Mayan Culture and
Daily life
By Iris, Jisan, Noelle, Ilsa and Dillon
What were the major religious beliefs and
practices? – Dillon

The Mayans were very religious and worshiped more than 165 Gods. They worshiped nature
gods (especially the gods of sun, rain and corn]. The Religion involved several aspects of
nature, astronomy and rituals. Gods were human like.

Mayans used calendars for their religious rituals just like the Egyptians. They also build
Pyramids but with flat tops to have temples on the top. There were two kinds of Pyramids. One
that could be climbed and was used for human sacrifices to please the Gods and the other was
not to be climbed and was sacred.

They believed Mayans souls went to an underworld that was filled with evil Gods. Mayans
believed that every person had an animal companion who shared their soul. They even
believed that a person could become their animal companion. Mayan priests could have more
than one animal companion. Every king had a jaguar as their animal companion.
.
What was the population of the Mayan
Empire? Why was it Important? - Dillon
 By around A.D. 600, the Mayan population had grown to an
estimated 22,000,000 people. This was important because it
was a lot of people and there wasn’t enough free land to
support this many people.
 250 years later a lot of the population had disappeared from al
of its cities. There were many theories on why it happened.
 Some ideas were, diseases, warfare, or that the land stopped
producing enough food for that many people to live in. But
others think it may be that a prolonged draught that caused
there to be no drinking water, nor water for plants and animals
and so millions of them died of thirst and hunger or had to leave
the cities.
Mayan Currency – Noelle

The Mayans did not use money. There was no accepted form of currency in the Maya
region.

Instead, they traded. The Mayans had an advanced trading system. There were short
medium and long trade routes and markets that had many goods and materials.

Valuable items like gold and obsidian varied in value in every city-state

Two kinds of items were commercialized by the Maya: prestige and subsistence items

Prestige items are jade gold copper highly decorated pottery ritual items and any other
practical item used by upper class Maya.

Subsistence items are used on a daily basis.

Both prestige and subsistence items were traded.
Mayan Clothing- Isla
Mayan’s frequently wear their traditional clothing
Mayan clothing is different in every region
Women wear:
Huipil ( a blouse) it is a square or rectangular piece of cloth with a hole in the center.
Mens clothing:
• The men wear clothes like tzutc, with embroidery and worn on our shoulders.
Tzute is rectangular cloth, van be thrown across the shoulder for decoration, or fastened
around the neck as a shawl
Mayan important cities and
bulidings- Jisan

Mayans took place in the classic period
Grew to forty cities

Some are

Tikal

Uaxactun

copan

Bonampak

Dos Pilas

Calakmul

Dalenque
Mayan important cities and
buildings continued- Jisan

Each city had population from 5,000-50,000

Built Pyramids to house Gods and to bury their kings

Pyramids formed center of public life used to perform religious rituals including human sacrific

Palenque


Believed to be first inhabited in 100 BCE

Wall writings says that there was a king that ruled there

Palenque had been attacked by several neighboring cities

Important structures took place in Palenque

Pakal’s tomb, known as the Temple of the Inscriptions

The temple of the Sun

The temple of the Cross
Chichen Itza

Well Preserved

Built by Mayas and Toltecs

3 buildings in Chichen Itza are


El Caracol

Warriors’ Temple

El Castillo
In the forests of the Yucatan Peninsula
Mayan Education
The ancient Mayan's taught education in a very different way. It is very different from how America teaches
today.
 Because there was no democracy, only priests, lords, war leaders, and leaders were educated.

The lower people only were able to learn education form their family, friends, and/or other
generations. Elders learned as much as possible to teach the youth.
The Maya's spoke various languages and some of them even knew how to read hieroglyphics.
 Due to illnesses and bacteria they had to learn medicine to help with the people who were ill.
Astronomy
 Also learned astronomy to help tell time and to figure out the major event in the solar system. And
sometimes to see if there was going to be a meteor shower or possibly a meteor coming down to
the earth, just like it did to the dinosaurs.
 To tell dates and make a calendar, and the phases of the moon. (Ex. Lunar Eclipse)
Interesting facts
1. The Mayans uses to name their child after the day their were born. Each day on the calendar would have a name and their
parents would usually name them that.
2. No one knows how and why the very advanced Mayan culture vanished.
3. The last Maya state is still existed today. It is name Itza and is an archaeological site with numerous impressive monuments.
4. Both men and women tattooed their bodies with complex designs.
5. Mayans used sweat baths to purify their body. These baths were like saunas and were important to common belief.
6. The Mayan cultural art work is still one of the most sophisticated and well-known forms of art in history. However it is
believed to come from Mayan architecture which they used in their civilization.
Work Cited
"About Education." About. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2014.
"Inca Mayan Aztec.com." Ancient Mayan Civilzation. N.p., n.d.
Web. 15 Sept. 2014
"MayanCulture.com - Fine Mexican and Mayan Handicrafts,
Textiles, Traditional Maya Art and Weaving Playa Del Carmen
Mexico."
MayanCulture.com - Fine Mexican and Mayan Handicrafts,
Textiles, Traditional Maya Art and Weaving Playa Del Carmen
Mexico. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2014.
Work Cited continued
"Maya Civilization." For Kids: Pyramids and Architecture.
Ducksters, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2014.
Hisory.com Staff. "Pyramids in Latin America."
History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 15
Sept. 2014.
Historvius. "Mayan Ruins and Maya Sites." Mayan Ruins
and Maya Sites. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2014.