Mayan PERSIAN Chart Key

Mesoamerica & Andean South American PERSIAN Chart Key







ERA: 600 C.E. to 1450 Maya

POLITICAL  Never unified politically

 Divided into a variety of (about 12) kingdoms or states with shifting

 Leaders/groups borders and rulers (similar to Greek city-states)

 Forms of government  Some towns modeled city-state with hinterlands, similar to

 Empires Mesopotamian city-states (Palenque, Copan, & Piedras Negras);

 State building/expansion politically sovereign, but culturally and economically interconnected.

 Political structures  Larger towns became substantial sprawling cities with dependent

 Courts/laws provinces (Tikal & Kalak’mul); had ambitious leaders.

 Nationalism/nations  Ruled by a theocracy

 Revolts/revolutions  Kingdoms expanded and contracted due to warfare among states.

 Later wars resulted in larger armies and greater sacrifices; crops were

ruined; people fled cities; food supplies decreased; Mayan cities and

states fell apart – all factors for decline

 No single catastrophic – abandonment

ECONOMIC  Agrarian villages (maize, beans, and squash as well as sweet potatoes

and manioc when possible)

 Agricultural, pastoral  Subsistence economy

 Economic systems  Used crop rotation to prevent soil depletion

 Labor systems/  Created terraces and drained fields where possible combined with slash

organizations and burn (swidden) agriculture in the dense jungle areas

 Industrialization  Cotton – basic fiber and textile

 Technology/industry  States/kingdoms connected by trade

 Capital/money

 Business organizations



RELIGIOUS  Theocracy; ruler part god (ancestry)

 Shared religious beliefs

 Belief systems/  Cities – dominated by platforms and pyramids for religious functions;

teachings centers of religious ritual and spiritual experience

 Philosophy  Spilling blood – way to pay homage to gods

 Holy books  Rulers shed blood at intervals set by the calendar; royal wives drew

 Conversion blood from their tongues; men pierced penis with stingray spine or

 Key figures sharpened bone; all examples of bloodletting

 Deities



SOCIAL  Highly stratified w/ elaborate class structure

 Shamanistic king – extolled lineage, which reached back to a founding

 Family/ kinship father and the gods; promoted public ceremonies to honor him and his

 Gender roles/relations ancestors

 Social and economic  Ornate processions down the city streets

classes  Blood sacrifice to feed ancestors

 Priestly ruling caste

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Mesoamerica & Andean South American PERSIAN Chart Key





 Racial/ ethnic factors  Scribes (had a caste), legal experts, military advisors, & skilled artisans

 Entertainment rose to high political positions (glorified rulers)

 Lifestyles  Rural peasantry

 “Haves” & “have nots”  Left ancient centers deserted and provinces depopulated after collapse

 Noble bloodline of women helped legitimize ruler

 Little known of ordinary women; thought to manage family life



INTERACTIONS  Developed trade networks over large distances

 Villages linked together though tribute payments, from lesser villages to

War/conflict larger, central, sacred towns

Diplomacy/treaties  Chronic warfare among high-ranked members of rival dynasties to

Alliances capture victims for bloodshed

Exchanges between  Warfare consolidated control over subjects and brought tribute,

individuals, groups, & sacrificial victims, and honor to military leaders.

empires/nations

 Trade/commerce

 Globalization

ARTS  Mathematical advancements – devised a calendar using precise lunar

and solar cycles; concept of zero and place value (limited notational

 Art signs)

 Music  Science – Study of astronomy; charted regular celestial movements with

 Writing/literature great accuracy – used in calendars

 Philosophy  Arts – pottery and carvings in stone columns and buildings

 Math  Excelled at skyscrapers, especially as tombs (Tikal)

 Science  Shared the same Mayan language

 Education  Writing system (form of hieroglyphics) taught people they shared

 Architecture common histories, beliefs, and gods; also glorified the rulers and their

ancestors

 Technology

 Innovations

 Transportation

ENVIRONMENTAL  Mesoamerica (Central America)

 Caribbean region of the Yucatan & its interiors

 Location  Present-day southern Mexico to western El Salvador

 Physical  Hot climate with periodic hurricanes

 Human/environment  Lacked large navigable rivers and irrigation systems

 Migration/movement  Infertile soil

 Region  Did not found a single great metropolis (large, capital city)

 Demography  May have numbered 10 million people at their peak

 Neighborhood  Early form of urban sprawl; cities lacked street grids; simply added onto

 Urbanization existing neighborhoods

 Settlement patterns

 Disease

 Cities (2 major ones)



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