The Mayas
The Rise and Fall of the
Classic Maya Civilization
Why were the Maya a successful
civilization?
Located on the Yucatan Peninsula so it
was surrounded by water
 They developed a writing system and
kept a records.
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More Reasons Why the Maya
were successful…
Made advances in art and literature
 They had a strong government system
 They created advanced cities
 They traded within the empire
 Strong religious system
 Able leaders
 Made many technological advances
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Advances in Agriculture
The Maya used terrace farming to grow
a large amount of crops.
 They drained water from marshes to
create more farmland and to maximize
irrigation.
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Mayan Writing
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The Maya created their own form of writing known as
glyphs.
There were hundreds of different
characters in their written language.
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The Maya used their writing to write books, stories,
religious tales and laws on paper made from bark.
This type of book is known as a Codex.
Mayan Architecture
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Mayan architects built many
cities. The cities became
centers for trade and
religion.Cities featured giant
pyramids, temples, palaces
and stone carvings.
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The largest city was Tikal
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Tikal had two stone temples
and a huge plaza.
Other advances in Architecture
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The Maya built temples
that looked like flattopped pyramids.
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The Mayans built
observatories to study
the stars. These were
large round stone
buildings.
Government System
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Each Mayan city had
its own ruler and its
own way of life.
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The laws of each
city depended upon
the needs of the
people.
Economic System

The Mayan economy was varied. People living near
mountains made knives and jewelry for trade.
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People on the plains grew cotton and made pottery.
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People along the coast traded salt.
Religion
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The Ancient Mayans were polytheistic.
They believed that each day was a living god.
Mayans made offerings of food, flowers and human
sacrifice to their gods.
Religion was an important aspect of everyday Mayan
life.
Class System
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The Mayan culture was a theocracy.
The king was considered both a political
and religious leader.
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The was a definite class system during
the Classic Maya period. These
classes included slaves, farmer
/merchant class, priests, kings.
Technological Advances
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Technological advances of the Maya included:
The development of a 365 day calendar.
A base 20 number system
A huge public works system that created cities for
tens of thousands
Other Interesting Information…
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The Tikal pyramids were the tallest structures in the
Americas until 1903 when the Flatiron Building was
built in New York city.
Only 3 ancient Codex books survive today.
Cacao (chocolate) beans sometimes served as
money in the Mayan world.
Why did the Mayas fall?
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No one knows what
happened to the Mayans.
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Theories for the fall include:
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Internal fighting
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Violence that cause Maya to flee
the cities.
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Population growth and overfarming caused food shortages,
famine and disease
Why we think the Mayas
disappeared

As with most empires, internal fighting
was most likely the reason for the
decline of the Classic Maya.

Internal struggle leaves a civilization
ripe for take-over, shortages, and/or
collapse.
Comparison of Classic Maya and
Ancient Egypt

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MAYA
Built pyramids
 Used system of
glyphics
 Class system
 Polytheistic
 Theocracy
 Believed in the afterlife

EGYPT

Built pyramids
Used system of
hieroglyphics
Class system
Polytheistic
Theocracy
Believed in the afterlife
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How the Mayan civilization has
affected our own
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The Mayans have impacted our civilization in
the areas of:

Architecture
 Mathematics
 Agriculture
 Manufacturing
 Engineering
Works Cited
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www.best.me.berkeley.edu/.../peru_97.htm
www.dirtbrothers.org/college/maya-map2a.jpg
www.mayaindian.com/pics/glyphs.gif
www.duplooys.com/mayanruins/tikal.php
www.members.shaw.ca/mjfinley/astronomers.html
www.vanderbilt.edu/.../dos_pilas/Maya_king.gif
www.alibaba.com/.../Silver_Maya_Jewelry.html
www.thewildrose.net/mayan_calendar.html
www.flickr.com/photos/jimg944/112242497/
www.journal.davidbyrne.com/2004/12/
www.art.com/asp/display-asp/_/ID--6480/Flatiron_Building.htm
www.essentiallivingfoods.com/products-culinary-nuts-cacaobeans.html
Works Cited (continued)
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www.indians.org/welker/maya.htm
www.mexico.org
www.civilization.ca/civil/maya/mmc03eng.html
www.mexconnect.com/mex_/travel/dconrad/dcmayatrade.html
www.kidskonnect.com/AncientMayan/AncientMayanHome.html
www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/ma
www.mayaruins.com/yucmap.html
www.learner.org/exhibits/collapse/mayans.html
www.historychannel.com
www.pbs.org/neighborhoods/history
www.nationalgeorgaphic.com