MAYA CIVILIZATION

							MAYA CIVILIZATION
MAYA TIMELINE

Olmec                    1200-1000 BCE
Early Preclassic Maya    1800-900 BCE
Middle Preclassic Maya   900-300 BCE
Late Preclassic Maya     300 BCE - CE 250
Early Classic Maya       250-600 CE
Late Classic Maya        600-900 CE
Post Classic Maya        900-1500 CE
Colonial period          1500-1800 CE
Independent 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
MAYA HISTORY

   Never recognized themselves as one
    people
   Related dialects – similar language
   City-states (Palenque, Copan, Chichen Itza)
   No king or emperor but nobility
   City-states tried to dominate each other
    (sound familiar?)
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       Nobility
                            Priests
    hereditary and
    movement rare)
                            Warriors
   Little known about     Craftsmen
    women, but evidence     Traders

    of city-state queens   Farmers
                           Workers
                            Slaves
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
MAYA ECONOMY/TRADE

   Quetzal
    feathers for
    nobility
    headdress
   Extensive
    trade over
    1000 miles
   Porters carry
    goods (no
    beasts of
    burden)
MAYA TEHNOLOGY/INNOVATION

   Calendar 260 days
   Also tracked solar
    365 calendar
MAYA TECHNOLOGY/INNOVATION

                Math based on multiples
                 of 20
                0, 1, 2

                5, 6

                10, 11

                15, 16
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)
MAYA RELIGION

   Driving force behind every
    aspect of life
   Public temples and household
    shrines
   Organized religion
   Established schedule for
    agriculture
   Polytheistic and revolved around
    nature (eg. Chac – Rain God)
MAYA RELIGION

   Priestly blood sacrifice
   Human sacrifice later in Post classic Period
    (Mexican influence)
   Religious festival every 20 days
   World 3 layers – Heavens, Earth,
    Under(Other)world
   Priest dressed as jaguars , scary masks to scare
    demons of Underworld
   Belief in afterlife