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History Alive! The Ancient World

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The Maya

Brings Learning Alive!Teachers’ Curriculum Institute

Mayan civilization lasted 3,500 years, fromabout 2000 B.C.E. to 1500 C.E. At its peak, it

included present-day southern Mexico and largeportions of Central America. In this reading, youwill learn about some of the most importantachievements of the Mayan civilization.

You can still see the ruins of some amazingstone cities built by the Maya. The ruins of theancient city of Tikal lie deep in the Guatemalanjungle.

Imagine standing at the heart of this city inthe year 750 C.E. You are in a large, open plazasurrounded by eight soaring temple-pyramids.They reach into the sky like mountains. On theground, as far as you can see, are structures onraised platforms. The structures are painted inbright colors. Nearby, in the center of the city,you see large palaces made of hand-cut limestoneblocks. These palaces are the homes of the ruler,priests, and nobles. Farther out are the stonehouses of the merchants and artisans. At the veryedge of the city, you glimpse thousands of small,thatched-roof house-mounds where the peasantslive.

Tikal was only one of the more than 40Mayan cities. How did the Maya create suchgreat cities and such an advanced civilization? Inthis reading, you will trace the development ofMayan civilization. Then you will take a closerlook at several aspects of Mayan culture, includ-ing class structure, family life, religious beliefsand practices, agricultural techniques, andachievements.

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Introduction

Questions1. In which modern countries did the Mayan

civilization exist?

2. What are three important physical featuresfound in southern Mexico and Guatemala?

3. In which climate zones did the Maya live?

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Geography of the Americas

Physical Features of Central America

Mayan Civilization, About 900 C.E.The Mayan Civilization

Climate Regions in Central America

W hile the Roman Empire was declining inwestern Europe, the Maya were creating an

advanced civilization in the Americas. Mayan civi-lization reached its height between 300 and 900 C.E.

During this time, Mayan culture spread over muchof Mesoamerica, including part of present-daysouthern Mexico, Belize, most of Guatemala, andparts of Honduras and El Salvador.

The landscape in which the Maya lived variedgreatly. In the south, pine forests covered themountain highlands. In the northern and centralregions were rainforests, grasslands, and swamps.These areas are known as the lowlands. Thick jun-gle covered the southern part of the lowlands. Thisis where Mayan civilization reached its highestdevelopment. Today this area is called the Petenregion of Guatemala.

The Origins of Mayan Civilization The Maya builttheir civilization in part on ideas they inheritedfrom a people called the Olmec. The Olmec livedin the jungle areas on the east coast of Mexico.Their civilization reached its peak between 1200and 500 B.C.E.

Like early civilizations in other parts of theworld, the Olmec civilization was based on agri-culture. By 2000 B.C.E., people in parts of Mexicohad turned from hunting and gathering to farmingas their main source of food. A particularly impor-tant crop was maize, or corn.

Farming allowed the Olmec to create perma-nent settlements. The Olmec established farmingvillages throughout the region. They also createdtrade routes that stretched for hundreds of miles.

By 1400 B.C.E., the Olmec had a capital citythat boasted palaces, temples, and monuments.They were the first Mesoamericans to developlarge religious and ceremonial centers. They werealso the first to use a solar (sun) calendar. TheMaya would build on all these achievements.

Three Periods of Mayan Civilization Mayan civi-lization began to arise in eastern and southernMexico around 2000 B.C.E. Historians divide the history of Mayan civilization into three mainperiods: Pre-Classic, Classic, and Post-Classic.

The long Pre-Classic period lasted from about2000 B.C.E. to 300 C.E. During this time, the Mayafarmed the land and lived in simple houses andcompounds, or groups of buildings.

Gradually, Mayan culture became more com-plex. As the Mayan population grew, settlementsbecame larger. The Maya began constructing pub-lic buildings for governmental and religious pur-poses. About 50 B.C.E., they began to adapt thewriting system of the Olmec and develop theirown system of hieroglyphic writing. Mayan civi-lization reached its peak during the Classic period,from around 300 to 900 C.E. The achievementsyou will study in this chapter date from this time.

During the Classic Period, the Maya adaptedand developed ideas they had learned from theOlmec. For example, they improved on Olmecbuilding techniques. Even though the Maya lackedmetal tools and had not discovered the wheel, theybuilt enormous stone cities that boasted elaborateand highly decorated temple-pyramids andpalaces. The Maya also built observatories forstudying the heavens. They charted the move-ments of the moon, stars, and planets. They usedtheir knowledge of astronomy and mathematics tocreate complex and highly accurate calendars.

