THEY DID NOT
BUILD MACHU PICCU)
The Mayan Calendar
(use this to answer question #17)
Were they conquered by the Spanish?
The Mayan Empire declined in the 900s, but there were still a few
Mayan colonies around when the Spanish, led by Hernan Cortes,
conquered in the 1500s. (use this to answer questions #14 & #15)
EXTRA OPTIONAL PRACTICE!!!!
Answer ONE of these questions with a paragraph response.
1) Why do you think the Mayan civilization started to fall apart
before the Spanish even arrived in the 1500s? Internal decay?
Famine? War with neighbors? Destructive Rituals?
2) In your opinion, what are the strangest ways that the
Mayans tried to please their gods? Blood-letting? Sacrifice of
non-Mayans? blue-paint? ropes & tongues?
3) Which elements of Mayan beauty do you find to be the most
fascinating? Why? Cats? Crossed-eyes? Flattened foreheads?
Tattoos and piercings? Sharp teeth?
4) Explain the methods that the Mayans used to keep track of
numbers and mathematics. How is it different from Arabic
numbers (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9) or Roman numerals (I, V, X)?