Barker
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The Mayan civilization was developing as the
Roman Empire was declining!
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Landscape South- pine forests covered the highlands
 North and central regions were rainforests,
grasslands, and swamps known as lowlands
 Thick jungle covered parts of the low lands and
this is where Mayan civilization reached its highest
development
Mayan Crops and Agriculture
Planted crops such as maize, squash,
beans, and chili peppers which kept the
Mayans on a balanced and healthy
diet/lifestyle
 Due to terrains, Mayans developed several
agriculture techniques
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 Terrace farming in the mountains
 Created raised earth platforms in the lowlands
 In the dense forest they used slash and burn
farming
○ Define in notes- Slash and Burn Agriculture-the
cutting and burning of plants in forests or
woodlands to create fields for planting crops.
Origins
Mayan developed in western and southern
Mexico
 Developed their own system of
Hieroglyphics
 Lacked metal and had not discovered the
wheel…they built elaborate cities with
temple pyramids and observatories to
study the sky

 LEAD TO DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHLY
ACCURATE CALENDERS BASED ON
MOVEMENT OF THE MOON, STARS AND
PLANETS
How did the Mayan civilization begin and
what was its political and economic
structure?
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Availability of resources led to trade between
villages in the Yucatan Peninsula
Trade led to wealth, sharing of resources and
exchange of ideas
Group of city-states- each with its own king,
who claimed to be descended from the sun
god
Constructed public buildings for government
and religious purposes
 Center of each city-state was a ceremonial center
consisting of temples, palaces for rulers/nobles, ball
courts & markets
City states were united by their common culture;
social system, language, calendar religion and
way of life
Small villages surrounded the
ceremonial center and made up the citystate
 Kings expected the people to serve him
 Royal women married into royal families
of other city states which increased
trade & formed alliances

What were the main cultural
characteristics of the Mayan society?

Social Structure- Levels & role of each
group
Ruler & family
Nobles and Priests
Craftsmen,
merchants, traders
Farmers and Hunters
Slaves
Religion
Many city states had their own
government with their own god who they
believed was chosen by the sun god
 Polytheistic
 Practiced human sacrifices to honor the
Gods
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Temple structure for human sacrificesgames where losers were sacrificed, POWs
also sacrificed
Religion cont….
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Sacred Round Sacred ritual calendar
Each day name represents a god

Mayan Gods many had animal characteristics
 Were forces that affected nature such as rain corn
and death

Offerings and Sacrifices
 animals or humans
 to please the gods

Pok- a tok
 losers of Mayan games were sacrificed
 Sometimes slaves of higher rank were sacrificed
AchievementsArchitecture
 Astronomy
 Calendar
 Paper
 Mathematics
 Temples

Fall of the Mayan Culture
In 900 CE the classic period ended but no
one knows the real cause
 Several theories have been names but
none have been proven

 Over-farming created a drop in food production
 Attack from enemies
 Fighting among city-states
 Rebellion of peasants that overthrew king and
priests
 Drought