Mayan society during the Classic period con-sisted of many independent states. Each state hadfarming communities and one or more cities. Atits height, the Mayan Empire included over 40cities, including Tikal, Copan, Chichen Itza, andPalenque.

Around 900 C.E., the Classic civilization col-lapsed. The Maya abandoned their cities in thesouthern lowland area, and the great cities fell into

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The Development of Mayan Civilization

ruin in the jungle. No one knows for certain whythis happened. At the end of this reading, we will look at some theories that may explain themystery.

To the north, on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mayancities continued to prosper during the Post-Classicperiod. This period lasted from about 900 C.E. to1500 C.E. During this time, the Maya continuedtheir warfare and empire building, but they hadfewer great artistic and cultural achievements.

Even at the height of their empire, the Mayawere not one unified nation. Instead they lived inmany city-states with separate governments. Whatunited them as Maya was their common culture:their social system, languages, calendar, religion,and way of life. Let’s take a closer look at someaspects of Mayan culture, starting with class structure.

Questions1. What were some of the significant achieve-

ments of the Olmec? How did they influencethe Maya?

2. What were key characteristics of Mayan civi-lization in the Pre-Classic, Classic, and Post-Classic periods?

3. What were some important Mayan cities?4. What aspects of culture did Mayan city-states

share?

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The Development of Mayan Civilization

D uring the Classic period, the Maya lived inindependent city-states, like Tikal. Within

each state, Mayan society was structured like apyramid. The ruler of each city-state was at the topof the social pyramid. The rest of Mayan societywas organized in a series of layers below him.

The Ruler The highest authority in the state wasthe halach uinic, a Mayan word that means “trueman.” He ruled the state with the help of his advi-sors. He decided when and where to go to war.

The Mayan ruler was considered a god-king.During religious ceremonies, he wore a headdressthat was as tall as a person. When he died, a sonor other close male relative succeeded him. Mayanrulers were almost always men, but scholarsbelieve that women had considerable influence,probably through family relationships.

Nobles and Priests The next layer in the socialpyramid was made up of nobles and priests. Theywere the only members of Mayan society whoknew how to read and write.

The nobles served as officials, and oversaw theadministration of the states. They gathered taxes,supplies, and labor for projects like the construc-tion of temples. Nobles led peasant armies intimes of war. During battles, they wore elaboratecostumes, including gold jewelry and animal robesmade from the skin of jaguars.

Priests were important because they main-tained favor with the gods. Like nobles, theyinherited their position from their fathers. Priestsled rituals, offered sacrifices, and foretold thefuture. They were consulted to determine the bestdays for going into battle. In addition to their reli-gious duties, priests were often mathematicians,astronomers, and healers.

Merchants and Artisans Although the Mayaneconomy was based mostly on farming, trade and

crafts were also important. These functions werecarried out by merchants and artisans.

The Maya were accomplished traders. Theytraveled by sea, river, and well-constructed roadsto trade with other city-states. Merchants in thelowlands imported valuable products from thehighlands. These products included stones such asobsidian and jade; copal, a tree sap that the Mayaused as incense during religious ceremonies; andquetzals, birds with shiny green feathers used inheaddresses.

Mayan artisans made a wide variety of objects,many of them designed to pay tribute to the gods.They painted books on paper made from the barkof fig trees. Artists painted murals, or wall paint-ings, of Mayan life and important battles. Theycreated sculptures for temples and decorativedesigns on palace walls. The Maya were alsoskilled weavers and potters.

Peasants The peasants were the backbone ofMayan society. They worked hard on the land,growing maize, squash, beans, and other crops tofeed the population. During the growing season,men spent most of the day in the fields, farmingwith wooden hoes. Women usually stayed closerto home, preparing food, weaving, and sewing.

When they were not working on the land,peasants spent time building pyramids and tem-ples. In exchange for their work, they sometimesattended royal weddings and religious events.Peasants also served as soldiers during wars.

Slaves At the bottom of the social pyramid werethe slaves. Slaves performed manual labor fortheir owners. Some were born into slavery, butfree people sometimes became slaves. Some chil-dren became slaves when their parents sold themfor money to feed the rest of the family. War pris-oners of humble origin were made slaves. (Thoseof higher rank were sacrificed to the gods.) And

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Class Structure

some people were made slaves as a punishmentfor serious crimes.

