1. The Great American Civilizations
The Mayas: A People Ahead of Their
Times

2. The Mayas: A People Ahead of Their Times
Spanish explores found three great civilizations, in
the 16th century, at the American Continent.
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Two in Mesoamerica – the Mayas and the Aztecs,
Aztecs
And the other in South America – the Incas.
Incas
The earliest civilization was the Maya.
Maya
Arrived in the Yucatan Peninsula, east of Mexico,
and settled in the present-day territories of
Guatemala, Belice, and Honduras.

3. The Mayas: A People Ahead of Their Times
They were organized in independent city
states.
states

city state – is a territory with a government and
an army of its own.
The main Mayan cities were Chichen Itza,
Palenque and Tikal.

4. Tikal
Picture from: 2011-Ediciones Santilla inc; Social Studies 5 text book

5. The Mayas: A People Ahead of Their Times
The city state was ruled by the priest. This
kind of government in known as a
theocracy.
theocracy

Theocracy – is a form of government in which
power is in the hands of religious leaders.
They were very respected, they were
considered messengers of the Mayan gods
on Earth.

6. Picture from: 2011-Ediciones Santilla inc; Social Studies 5 text book

7. The Mayas: A People Ahead of Their Times
The Maya society was organized in clans.
clans
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
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clan – is a group of people who have a common
ancestor, in which family ties and obedience to a leader
are very important.
The members were organized in social levels,
according to the activity they engaged in.
Those who held the highest level (the priests) were the
most respected.
The ones occupying the lowest level (the slaves) were
the least respected.

8. Picture from: 2011-Ediciones Santilla inc; Social Studies 5 text book

9. The Mayas: A People Ahead of Their Times
The Mayas were an agricultural people.
The products they grew were corn, cocoa,
cotton, and tomato.
Their cultivation system was called milpa,
milpa
or land clearing. They burned the existing
vegetation and used the ashes as fertilizer.

10. The Mayas: A People Ahead of Their Times
Religion was influential in almost all
aspects of Maya life.
The Mayas worshipped many gods.
This kind of belief is known as polytheism.
polytheism
Their gods were related to elements of
nature. (rain, earth and sun).

11. The Mayas: A People Ahead of Their Times
The priest received the messages from the
gods at the ceremonial centers.
They also engaged in ball games that had
religious significance, because they were
part of the worship to the sun god.

13. The Mayas: A People Ahead of Their Times
Mayas acquired knowledge in astronomy,
architecture, and mathematics.
They observed the stars.
From what they saw, the made two calendars:
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a religious one, for the worship of the gods, which was
made up two hundred and sixty days;
and a common one for daily life, which had three
hundred and sixty-five days, just like our own.

15. The Mayas: A People Ahead of Their Times
The most original characteristics of Maya
architecture, the great pyramidal temples.
Other cultural accomplishments were the
use of the zero in Mathematics and
hieroglyphic writing, which consisted of a
system of drawings known as glyphs that
represented objects or ideas.

16. Information and pictures obtained from:

2011 – Ediciones Santillana, Inc.; Social
Studies 5, text book. (p.106-111)