Chapters 10 & 13:
Mayans and Adapting to Life in
the Andes
Standards & Objectives
1. List and explain to ways by which the Mayan
people have adapted to modern life, and two
ways by which people adapt to life in the
Andes Mountains
2. Describe two Mayan traditions that they
continue to practice today
3. Describe each of the four elevation zones of
the Andes
The Mayan Civilization
• Who are the Mayans?
– The Mayans are one of
the largest groups of
indigenous people in the
Americas
• About 2000 years ago,
the Maya created a
remarkable civilization
in Mesoamerica
– Name 1 important fact
about their civilization
• Mayans live in countries near Mexico, mostly
in the highlands of Guatemala
– Describe the physical geography of the landscape
where they live
– What do the Mayans have to do to survive in
modern life today?
Mayan Government and Traditions
• The Maya have their own
traditional forms of
government
– What type of government do
the Mayans have?
– Who governs their
community according to
national law?
• The Mayan adapt to
modern life by having their
own community council and
have a mayor who governs
according to national law
• Maya judges rarely send
offenders to jail
• They pay for their crimes
doing community service
• Home and family are the
foundation of Mayan life
– Describe a traditional Mayan
home
• Traditional one room homes
constructed of wood or mud
brick called adobe
– What roles do men and women
have in Mayan communities?
• Women are at home, cooking
and caring for children
• Men work in the fields & hunt
– What do the children do and
wear in Mayan communities?
• Go to school, though many quit
early to help at home and learn
traditional skills
Mayan’s Changing Ways of Work
• Most Maya are subsistence farmers
– What is a subsistence farmer?
Farming carried out mainly to provide food for farm families, with
little surplus for sale to others
• Many Mayan have adopted to modern life by
working for wages
– Where do Mayans work for money?
– What type of farms do they work on?
• Market day is an important tradition for
Mayans?
– How does the Mayan marketplace show signs of
adaptation to the modern world?
Keeping Mayan Traditions Alive
• The Mayans worshipped many Gods
• Everything in Mayan in the world, even rocks
and water, had a spirit
• When the Spanish conquered them in the
1500s, they tried to convert the Mayan to
Christianity
– What is the Mayan blended religion they practice
today?
• The Mayan have preserved their traditional
medicine, using both modern doctors and
traditional healers
– Who are Mayan healers and “day-keepers”?
Review/Homework Questions
Chapters 10 & 13
1. What is one important fact about the Mayan’s ancient
civilization?
2. Name three ways by which the Mayan have adapted
to modern life
3. What type of physical geography do the Mayans live
in?
4. Name the four elevation zones in the Andes
Mountains
5. Explain what elevation zone you would most likely live
in if you wanted to plant and cultivate flowers
6. Describe how the native peoples of the Andes adapt
to each different elevation zone.
The Andes:
Backbone of South America
• The Andes consist of several mountain ranges
that are known in Spanish as cordilleras
• They form the longest chain of high mountains
on Earth along the west coast of South
America
– What countries do the Andes pass through?
Nat Geo Adventure: Machu Picchu
• Some parts are covered with dense forest,
other regions are rocky and bare, and some
lofty peaks are covered in snow and ice
The Four Elevation Zones
• There are Four
Elevation Zones in the
Andes
• These elevation zones
are also called climate
zones because elevation
helps determine climate
– What is the link between
climate and elevation
based on? (2 factors)
• Even though the Andes are near the equator,
as you go higher in altitude, the temperature
becomes colder
The Tropical Lowlands
• The tierra caliente is the lowest of the 4
elevation zones of the Andes
– What is the climate in this zone and what are the
physical characteristics of this zone?
– How do humans adapt to life in the tierra
caliente?
Pleasant Uplands
• The tierra templada is the second elevation
zone
– What is the climate and what are the physical
characteristics of this zone?
– How do humans adapt to life in the tierra
templada?
The Cool Highlands
• Covering much of the
central Andes, the tierra
fira elevation zone is
home to cold
temperatures
– What is the climate in
this zone and what are
the physical
characteristics of this
zone?
– How do humans adapt
to life in the tierra fria?
Icy High Elevations
• The tierra helada is an
extreme environment,
home to freezing
temperatures and snow
– What is the climate in
this zone and what are
the physical
characteristics of this
zone?
– How do humans adapt
to life in the Tierra
helada?