In general, slaves were not treated badly.Sometimes they actually had easier lives thanpeasants, depending on what job they did andwhere their masters lived. But slaves were not freeto come and go as they pleased. Often they weresacrificed when their masters died.

Now that we’ve looked at the Mayan classstructure, let’s take a look at what daily life waslike for the majority of Maya: the peasants.

QuestionsFor each class, list at least three interesting orimportant details about that group’s duties, workor lifestyle:• ruler• nobles and priests• merchants and artisans• peasants• slaves

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Class Structure

In city-states like Copan (in present-dayHonduras), Mayan peasants lived in one-room

huts built of interwoven poles covered with driedmud. Several family houses were often groupedaround a courtyard. A house containing thekitchen was often placed directly behind the mainhouse. Peasant families worked hard, but cere-monies and rituals provided a break from workand a chance to honor important events.

Duties of Family Members Life for Mayan peas-ant families was not easy. Mayan women rosebefore dawn to get the fire burning in the fire-place. With the help of her daughters, a Mayanwoman cleaned the corn that had been boiled andleft to soak and soften overnight. Then she set towork at the grinding stone, pounding corn intomeal. She patted the meal into tortillas (a Spanishword meaning “little breads”) or tamales andcooked them over the fire. These might serve asthe morning meal, or they might be saved for din-ner. On special days, they might also have hotchocolate, a drink the Maya made from cacaobeans.

During the day, women and older girls caredfor small children and for the family’s few ani-mals, like ducks and turkeys. They swept theirhomes, and they gathered, spun, and wove cottoninto cloth.

Mayan fathers and sons ate their morning mealquickly before leaving to work the fields. Whenthey weren’t busy with the crops, men and boyshunted and trapped animals. They also helpedconstruct large buildings such as palaces and temples. In times of war, peasant men served assoldiers.

Special Occasions Although Mayan familiesworked hard, they also took time to celebrate theimportant events in their lives. The birth of a childwas a time of rejoicing. As soon as possible after

the birth, the family called in a priest to perform aceremony much like baptism. The priest forecastthe baby’s future and gave advice to help guidethe parents in raising the child.

At three months of age, girls went throughanother ceremony. The number 3 was special toMayan women because it represented the threestones of the fireplace. In the three-month ceremo-ny, the baby girl was introduced to the tools shewould use throughout her life. Small items wereplaced in the baby’s hands, such as tools for spin-ning and weaving, carrying water and cooking,and soaking and grinding maize.

A similar ceremony was held for boys at fourmonths of age. The number 4 was special toMayan men. It represented the four sides of theplot of land where a boy would spend his life. Thebaby boy was given farmer’s tools, such as axesand planting sticks, and the spears, knives, andtraps of a hunter.

Another important ceremony in every Mayanchild’s life was the coming-of-age ceremony. Girlswent through this ceremony at the age of 12, boysat 14. The long ceremony involved confessions,cleansing with water, and reciting the rules ofbehavior. Finally, the priest cut a white bead fromthe boys’ hair and removed a string of red shellsfrom around the girls’ waists. Boys and girls hadworn these symbols of innocence since they werequite young.

Marriage Customs The next big event for aMayan youth was marriage. Men usually marriedaround the age of 20. Girls married when theywere as young as 14.

The bride and groom did not choose eachother. Instead, marriages were negotiated by thevillage atanzahab, or matchmaker. These negotia-tions were not simple. Families had to agree onhow much food and clothing would be given tothe bride’s family. They also had to agree on the

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Family Life

number of years a young man would work for hisnew wife’s family.

Once the details of a marriage were workedout, the villagers built a hut for the couple behindthe home of the bride’s parents. When the homewas ready, the bride and groom put on clothingwoven for the occasion. After a priest blessed themarriage, the villagers celebrated.

Clearly, rituals and ceremonies were an impor-tant part of daily life to the Maya. Let’s look moreclosely at Mayan religious beliefs and practices.

Questions1. What were the main duties of Mayan women

and girls?2. What were the main duties of Mayan men and

boys?3. What were some of the special occasions in

Mayan civilization?

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Family Life

R eligion was very important to the Maya. TheMaya built their cities around ceremonial and

religious centers. Their magnificent temple-pyramids rose high above the jungle canopy, likemountains reaching into the sky. Temple plazasprovided gathering places for people to attend rituals and ceremonies.

