•The homeland of the
Mayas stretched all the
way from southern Mexico
into Northern Central
Mexico.
• The Mayan civilization
lasted from 250 A.D. – 900
A.D. Influenced by the
Olmec on the Gulf Coast
of Mexico, The Maya built
spectacular cities such as
TIKAL.
•Mayan city of TIKAL.
•Each of the independent
city states were ruled by a
god-king and served as a
center for religious
ceremonies and trade.
• Mayan cities featured
giant pyramids, temples,
palaces, and elaborate
stone carvings dedicated
to the gods.
•The city-states were
connected through
alliances and trade.
•The Maya had no uniform
currency, but cacao
(chocolate beans)
sometimes served as one
• The growing of maize,
beans, and squash
provided the basis for
Mayan life.
•Successful farming
methods led to the
accumulation of wealth
and the development of
social classes.
Mayan King:
Holy figure whose position was hereditary
The Noble Class:
Priests and Leading Warriors
Bottom Rung:
Peasant Majority
•The Maya believed in many
gods who inhabited 13 layers
of the sky and 9 layers of the
underworld.
• There were the gods of
corn, death, rain, and war.
Gods were also associated
with the four directions and
with different colors. They
believed each day was a
living god whose behavior
could be predicted with the
help of intricate calendars
•The Mayas made
offerings of foods and
flowers.
•They also committed acts
of human sacrifice to
appease the gods and
keep the world in balance.
• The Maya believed that
time was a burden carried
on the back of a god. For
this reason they
developed an accurate
calendar system to predict
the moods of the gods.
•The Maya based their calendar on careful
observations of the planets, sun, and moon.
•The Mayan astronomers were high skilled and used
great precision in developing a math system that
included the concept of zero.
•The Maya developed the
most advanced writing
system in the ancient
Americas. They wrote using
800 hieroglyphic symbols, or
GLYPHS.
• They wrote in books made
of bark called codex, in which
only three survive today.
• In the late 800’s the
Maya suddenly
abandoned many of their
cities, never to return.
•Many speculate that over
farming the land,
overpopulation, and civil
wars caused many of the
Maya to flee the cities for
protection in the jungle.
•By the time the Spanish
arrived in the early 1500’s,
the surviving Maya gave
little hint to their former
glory.