The Maya civilization, which emerged around 400 BCE in Central America, is noted for its remarkable advancements in various fields such as mathematics, astronomy, and architecture during its peak from AD 250 to 900. Despite a mysterious decline, descendants of the Maya still inhabit the region today, maintaining some aspects of their ancient traditions. Archaeological efforts continue to uncover numerous Maya ruins, shedding light on this complex society that thrived for thousands of years.

1. Ruins
,

2. Welcometo the world of the mysterious
About two thousand yearslater, around400 BCE, a newpeoplesuddenlyappeared. These
people were called the Maya. No one knows where theycame from, but theyarrived with
amazingskills. Today, archaeologists remainverycurious about these ancient people.
Archaeologistsface manydangers
to hunt for the ruins of the ancient Mayacities hiddendeepin the jungles of CentralAmerica.
There are not many, but there are some Mayapeoplestilllivingin Central America, descendants
of the ancient Mayas whoremained behind in the nearlydesertedcities. Still today, their crafts
are amongst the most beautifulin the world.
…

3. INTRODUCTION
Today's Maya are descended from
one of the great civilizations of the
Americas. They live in the same
regions of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize,
El Salvador, and Honduras as their
ancestors and retain many of their
ancient traditions.
 Mayan history reaches back some
4,000 years to what is called the
Preclassic period, when civilization
first began in Central America.
However, it was during what came to
be known as the Classic period—from
roughly AD 250 to 900—that Mayan
culture reached its peak and the Maya
achieved their celebrated advances in
architecture, mathematics,
agriculture, astronomy, art, and other
areas.

4.  Welcome to THE
WORLD OF Maya 2012!
Your home for December
21 2012 prophecy,
spirituality, meditation,
UFO's and much more!

5. •The Maya lived in the area
in Central America which
now consists of Yucatan,
Guatemala, Belize and
southern Mexico (the
Chiapas and Tabasco
provinces).
•This whole area lies south
of the tropic of Cancer,
and north of the equator,
and is about 900
kilometers from north to
south and 550 kilometers in
the east-west direction.

6.  PRECLASSIC PERIOD
CLASSIC PERIOD
FALL OF MAYANS
POSTCLASSIC PERIOD

7. PRECLASSIC PERIOD

8. The Maya are probably the best-known of the classical civilizations of
Mesoamerica. Originating in the Yucatán around 2600 B.C., they rose to
prominence around A.D. 250 in present-day southern Mexico, Guatemala,
northern Belize and western Honduras. Building on the inherited inventions and
ideas of earlier civilizations such as the Olmec, the Maya developed astronomy,
calendrical systems and hieroglyphic writing.
The Maya were noted as well for elaborate and highly decorated ceremonial
architecture, including temple-pyramids, palaces and observatories, all built
without metal tools. They were also skilled farmers, clearing large sections of
tropical rain forest and, where groundwater was scarce, building sizeable
underground reservoirs for the storage of rainwater. The Maya were equally
skilled as weavers and potters, and cleared routes through jungles and swamps to
foster extensive trade networks with distant peoples.
Around 300 B.C., the Maya adopted a hierarchical system of government with
rule by nobles and kings. This civilization developed into highly structured
kingdoms during the Classic period, A.D. 200-900. Their society consisted of many
independent states, each with a rural farming community and large urban sites
built around ceremonial centres. It started to decline around A.D. 900 when - for
reasons which are still largely a mystery - the southern Maya abandoned their
cities.
When the northern Maya were integrated into the Toltec society by A.D. 1200,
the Maya dynasty finally came to a close, although some peripheral centres

9. CLASSIC PERIOD

10. The Maya were warlike and raided their neighbors for land,
citizens, and captives. Some captives were subjected to the double
sacrifice where the victims heart was torn out for the sun and head
cut off to pour blood out for the earth.
Most artistic and cultural achievement came about during the
Classic period 300 - 900 AD. The Maya developed a complex,
hierarchical society divided into classes and professions.
Centralized governments, headed by a king, ruled territories with
clearly defined boundaries. These borders changed as the various
states lost and gained control over territory. Mayan centers
flourished in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El
Salvador.
Fragmentation from large states into smaller city-states focused
resources on rivalries between cities including not just wars, but
competitions of architecture and art between rival cities. The major
cities of the Classic period were Tikal (Guatemala), Palenque and
Yaxchil n (Chiapas, Mexico), Cop n and Quirigua (Honduras). For
most of this period, the majority of the Maya population lived in
the central lowlands of Mexico and Belize.