Scholars have learned about the Mayan reli-gion from studying present-day Mayan practices,ancient artifacts, and documents written during thePost-Classic period. Here are some of the thingsthey have discovered.

Beliefs and Rituals The Mayan religion was poly-theistic, which means it included many gods. Infact, the Maya believed in more than 160 gods.The primary Mayan gods were forces or objects innature that affected people’s daily lives, like thegod of rain, the god of corn, and the god of death.Many gods had animal characteristics. The jaguarwas especially important to the Maya.

The Maya believed that the gods had createdthe world and could influence or even destroy it.The same god that sent life-giving rain could alsoruin the crops with hailstones. So, it was extreme-ly important to honor the gods.

According to Mayan beliefs, only priests couldexplain signs and lead people through ritualsaimed at pleasing the gods. Priests performed sac-rifices and conducted ceremonies. They consultedsacred books, read omens, interpreted signs, andpredicted the future. No decision was made with-out seeking the gods’ advice. No action was takenwithout first honoring the gods.

The Maya honored their gods with offeringssuch as plants, food, flowers, feathers, jade, andshells. The Maya believed that blood gave thegods strength, so they also made blood offeringsby sacrificing animals and, sometimes, humans.The people who were sacrificed were usuallyorphans, slaves, and nobles captured during war.

In the ancient city of Chichen Itza, on theYucatan Peninsula, humans were sacrificed bybeing thrown into a sacred well whose water levelwas 60 feet below the ground. Any victims whosurvived the fall were pulled from the water andasked what message they had brought back fromthe gods.

Human sacrifice played a role in an ancientMayan game called pok-a-tok. Every Mayan cityhad at least one ball court where the game wasplayed. Scholars believe that there were two teamsof nobles. Players tried to hit a solid rubber ballthrough a stone ring by using their leather-paddedelbows, wrists, and hips. People from all levels ofMayan society watched and placed bets on theoutcome of the game. Slaves, land, and homescould be won and lost during a game. Survivingart from the ball courts shows members of the los-ing team being sacrificed and the captain of thedefeated team being beheaded.

The Sacred Calendar The Maya used their knowl-edge of mathematics and astronomy to develop acomplex calendar system. Two main calendarswere used for religious and other purposes. Thefirst was a daily calendar, based on the solar (sun)year. It divided the year into 18 months of 20 dayseach, plus 5 “unlucky” days. This totaled 365days, as in our calendar.

The second calendar was the sacred or ritualcalendar. It was called the tzolkin, or SacredRound. The Sacred Round was based on 13months of 20 days each, making 260 days in all. It had two cycles that worked together to identifya particular day. One cycle was made up of thenumbers 1 to 13. The other cycle was a set of 20day names. Each of the day names represented aparticular god. Every 260 days, a given combina-tion of numbers and day names, such as 1 Ik,would occur.

Only priests could “read” the hidden meaning

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Religious Beliefs and Practices

of the Sacred Round. Priests used the sacred cal-endar to determine the best days to plant, hunt,cure, do battle, and perform religious ceremonies.To this day, there are calendar priests in southernMexico who use the 260-day calendar in this way.

Like Mayan art and architecture, the calendarsystem reflects a highly advanced civilization.This civilization was made possible by the abilityof the Maya to create a stable food supply. Nextyou’ll learn about the agricultural techniques theMaya used to ensure that they had sufficient food.

Questions:For each aspect of Mayan religious beliefs andpractices, list at least two important pieces ofinformation:• Mayan gods• offerings and sacrifices• pok-a-tok• the Sacred Round

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Religious Beliefs and Practices

The Maya were creative, skillful farmers. Theyused their knowledge of calendars and season-

al change to help them become even better atgrowing food. But Mayan farmers faced manychallenges. In the end, crop failure may haveplayed a key role in the collapse of the ClassicMayan civilization.

Challenges Facing Mayan Farmers The primaryMayan food was maize, or corn. Other typicalMayan crops were beans, squash, and chili pep-pers. Fortunately, beans and squash, when eatenwith corn, supply people with a naturally healthfuland balanced diet.

One of the most difficult challenges the Mayafaced was how to grow enough food to feed theirgrowing population. Farming was not easy in theregions where they lived. Their land includeddense forests, little surface water (such as lakes or streams), and poor soil.

