THE AMERICAS: Maya Civilization

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

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Native Americans: Introduction Arctic and Sub-Arctic Northwest California Plateau Archeologists tend to look at the native cultures Great of North America according to these regions. Each region Plains contains groups of tribes that tend to share common languages or cultures. Great Basin Southwest Eastern Woodlands Southeast

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

Leaf-daggers Mayan knives Hoop used for a ball game Guess what this Mayan item was used for Grinding stone Urn: to hold a corpse Knife holder Beads: to be strung on a necklace

(use this to answer question # 8 and #14) THE MAYA (MAYANS) They were powerful and dominant from the 200s-900s. Although they weren t 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)

Blue was a symbolic color for the Maya since it symbolized death, war, & sacrifice. (use this to answer question # 13)

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 Na vi are strangely similar to the Maya.

Warfare The 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 Gibson s 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 bloodletting by pulling a rope with broken glass and thorns through a hole in their tongue. Human sacrifice was often practiced. No, they didn t 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 The Mayans would put one finger in clay for one, a side of the hand for five and a fist for zero or twenty. = ZERO

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

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 questions # 11 & # 12)

The Maya built massive Temples, many of which can still be seen today (THEY DID NOT BUILD MACHU PICCU) (use this to answer question #16)

(use this to answer question #17) The Mayan Calendar

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)?