Mayan Civilization

1. CHAPTER 6:
MESOAMERICAN
CIVILIZATIONS

2. Section 1: The Maya
Picture is of what is left of the Maya people’s city. Image taken from: science.nasa.gov

3. Migration to the Americas
• Mesoamerica is made up of central Mexico to northern
Central America.
• People from Asia were able to migrate to Mesoamerica,
because the land bridge was exposed do to lower sea levels,
thus allowing people to travel from one continent to another.
• The text argues that the people who traveled to Mesoamerica
did so in search of food.

4. Geography of Mesoamerica
• Mesoamerica’s geography included highlands that cover the
south of Mesoamerica and lowlands that lie to the north.
• The volcanoes ashes produced rich soil for farming. The
volcanoes also provide a natural volcanic glass called obsidian,
which was used to make sharp blades for spears and arrows.
• Heavy rainfall in parts of the lands supported a dense rain
forest. Although, the rain forest was not rich in soil, it did
produce valuable resources such as plant food, animals, which
were hunted for their meat, skin, and feathers.

5. The Olmecs and Zapotecs
• The Olmec people created the slash-and-burn method of
purifying soil to make it rich.
• The Olmecs also were able to grow a surplus of food, which
allowed for a larger population.
• They were also known for their artwork, in which they carved
their leader’s heads out of stone.
• Finally, their practices and cultures have contributed to the
way future civilizations in Mesoamerica lived, as the Zapotec
people show.
• The Zapotec people contributed the city known today as
Monte Alban and the first writing system for the Americas.

6. Maya Civilization
Picture depicts the Mayans carving out subwoofers. Image taken from: dismuse.com

7. Maya Cities
•The ancient Mayan cities consisted of hundreds of
buildings, pyramids, temples, and palaces.
•The Mayan cities had large plazas, which were the
gathering places of the time.
•The causeways or raised roads, connected the plazas
to each other.
•Finally, Mayan people did not generally live in the big
cities, rather they lived in the farming villages
surrounding the cities.

8. Maya Society
•The Mayan society consisted of: Nobles, middle class,
and commoners.
•The noble class consisted of the families that had the
power of the civilization. This consisted of the king,
high officials, and priests.
•The middle class consisted of lower-ranking lords and
higher-ranking commoners.
•The Commoner class consisted of most of the Mayan
people. They worked in the fields and on the village
buildings. They raised their children and tended to
their gardens.

9. Farming and Trade
•Farming was important to the Mayan cities, because
the production of food on farms was the center of
the Mayan economy.
•The Mayan people like the Olmecs used the slash-
and-burn agriculture method of farming and they also
fertilized the fields.
• Traders from the villages traded food, cotton, and
cacao beans, while traders from the highlands traded
obsidian, jade, and feathers from the quetzal, a
colorful tropical bird.

10. Maya Government, Religion, and Fall
• Mayan city-states often fought with each other to acquire land and
captives. They also fought for trade routes, which would increase
their economic means.
• Mayan people were very religious people who believed in many
Gods. They believed that most of these Gods controlled the forces
of nature. They worshipped their Gods on the top of pyramids. Like
other civilizations before them, the Mayan believed that their
priests had a special relationship with the Gods, thus people often
tried to please the priests. The Mayan people also believed in
human sacrifices. They believed that sacrificing a human was an
offering to their Gods and thus this was a regular practice.
• Mayan cities were crumbling one after another due to drought and
warfare. Eventually, the Spanish conquered them, but the Mayan
people and language is still very much alive today.

11. Maya Achievements
Picture is the Maya Calendar. Image was taken from: shellybarclay.com.

12. Writing and Astronomy
• The Mayan people were able to preserve accurate information
about their culture and way of life by creating the first writing
system of Mesoamerica.
• This system, like that of the Egyptians was written in hieroglyphics.
• Their hieroglyphics system consisted of 800 glyphs or symbols that
stood for words, ideas, or sound.
• Mayan people were able to make great contributions to the study
of astronomy.
• They were able to plot the movements of the sun, moon, and
planets, even without a telescope.
• Finally, they also developed a complex system of calendars that
consisted of a 260 day religious calendar and a 365 day solar
calendar.

13. Mathematics, Architecture, and Art
• The Maya people created an advanced system of numerals that
included zero. Adding zero allowed counting to become much more
simple.
• The Mayan people’s justification for building pyramids were very
religious in nature, as they were very religious people. Thus they
believed that if their temple was at the highest it could possibly be,
then they would be closer to the Gods and the Gods could hear
what they were asking for.
• The Mayan people created artwork that were brilliantly colored
with reds, greens, blues, and yellows. Artists in Maya created
murals, pottery, and jewelry. They also made magnificent stelaes,
which are stone slabs craved with writings about Mayan history.