The Maya responded to this challenge bydeveloping different agricultural techniques for thevarious environments in which they lived. In themountainous highlands, they built terraces, orearth steps, into the hills to create more flat landfor planting. In the swampy lowlands, the Mayaconstructed raised-earth platforms surrounded bycanals that drained off extra water. This techniquehelped them to grow more food without having toincrease the amount of land they used.

A different technique was used in the denselyforested lowland areas. In city-states like Palenque(in present-day Mexico), the Maya used slash-and-burn agriculture. First they cleared the land bycutting and burning plants and trees. Then theyplanted their crops. Unfortunately, this kind offarming wears out the soil. Lowland soil was notvery rich to begin with, so land that was plantedfor 2 to 4 years had to be left to rest for 2 to 10years. Slash-and-burn farmers had to have a lot of

land, since each year some areas were plantedwhile others were recovering.

The Mayan agricultural system worked as longas settlements were spread out and not too large.As populations increased, the Maya had troubleraising enough food to feed everyone. In the con-stant quest for land, they drained swamps andcleared hillsides. They also used household gar-dens in the cities to increase the amount of landavailable for growing food.

The End of the Classic Period Creative agricultur-al techniques were not enough to save the ClassicMayan civilization. For about 600 years, the greatcities of the southern lowlands thrived. Then, inthe space of 50 to 100 years, the civilization thatsupported these centers fell apart. By 900 C.E., theMaya had abandoned their cities to the jungle.

The collapse of the Classic Mayan civilizationis one of the great mysteries of Mesoamerican his-tory. Many theories have been proposed to explainwhat happened. Some historians believe that thepopulations of the cities grew faster than the Mayanfarming systems could sustain them. Scholarshave also proposed that long periods of drought,or dry weather, caused massive crop failure.

Another possible cause of the Maya’s downfallwas uncontrolled warfare. In the centuries after300 C.E., the skirmishes that were common amongcity-states escalated into full-fledged wars. A finalpossibility is that invaders from central Mexicohelped to destroy the Mayan city-states.

Perhaps a combination of factors brought anend to the Classic period. What we do know isthat the great cities disappeared. The Mayamigrated away from the old Mayan heartland andreturned to village life. Stone by stone, the junglereclaimed the great pyramids and plazas.

Although the great Mayan cities are ruinstoday, Mayan culture lives on. About 2 million

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Agricultural Techniques

Maya still live in the southern Mexican state ofChiapas. Millions more are spread throughout theYucatan Peninsula and the cities and rural farmcommunities of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, andEl Salvador.

Questions:1. What crops did the Maya grow?2. For each environment of the Mayan civiliza-

tion (mountainous highlands, swampy low-lands, forested lowlands), describe the agricul-tural technique the Maya used.

3. What are three theories for the decline ofMayan civilization? Which one do you thinkwas most responsible for the decline?

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Agricultural Techniques

Many of the greatest achievements of the Mayadate from the Classic Period. Hundreds of

years later, their ideas and practices continued toinfluence other Mesoamerican groups.

Science and Technology The Maya made impor-tant breakthroughs in astronomy and mathematics.Throughout Mayan lands, priests studied the skyfrom observatories. They relied on simple meth-ods, such as looking through a forked stick. Still,they were able to track the movements of stars andplanets with striking accuracy.

The Maya used their observations to calculatethe solar year. The Mayan figure of 365.2420 dayswas amazingly precise.

These calculations allowed the Maya to createtheir solar calendar of 365 days. Recall that theyalso had a sacred 260-day calendar. Every 52years, the first date in both calendars fell on thesame day. This gave the Maya a longer unit oftime that they called a Calendar Round. For theMaya, this 52-year period was something likewhat a century is to us today.

Mayan astronomy and calendar makingdepended on a good understanding of mathemat-ics. In some ways, the Mayan number system waslike ours. The Maya used place values for num-bers, just as we do. However, instead of beingbased on the number 10, their system was basedon 20. So instead of place values for 1s, 10s, and100s, the Maya had place values for 1s, 20s, 400s(20 times 20), and so on.

The Maya also recognized the need for zero—a discovery made by few other civilizations. In theMayan system for writing numbers, a dot stoodfor one, a bar for five, and a shell for zero. To addand subtract, people lined up two numbers andthen combined or took away dots and bars.

Arts and Architecture The Maya were equallygifted in arts. They painted using colors mixedfrom minerals and plants. We can see the artistryof Mayan painters in the Bonampak murals, whichwere found in Chiapas, Mexico. The murals shownobles and priests, as well as battle scenes, cere-monies, and a human sacrifice. These pictureshave helped scholars learn about Mayan life.