11. POSTCLASSIC PERIOD

12. After the Classic period, the Maya migrated to the Yucat
n peninsula. There they developed their own character,
although their accomplishments and artwork are not
considered as impressive as the Classic Maya. Most of the
ruins you can see South of Cancun are from this time
period and are definitely worth a visit.
Chichen Itza (near Valladolid), Uxmal (near Merida) and
Mayap n (west of Chichen Itza) were the three most
important cities during the Post Classic period. They lived
in relative peace from around 1000 - 1100 AD when Mayap
n overthrew the confederation and ruled for over 200
years. In 1441 the Maya who had previously ruled Uxmal
destroyed the city of Mayap n and founded a new city at
Mani. Wars were fought between rival Mayan groups over
the territory until the region was conquered by the
Spanish.

13. SUDDEN FALL OF
MAYANS

15. THE MAYAN PEOPLE

16. MayaPeople Had a UniqueSenseof Beauty
oFeatures that Maya found attractive might
be viewed as hideous today.
oBoth men and women displayed body art of
tattoos and paint as well as lip and ear plugs
made from jade, obsidian, shell and gold.

17. CULTURE AND WRITING SYSTEM

18. ART, ARCHITECTURE & TECHNOLOGY
Limestone structures, faced with lime stucco, were the hallmark of
ancient Maya architecture.
The Maya developed several unique building innovations, including the
corbel arch which was a false arch achieved by stepping each successive
block, from opposite sides, closer to the center, and capped at the peak.
Tombs were often encased within or beneath Maya structures. Frequently
new temples were built over existing structures.
A honeycombed roofcomb towered above many structures, providing a
base for painted plaster that was the Maya equivalent of the billboard. In
addition to temples, most Maya sites had multi-roomed structures that
probably served as royal palaces as well as centers for government affairs.
Historically significant events, such as accessions, the capture or sacrifice
of royal victims and the completion of the twenty year katun cycle, were
recorded on stone stelae and tablets.

19. Without metal tools, beasts of burden, or even the wheel the Mayans
were able to construct vast cities across a huge jungle landscape with
an amazing degree of architectural perfection and variety.
They were noted as well for elaborate and highly decorated ceremonial
architecture, including temple-pyramids, palaces and observatories, all
built without metal tools.
- Pyramids of Mexico; September 8, 2000 - AP - Guatemala City
Scientists and looters ignored the ruin for nearly a century because it
appeared devoid of temples and burial sites that might yield valuable
artifacts and treasures.
They had no idea what they were missing.
Underneath the jungle curtain of mud and dense foliage was a sprawling
lost city called "Cancuen," (can-ku-win), one of the most important
commercial centers of the Mayan world for more than 1,200 years.
Cancuen has been rediscovered by Guatemalan and American
scientists working deep in the country's northern jungles. They believe it
will take 10 years to fully unearth the city, which dates to 400 B.C.
It is buttressed by a 270,000-square-foot Mayan palace. With three
floors - each 66 feet high - and 170 rooms, it is among the most
grandiose Mayan structures ever discovered, the National Geographic
Society announced Friday.

20. Mayans not only contributed to the economy, but also to the
technology of the world. Since scientists have been to many Maya ruins
they have learned a lot from the Mayan stone. The stones express
much information, especially about the technology. The ancient Maya
shaped their world with stone tools.
Lithic artifacts helped create the cityscape, were central to warfare
and hunting, were keys to craft activities, were used to process food,
and were employed in ritual performance. This volume expands our
understanding of the past by considering Maya lithic artifacts made of
chers, obsidian, silicified limestone, and jade. Particular emphasis is
given not to lithic technology, but to lithic systems as a technology of
civilization. Stone artifacts were not merely cultural products, but, in
conjunction with the people who used them, were tools that
reproduced, modified, and created the fabric of society.
Using these as sources of data, lithic specialists examine the
relationship between ancient people and natural resources, and ask
questions regarding social organization and political economy.
The concluding remarks argue that Maya lithic analysis needs to
expand to include more than studies of political economy.

