The Maya
Maya Life and Society
7.7.2
7.7.4
7.7.5
The Big Idea
People played different roles in Maya society,
but
together they made great achievements
in art, science, math, and writing.
Social Structure
Main Idea 1:
Roles in Maya society were based on a complex
class structure.
Social Structure
The people of the upper classes were very
different from the lower classes.
The upper class was
made up of kings, priests,
nobles, and merchants
and artisans.
Most Maya belonged
to the lower classes,
which included peasants
and slaves.
Social Structure
The lower class supported the upper class
with food and labor, while the upper class led
religious ceremonies for them in return.
Mayan Upper Class
- shown in blue
the ruler
Mayan Lower Class
- shown in red
priests & nobles
merchants
& artisans
peasants
slaves
The Ruler
I’ve got
the
power
 The Maya believed their
rulers were related to
the gods.
 He was often involved
in religious
ceremonies
 He led the battles.
 He was the richest
member of society. He
had beautiful clothing
and jewelry.
Priests
 Priests were the most educated people.
 They used their knowledge of astronomy & math
to plan religious ceremonies, which they led.
 They were
usually born
into their role
in Mayan
society.
Nobles
Some nobles were
professional warriors
who fought battles
against other cities
and led their armies .
Nobles gathered
taxes, supplies, and
labor for important
projects.
Go ahead,
make my
day.
Merchants
 Merchants organized
the transportation
and distribution of
trade.
 They traveled by sea,
river, and roads to
trade with other citystates.
 They traded such
goods as obsidian,
jade, copal, and
quetzal feathers.
Artisans
 Artisans painted murals of Mayan life and
important battles. Some were skilled weavers &
potters.
Peasants
 Most Maya belonged to the lower classes.
 The lower classes lived outside the city.
 The women worked in the house preparing food,
weaving,
& sewing.
Peasants
 The men hunted and farmed in the fields. They had
to “pay” their rulers with goods such as cloth and salt.
 Peasants also built temples and pyramids, or
served as soldiers.
Slaves
Slaves were the lowest class.
If captured in battle, a lower-class man
usually became a slave.
Dang!
Slaves
Criminals, orphans, and people who owed
money could also become slaves.
Slaves were often sacrificed when their
master died.
In the movie Apocalypto,
captured neighbors had
their body painted blue
and were then sacrificed.
1. The Maya civilization was
located in _____.
A. Mesoamerica
/ Central America
B. South America
C. North America
D. May-a-merica
3. Which statement correctly identifies
the reason that Maya civilization
collapsed in the 900s?
A. Mayans rebelled against their kings and all of
their demands.
B. A long drought caused a famine making it
hard to grow enough food for everyone in the cities.
C. The Mayans were conquered by the Spanish.
D. It is unclear why their civilization collapsed.
Religion
Main Idea 2:
Religion in
Maya society
was often
bloody.
Mayans sacrificed
animals for their blood
Religion
The Maya worshipped many gods
related to different aspects of their
daily life.
These gods could be harmful or
helpful, so people tried to please
them.
Mayans depicted their gods (like you see
here) on the outside of their buildings and
painted them on their walls on the inside
Religion
 The Maya believed that their gods needed blood
to prevent disasters and the end of the world.
 People pierced their tongues
and skin to give blood to the
gods.
Nobody makes
me bleed my
own blood.
Nobody!
Religion
The Maya also used human sacrifices to
keep the gods happy.
This Mayan
priest is at the
top of a temple
and is ready to
perform a blood
sacrifice.
Religion
The Maya worshiped many gods
and believed their gods controlled
the sun (top right picture), rain, and
other elements of nature.
 The Maize / Corn God was a central
religious figure (bottom right)
They wanted to please the gods
and hoped that in return they would
be blessed with good weather and
bountiful harvests
Religion
The Maya worshiped their rulers, because
they believed their rulers could influence
the gods.
Mayan rulers were
often priests too
They sacrificed
food, animals, and
even humans to
please the gods
Time to say
goodbye.