The Maya also constructed upright stone slabscalled steles, which they often placed in front oftemples. Most steles stood between 5 and 12 feettall, although some rose as high as 30 feet. Stelesusually had three-dimensional carvings of godsand rulers. Sometimes the Maya inscribed themwith dates and hieroglyphics in honor of signifi-cant events.

Another important art was weaving. We knowfrom steles and paintings that the Maya wove col-orful cloths in complex patterns. Women madeembroidered tunics called huipiles and fashionedlengths of cloth for trade. Mayan women use simi-lar techniques today. They still make their huipilesin traditional designs. People from different townscan be distinguished by the colors and patterns oftheir garments.

In architecture, the Maya built temple-pyra-mids from hand-cut limestone bricks. An unusualfeature of Mayan buildings was a type of archcalled a corbel vault. Builders stacked stones sothat they gradually angled in toward each other toform a triangular archway. At the top of the arch,where the stones almost touched, one stone joinedthe two sides. The archway always had nine stonelayers, representing the nine layers of the under-world (the place where souls were thought to goafter death).

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Achievements of the Maya

Language and Writing The Maya developed themost complex system of writing in the Americas.They used hieroglyphics to represent sounds,words, and ideas. Hieroglyphic inscriptions havebeen found on stoneware and other artifacts datingfrom as early as 50 B.C.E.

Over time, the Maya created hundreds ofglyphs. Eventually, scribes could write down any-thing in the spoken language. They often wroteabout rulers, history, myths and gods, and astronomy.

Not all Mayan groups shared the same lan-guage. Instead, they spoke related dialects. Today,about four million Mesoamericans still speak oneof 30 or so Mayan languages.

Questions1. For each area, list the Mayan achievements:

• science and technology• arts and architecture• language and writing

2. Complete this phrase, “Mayan achievementssuch as _____________________ are stillimportant today because _____________________________________________________.”

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Achievements of the Maya

SummaryIn this reading, you read about the rise of theMayan civilization. This great civilization wasdeveloped in three main periods: Pre-Classic,Classic, and Post-Classic.

The Maya’s greatest cultural achievementscame during the Classic period. In studying thisperiod, you explored the Maya’s complex socialstructure and their family life, religion, and farm-ing techniques.

Processing AssignmentCreate a cover for an issue of The Mayan Monthlyto highlight Mayan civilization. Your cover mustinclude the following:• an imaginative subtitle• visuals of at least three artifacts that represent

Mayan civilization• brief captions that explain what each artifact is

and what it reveals about Mayan civilization• other clever and creative touches

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Summary andProcessing Assignment

Geography of the Americas1. In which modern countries did the Mayan

civilization exist?

The Mayan civilization existed in the moderncountries of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize,Honduras, and El Salvador.

2. What are three important physical featuresfound in southern Mexico and Guatemala?

The Guatemalan Highlands, YucatanPeninsula, and Peten Rainforest are found insouthern Mexico and Guatemala.

3. In which climate zones did the Maya live?

The Maya lived in the tropical wet, tropicalwet and dry, subtropical dry, and semiarid climate zones.

The Development of Mayan Civilization1. What were some of the significant achieve-

ments of the Olmec? How did they influencethe Maya?

The Olmecs learned to farm maize. They creat-ed trade routes and permanent settlements.They also developed religious centers and useda solar calendar. The Maya adopted and builton all of those achievements.

2. What were key characteristics of Mayan civi-lization in the Pre-Classic, Classic, and Post-Classic periods?

In the Pre-Classic period, the Maya farmedand lived in simple houses. During the Classicperiod, Mayan civilization reached its peak.The Maya created writing, developed ideas inastronomy and mathematics, and lived in inde-pendent city-states. In the Post-Classic period,Mayan cities collapsed in the southern low-lands but continued to prosper on the Yucatan

Peninsula. There were fewer artistic and cul-tural achievements.

3. What were some important Mayan cities?

Tikal, Copan, Chichen Itza, and Palenque wereimportant Mayan cities.

4. What aspects of culture did Mayan city-statesshare?

Mayan city-states shared the same social sys-tem, languages, calendar, religion, and way oflife.