21. MATHEMATICS
Along with lithic technology, Mayan were skilled mathematicians.
Besides having a concept of zero as a place holder, they grasped the
idea of arithmetic, using 20 as their base. Below shows their
numbering system which only uses three symbols, a dot worth one
unite, a bar worth 5 units, and a shell to symbolize zero.This
numbering system was used to create their calendar, for which they
are praised for to this day.
The calendar counted 360 days, with a name given to each day, as
our days of the week are. Although their calendar consisted of 360
days, they did track a vague solar year of 365 days, the same number
of days we still use today to mark one year. In addition to the
calendar, special glyphs indicated time periods. For example, the kin
represented one day, winals were 20 day periods, K'atun was a
period of 20 years and consisted of 360 days each.
The Mayan calendar is still referenced in modern society because
of their prediction of the world ending on December 21, 2012, but
most people don't realize that they created a calendar that counted
roughly 2,000 years into the future. At some point, the Mayans felt
that 2,000 years was sufficient enough.

22. MESOAMERICAN WRITING

24. MAYAN CALENDAR

25. The Maya calendar is a system of calendars used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica,
and in many modern communities in highland Guatemala[1] and in Veracruz, Oaxaca
and Chiapas, Mexico. The essentials of the Maya calendar are based upon a system
which had been in common use throughout the region, dating back to at least the 5th
century BCE.
It shares many aspects with calendars employed by other earlier Mesoamerican
civilizations, such as the Zapotec and Olmec, and contemporary or later ones such as
the Mixtec and Aztec calendars. Although the Mesoamerican calendar did not
originate with the Maya, their subsequent extensions and refinements of it were the
most sophisticated. Along with those of the Aztecs, the Maya calendars are the best-
documented and most completely understood.
By the Maya mythological tradition, as documented in Colonial Yucatec accounts and
reconstructed from Late Classic and Postclassic inscriptions, the deity Itzamna is
frequently credited with bringing the knowledge of the calendar system to the
ancestral Maya, along with writing in general and other foundational aspects of Maya
culture.

26. MAYAN’S PREDICTION
2012 PROPHECY- END OF
THE WORLD

27. "Both the Hopis and Mayans recognize that we are approaching the end of a
World Age... In both cases, however, the Hopi and Mayan elders do not
prophesy that everything will come to an end. Rather, this is a time of transition
from one World Age into another. The message they give concerns our making
a choice of how we enter the future ahead. Our moving through with either
resistance or acceptance will determine whether the transition will happen with
cataclysmic changes or gradual peace and tranquility. The same theme can be
found reflected in the prophecies of many other Native American visionaries
from Black Elk to Sun Bear." — Joseph Robert Jochmans
The current economic chaos and global meltdown may be
precursors to the transition leading up to December 21, 2012, the day that the
5,125 year-old Mayan calendar suddenly comes to an end, resetting to 0.0.0.0.
But what will be the catalyst? Some believe we will experience a polar shift, as
has happened on Earth before. Others predict the impact of a great meteor or
asteroid, which has also catastrophically occurred before. Or could it be the
result of increasing global warming, or the reduction of the earth's magnetic
field (which has already begun), or the extinction of too many species, or could
it be global Armageddon brought on by man's incessant greed triggering war
and destruction? Whatever the cause, in the three years leading up to this
imminent global endtime, there must be some hope.

28. A CULTURE IN RUINS
 There are hundreds of significant archeological
sites.
 There are thousands of smaller ones.
 Mayan ruins can be nearly invisible in the
dense jungle undergrowth.
 Satellite photos have shown that there are up to
4,000 Mayan sites deep in the jungles that
archaeologists have not yet found.
But …

29.  There are still 4 to 6 million Maya living in
small villages of the region today.
 They only maintain bits of the ancient
culture.
 They speak 31 different languages.
CHANGE HAPPENS…

31. PRESENTEDBY…