Maya Kings World History/Napp
“The homeland of the Maya stretched from southern Mexico into northernCentral America. This area includes a highland region and a lowland region. Thelowlands lie to the north. They include the dry scrub forest of the Yucatán Peninsula and the dense, steamy jungles of southeastern Mexicoand northern Guatemala. The highlands are further south – a range of cool,cloud-wreathed mountains that stretch from southern Mexico to El Salvador.
While the Olmec were building their civilization along the Gulf Coast in theperiod from 1200 B.C. to 400 B.C., the Maya were also evolving. They took on Olmec influences, blending these with local customs. By A.D. 250,Maya culture had burst forth in a flourishing civilization.
The period from A.D. 250 to 900 is known as the Classic Periodof Maya civilization. During this time, the Maya built spectacularcities such as Tikal, a major center in northernGuatemala. Other important sites included Copán, Palenque,Uxmal, and Chichén Itzá. Each of these was an independent city-state,ruled by a god-king and serving as a center for religiousceremonies and trade. Maya cities featured giantpyramids, temples, palaces, and elaborate stone carvingsdedicated to the gods and to important rulers. Tens ofthousands of people lived in residential areas surroundingthe city center, which bustled with activity.
Archaeologists have identified at least 50 major Mayasites, all with monumental architecture. For example,Temple IV pyramid at Tikal stretched 212 feet into thejungle sky. In addition to temples and pyramids, eachMaya city featured a ball court. In thisstone-sided playing field, the Mayaplayed a game that had religious andpolitical significance. The Maya believedthe playing of this game would maintainthe cycles of the sun and moon and bring life-giving rains.” ~ World History
- Describe the geography of the Mayan homeland.
- What civilization influenced the Maya? Where was this civilization located?
- Identify important cities of the Maya.
- How were the independent city-states of the Maya organized?
- What was the significance of the game played in the ball courts of the Maya?
- Identify accomplishments of the Maya.
- How does the passage reveal the importance of religion in Mayan culture?
- How were the Maya similar to Greeks and Sumerians?
Agriculture and Trade / Religion / Writing- Maya city-states wereindependent of each other but werelinked through alliances and trade
- Cities exchanged their local productssuch as salt, flint, feathers, shells, and honey and they also traded craft goods likecotton textiles and jade ornaments
- While the Maya did not have a uniformcurrency, cacao (chocolate) beans sometimes served as one
- As in the rest of Mesoamerica, agriculture –
particularly the growing of
maize, beans, and squash –provided the basis for life
- The Maya developedmore sophisticated methods for farming including planting on raised beds above swamps andon hillside terraces / - The Maya believed in many gods; there were gods of corn, of death, of rain, and of war
- The Maya pierced and cut theirbodies and offered their blood, believing that this would nourish the gods
- Sometimes the Maya even carried out human sacrifice, usually of captured enemies
- At Chichén Itzá, they threw captives into a deep sinkhole lake, called a
cenote, along with gold, jade, and other offerings
- Highly skilled Maya astronomers and mathematicians calculated the solar year at 365.2420 days
- This is only .0002 of a day short of the figure generallyaccepted today!
- The Maya used a math system that included the concept of zero
- They used the numerical system forcalendar and astronomical work / - The Maya also developed the mostadvanced writing system in the ancient Americas
- Maya writing consisted of about800 hieroglyphic symbols, or glyphs
- Some of these glyphs stood forwhole words, while others represented syllables
- The Maya used their writing systemto record important historical events, carving their glyphs in stone or recordingthem in a bark-paper book known as a codex
- Only three ofthese ancient books have survived
- Other original books telling of Maya history and customs do exist, however; Maya peoples wrote these down after the arrival of the Spanish
- The most famousof these books, the Popol Vuh, recounts the Highland Maya’sversion of the story of creation
- Identify the agricultural crops of the Maya.
- Describe Mayan farming.
- Discuss Maya religious beliefs.
- Identify and describe Mayan advances.
Mysterious Maya Decline
“The remarkable history of the Maya ended in mystery. In the late 800s, the Mayasuddenly abandoned many of their cities. Invaders from the north, the Toltec,moved into the lands occupied by the Maya. These warlike peoples from centralMexico changed the culture. The high civilization of Maya cities like Tikal andCopán disappeared.
No one knows exactly why this happened, though experts offer several overlappingtheories. By the 700s, warfare had broken out among the various Maya city-states.
Increased warfare disrupted trade and produced economic hardship. Inaddition, population growth and over-farming may have damaged the environment,and this led to food shortages, famine, and disease. By the time the Spanish arrivedin the early 1500s, the Maya were divided into small, weak city-states that gave littlehint of their former glory.”
~ World History
Base your answer to the question on the passage below and on your knowledge of social studies.… In the 1930s, Sylvanus G. Morley of Harvard, probably the most celebrated Mayanist of his day, espoused [argued for] what is still the best-known theory: The Maya collapsed because they overshot the carrying capacity of their environment. They exhausted their resource base, began to die of starvation and thirst, and fled their cities en masse, leaving them as silent warnings of the perils of ecological hubris [overconfidence].…
— Charles C. Mann, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
Morley’s theory of the end of the Mayan civilization could be discussed in a presentation about which of the following topics?
- Causes of 18th century Latin American political revolutions
- Effects of the arrival of the Europeans on Latin America
- Results of the lack of conservation in Latin America
- Indicators of future Latin American economic partnerships
Which element of civilization is most clearly shown in this Maya artwork?
1. urbanization
2. a system of education
3. a code of laws
4. social classes
Base your answer on the map below and on your knowledge of social studies.
Which title best describes this map?
- Mesoamerican Cultural Areas
- South American Urban Areas
- Creation of the Spanish Viceroyalties
- Outposts of the Inca Empire
1. Both developed independent city-states
2. Both worshipped Zeus
3. Both declined due to war
4. Both worshipped spirits in nature / Which achievement played an important role in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations?
- use of gunpowder
- production of corn
- domestication of horses
- development of sugar plantations
- sustained dense populations through intensive agriculture
- engaged in an extensive exploration of the Pacific Ocean
- built vehicles with wheels to transport goods
- developed rice paper and wood-block printing
- trade agreements
- geographic features
- imported religious ideas
- peasant revolts
- traded extensively with Africa
- flourished prior to European contact
- declined because of invasion and disease
- converted others to Islam
- built temple complexes and developed the concept of zero
- eliminated standing armies and introduced an aristocracy
- developed early democratic systems
- were conquered by European imperialists
- produced few cultural achievements
- lived at peace with their neighbors
- welcomed the new technology brought by European explorers
- rivaled the accomplishments of early Middle Eastern cultures
- developed extensive writing systems
- emphasized quality in education
- established monotheistic religions
- encouraged democratic participation in government
- monotheistic religion
- written forms of communication
- influence of European cultures
- nomadic lifestyle