The Rise of Maya Civilization - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

The Rise of Maya Civilization

Slide2

Building a Civilization in the Rain Forest

2.1 A

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Challenges of the Rain Forest

The classic Maya settled in the Yucatan Peninsula

in modern-day

Guatemala

, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, SE Mexico

Dense rainforest covered much of the land and made

farming difficult

Climate was hot, dry, humid

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Challenges Contd.

Depended on seasonal rainfall for waterRain soaked through limestone bedrock, leaving

little surface water

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City Centers

Built immense

ceremonial centers/city

states at different sites

At Tikal, built temple one , a 130 ft. high step pyramid.

Several city states

, not one united country

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Classic Maya Adaptations

Successfully farmed in the rain forest by:

using

slash and burn agriculture.

Raised fields

Irrigated gardens

Planted and harvested corn, squash, and beans.

Mayan Families spread out – learned to cooperate in food production

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Maya Social and Political Organization

2.1 B

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Lord

Considered a

god-king

Responsible for

political leadership

Lords, mostly men,

Women had great influence on political decisions

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Nobles

Lived near ceremonial cent

ers and helped lords run cities

Gathered taxes, supplies, and labor

for construction projects

Served as

war captains

who led peasant armies during war

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Priests

Were powerful because they

maintained favor

with the gods.

Led religious rituals, calculated positions of

stars

, and treated the sick

Practiced

human sacrifice

on a limited scale

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Merchants/ Artisans

Merchants

traded

salt, cotton, fish, and animal skins for obsidian , jade, quetzal feathers, copal, and cocoa beans over long distances

Artisans

produced

sculptures, codices, and murals

to pay tribute to gods

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Peasants

Men worked in fields

Women managed household

Rewarded for their loyalty by being allowed to attend royal marriages and important religious ceremonies

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Slaves

Recruited from surplus children,

war prisoners, and criminals

Required to do

difficult or undesirable tasks

like grinding maize

Not badly treated, but were sometime killed and buried with master

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Noteworthy Achievements of the Maya

2.1 C

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Legends

Legends were recorded on

stelae

, urns, murals, and

codices

No Classic Maya literature survives, but legends in

Popol

Vuh

, the

mayan

creation myth.

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Hieroglyphics

Only native American people to develop a complete writing system

Represented ideas and objects with block like

symbols or glyphs

.

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Architecture

Structures not as massive as in other cultures

Notes for its

decorative stone work

, graceful statues, intricate facades, and ornamental roofs

Distinctive feature was the

corbeled

arch

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How Do We Know?

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Mathematics

Sophisticated number system

based on units of twenty

, written with bars for 5s, dots for 1s, and sign for 0.

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Astronomy

Had exact knowledge of moon phases Able to predict

eclipses

of the sun and moon

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Tikal

, Guatemalahttp://www.tikalpark.com/soundsbirds02.html

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Calendars

Religious obsession with time for predicting future

led to development of

calendars

Calendars were complex systems using

several interlocking cycles

of time.

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Ball Game

Splendid courts still stand at many Maya sites (e.g. Tikal)Game played both for recreation and religious purposes.

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Solving

the Mystery of the Lost Maya

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Copan’s Glyph – a leaf-nosed bat!

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Tikal

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Copan

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Slide29

The Calendar Wheels: Used for Astronomical Predictions

Vague Year: 365 days18 months , 20 days per month

5 leftover days, no leap years

Sacred Round: 260 day year

Cermonial

Based on the length of time a woman is pregnant

Based on 1-13 repeating with 20 day names in two interlocking wheels