Class StructurePossible answers:

Ruler– called the halach uinic, or “true man”– decided when and where to go to war– was considered a god-king– could be influenced by female family members

Nobles and Priests– only Mayans who knew how to read and write– gathered taxes, supplies, and labor for

important projects (nobles)– led peasant armies in times of war (nobles)– led rituals, performed sacrifices, and foretold

the future (priests)– were mathematicians, astronomers, and healers

(priests)

Merchants and Artisans– traveled by sea, river, and roads to trade with

other city-states (merchants)– traded obsidian, jade, copal, and quetzal

feathers (merchants)– painted murals of Mayan life and important

battles (artisans)– painted books on fig tree bark (artisans)– were skilled weavers and potters (artisans)

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Guide to Questions

Peasants– were the backbone of Mayan society– men worked in the fields– women prepared food, wove, and sewed– built temples and pyramids and served as

soldiers– sometimes attended royal weddings and

religious ceremonies

Slaves– some born into slavery, some sold as children,

some captured in battle, some enslaved as punishment

– some had easier lives than peasants– often sacrificed when their masters died

Family Life1. What were the main duties of Mayan women

and girls?

Mayan women and girls cooked meals, andcared for small children and the family’s ani-mals. They cleaned the home, and gathered,spun, and wove cotton into cloth.

2. What were the main duties of Mayan men andboys?

Mayan men and boys worked in the fields, andhunted and trapped animals. They also helpedconstruct large buildings such as palaces andtemples. In times of war, peasant men servedas soldiers.

3. What were some of the special occasions in Mayan civilization and how were they celebrated?

At the birth of a child, there was rejoicing andthe baby’s future was forecast by a priest. Atthree months, a ceremony was held for girls tointroduce them to the tools they would use in

their lives. A similar ceremony was held forboys at four months. Boys came of age at 14with a special ceremony where a symbol ofinnocence was removed from them, and girlsdid the same at age 12. When a bride andgroom married, a hut was built for the couplebehind the bride’s parents’ home. The brideand groom wore special clothes, a priestblessed the marriage, and the villagers celebrated.

Religious Beliefs and PracticesPossible answers:

Mayan Gods– The Maya believed in more than 160 gods.– Primary gods were the god of rain, the god of

corn, and the god of death.– The jaguar was an important animal in the

Mayan religion.– Gods had created the world and could influence

or destroy it.

Offerings and Sacrifices– The Maya made offerings of plants, food, flow-

ers, feathers, jade, and shells. – Animals and sometimes humans were sacrificed.

Pok-a-tok– The game was played by two teams of nobles.– Players tried to hit a rubber ball through a

stone hoop using their elbows, wrists, and hips.– All levels of Mayan society watched and bet on

the game.– Members of the losing team may have been

sacrificed.

The Sacred Round– The Maya’s knowledge of astronomy and math

allowed them to develop a complex calendarsystem.

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– The Sacred Round was made up of two cycles.One cycle was made up of the numbers 1 to 13;the other had 20 day names.

– The Sacred Round was used to determine thebest days to plant, do battle, perform religiousceremonies, and many other activities.

– Only priests could interpret the Sacred Round.

Agricultural Techniques1. What crops did the Maya grow?

The Maya grew maize, beans, squash, and chilipeppers.

2. For each environment of the Mayan civiliza-tion (mountainous highlands, swampy low-lands, forested lowlands), describe the agricul-tural technique the Maya used.

In the mountainous highlands, the Maya useda system of terraces to create more flat land onwhich to farm. In the swampy lowlands, theyused raised earth platforms surrounded bydrainage canals. In the densely forested low-lands, they used slash-and-burn agriculture toclear land for farming.

3. What are three theories for the decline ofMayan civilization? Which one do you thinkwas most responsible for the decline?

• The population of Mayan cities grew fasterthan their farming systems could sustain.

• Drought caused massive crop failure.• There was uncontrolled warfare.• Groups from central Mexico invaded Mayan

city-states.

Achievements of the Maya 1. For each area, list the Mayan achievements:

• Science and technology: astronomical obser-vations, accurate calendar, understanding ofmathematics, use of zero

• Arts and architecture: murals, steles, weav-ing, corbel vault

• Language and writing: hieroglyphics, around30 Mayan languages

2. Fill in this phrase, “Mayan achievements suchas _____________________ are still importanttoday because ____________________________________________________________.”

Possible answer:Mayan achievements such as Mayan languagesare still important today because… about fourmillion Mesoamericans still speak one of the30 or so Mayan languages.

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