Dr. Evil’s
orders.
4. The sacrificing of human lives was
the only way to please the Maya
gods.
A. True
B. False - Maya sacrificed animals & could also
just pierce themselves when giving blood
to the gods.
5. Which statement is not true?
A. The Maya worshipped many gods related to
different aspects of their daily life.
B. The Maya believed that their gods would only do
good for the Maya people.
C. The Maya believed their kings communicated with
the gods.
D. The Maya felt blood was necessary to please the
gods.
6. Why did the Maya want to
keep the gods happy?
A. They believed that gods controlled their harvests
and prevented disasters & the end of the world.
B. They believed the gods controlled the afterlife.
C. They wanted to make the kingpriest rulers happy.
D. They wanted to keep control of
their civilization area.
Maya Achievements
Main Idea 3:
 The Maya made achievements in
art, science, math, and writing.
Maya Achievements
Art
Some of the best known Maya art is their
sculptures and their jade and gold jewelry.
Maya Achievements
A lot of the Mayan art was
made for decorating the
tombs of rulers
This Mosaic mask, which
was made of jade, was
found over the face of the
famous Mayan
ruler King Pacal
Mayans also painted
on their pottery, like
this cup.
Maya Achievements
Maya Achievements
Maya Achievements
Architecture
The Maya built cities without using metal tools.
Maya Achievements
Maya Achievements
Notable constructions of the Maya include…
Ceremonial platforms
Palaces
Pyramids and temples
Observatories
Ball courts
Tulum Palace
 Tourists walk past a
Mayan temple in the
Tikal National Park
Palenque Temple
Observatory
Ball Court
Maya Achievements
Science and Math
The Maya built observatories for priests to study
the stars.
Mayan Achievements
Maya astronomers figured out
that a year is about 365 days
long.
They also learned about the
cycles of the moon and how to
predict eclipses.
Maya Achievements
Science and Math
The Mayans
developed
religious and
agricultural
calendars.
The Maya calendar
was more accurate
than the calendar
used in Europe at
that time.
Notice in the picture
that there are two
types of calendars
Maya Achievements
Science and Math
The Mayans
created a number
system to go with
their calendars.
The Maya were
among the first
humans with a
symbol for zero.
Maya Achievements
Writing and Oral Traditions
They developed a writing system similar to
hieroglyphics and wrote in bark-paper books.
Mayan Achievements
Their hieroglyphs were
used by priest-kings to write
record books, each of
which was known as a
codex
The codices were often
about religious ceremonies,
astronomy, and the Mayan
calendar
The codices
were also used
record important
dates and
events in the
lives of the
rulers
Maya Achievements
Writing and Oral Traditions
Maya stories were passed down orally. After the
Spanish arrived, the Maya
stories were recorded in book
known as the Popol Vuh.
3. In Maya civilization, the lowest
rank of their social ladder was ___
and the highest rank was ____.
A. the warriors; the priests
B. the slaves; the rulers
C. the commoners; the nobles
5. Maya cities were built
around…
A. huts.
B. agriculture.
C. religious centers.
D. Machu Picchu.
7. Why did the Maya civilization
eventually disappear?
A. war-fare
B. It is unsure why they disappeared.
C. drought
D. The arrival of the Spanish conquistadors.
8. Hieroglyphics is a system
of ___.
A. Architecture that helped in building the pyramids.
B. farming used by the Maya men.
C. writing that uses pictures
to communicate.
D. observing the stars.
9. A lot of Mayan art …
A. was done with jade or were sculptures
B. pictured people doing farm work.
C. were of the stars.
D. All of the above
10. The codices were the
numbers in the Maya
number system.
A. True
B. False - Codices were
record books.
11.
•
is equal to what
number in the Maya math?
A. 2
B. 5
C. 6
D. 11
13. What helped the Maya priests
realize who they needed to pray to
for any given day?
A. The Maya Calendar
B. The rulers
C. The pyramids
D. Hieroglyphs