MAYA CIVILIZATION
MAYA TIMELINE
First Evidence of Mayan 2600BCEOlmec 1200-1000 BCEEarly Preclassic Maya 1800-900 BCEMiddle Preclassic Maya 900-300 BCELate Preclassic Maya 300 BCE - CE 250Early Classic Maya 250-600 CELate Classic Maya 600-900 CEPost Classic Maya 900-1500 CEColonial period 1500-1800 CEIndependent Mexico 1821 to the present
MAYA GEOGRAPHY
Lowlands– West borders Pacific Ocean,
fertile plain– Yucatan Peninsula– Cenotes (excavated caverns)
for water in east
Highlands – granite and volcanic area of
Sierra Madre (Mexican Chiapas, Guatemala, Honduras)
– Rich land, abundant water– Concentrated settlement
MAYA HISTORY
• Did not record history or daily lives, so much of what we know comes from archaeology and European (colonial) records
• Many holes in our knowledge, and educated guesses
Bishop Diego de Landa
best known for two reasons:1st – He thought the Maya books were inspired by the devil, so he had them all destroyed2nd – Recognizing his mistake, several years later returned to Yucatan and wrote ““Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan.”
This book based on the three Mayan books that survived
MAYA HISTORY
Never recognized themselves as one people Related dialects – similar language City-states (Palenque, Copan, Chichen Itza) No king or emperor but nobility/preisthood City-states tried to dominate each other
(We’ll see similar trend with Ancient Greeks)
MAYA HISTORY
Olmec lived in tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico Provided basis for Mesoamerican civilizations Bloodletting, glyphs similar to Maya Distinctive art (colossal heads)
MAYA ART
Stelae – carved stone monuments
Rulers in elaborate costumes
Often with texts that described lineage and accomplishments
Headdress, ceremonial bar
MAYA ART
Pacal death mask Love of jade Pottery popular
MAYA ARCHITECTURE
Houses of poles and thatch (cool) Tikal (left) and Palenque (right)
MAYA SOCIETY
class society Caste (membership
hereditary and movement rare)
Little known about women, but evidence of city-state queens
NobilityPriests
WarriorsCraftsmen
Traders
FarmersWorkersSlaves
MAYA CULTURE
Corn (maize), beans, squash, chilies for flavour, domesticated turkey
Loved dance, music pok-a-tuk (pok-a-tok) Maya ball game Losers (including coach) sacrificed
http://www.ballgame.org/main.asp
MAYA CULTURE
Pierced ears, tattoos, body painting, straight black hair,
Large headdress for importance (Pacal, leader of Palenque, to right)
MAYA TRADE AND ECONOMY
Salt valued from Yucatan coast (preserve food, medicine, religious ceremonies) from north
granite from low mountains of Belize Jade, volcanic glass, and obsidian from
Chiapas highlands of western Guatemala
Tikal and Copan ‘middlemen’ cities in trade
Cacao – “heart blood”
Cacao – raw bitter form of chocolate
Used in trade – prized commodity
MAYA ECONOMY/TRADE
Quetzal feathers for nobility headdress
Extensive trade over 1000 miles
Porters carry goods (no beasts of burden)
Commonly Bartered Items
Mayan Religious Beliefs
Polytheism = Belief in many Gods
Believed that Gods controlled everything
Priests had great influence because Mayans thought priests could talk to the Gods
Gods symbolized as animals: Rain God = snake, Sun God = Jaguar, Death God= bat
Food and animal sacrifices common; humans (such as defeated tribes) sometimes
Mayan Numbers
The Mayans had a number system consisting of shells, dots, and lines. You could write up to nineteen with just these symbols. The Maya were one of the only ancient civilizations that understood the concept of zero. This allowed them to write very large numbers
MAYA TEHNOLOGY/INNOVATION
Masters of the Night Sky- known for their observatories
Accurately charted the planets by using a forked stick like implement
Created an accurate yearly calendar – tracked solar 365 calendar
Predicted eclipses of the sun
MAYA WRITING
Writing 800 glyphs (picture/symbol represents an object, idea, or sound
Read left to right and top to bottom Only elite could read as writing considered to
be gift from the gods Wrote many books (destroyed by Spanish)
Religion and Education
Human Sacrifice and Bloodletting Ritual
Religion: Importance of Agriculture
Mayan religion reflected the fundamental role of agriculture in their society
Popol Vuh, was the Mayan creation myth that taught that the gods had created human beings out of maize and water
Gods kept the world in order and maintained the agricultural cycle in exchange for honors and sacrifices
Religion: Bloodletting Rituals
Mayans believed the shedding of human blood would prompt the gods to send rain to water the maize
Bloodletting involved both war captives and Mayan royalsMayan queen holds a bowl filled with strips of paper used to collect blood.
Religion: Bloodletting
A popular bloodletting ritual was for a Mayan to pierce his own tongue and thread a thin rope through the hole, thus letting the blood run down the rope
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