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Ancient Americas Mayas

Ancient Americas Mayas. -The Mayas were a group of ancient Americas who lived in Mesoamerica - Mesoamerica is southern Mexico and Central America -Mostly lived on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and in Guatemala H unting and gathering – early Mayans were hunter-gatherers

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Ancient Americas Mayas

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  1. Ancient Americas Mayas

  2. -The Mayas were a group of ancient Americas who lived in Mesoamerica -Mesoamerica is southern Mexico and Central America -Mostly lived on the YucatanPeninsula in Mexico and in Guatemala Hunting and gathering – early Mayans were hunter-gatherers -They fished and hunted for meat and gathered wild fruits and vegetables -Hunting and gathering did not provide enough food for a large population, so the Mayas began farming Slash and burn farming -Slashandburnfarming is when people cut down the forest to clear land for their crops then they burn the trees to remove them -Burning the trees fertilizes the land and makes it good for farming, but it is hard on the land -After one season of growing the land would have to “rest” for 2 – 3 years -Fields had to be close to the cities because the farmers had to carry all of the (HEAVY) crops back themselves.

  3. -Irrigation systems -Droughts (period of time without rain) were problems for the Mayans -The Mayans created dams and irrigation systems to control the water Trade -The Mayas traded with other Mesoamericans for food and other things they wanted -Marketplaces were often near the center of the cities and were always busy -Used cacaobeans as money when trading with one another

  4. Mayas day 2 Daily questions and thoughts -Ruled by kings who came from dynasties -Kings were seen as living gods who would rule until they passed away -Mayan empire was made up of city-states; city-state: a city and the farm land it controls -The city-states fought A LOT against each other and anyone caught became a slave Tikal

  5. Social classes 1. (Top) King and his family – ruled the Maya 2. Scribes, noble people, priests – helped the king run the empire 3. Artists and traders – people with a skill 4. Peasant farmers – people who did the farming for the Maya civilization 5. Slaves Carving of a Mayan king Three eras of Mayan history 1. Preclassic 2500 B.C.E. – 250 C.E. -Early Mayans learn the slash and burn technique of farming. Population began to grow. 2. Classic 250 C.E. – 900 C.E. - Tikal (largest Mayan city located in northern Guatemala had a population over 100,00) was built -ChichenItza, a major Mayan trading city located on the Yucatan Peninsula, was built -Mayans develop astronomy and mathematics 3. Post-classic 900 C.E. – 1500s C.E. -Mayans left their cities and moved into countryside -Maya civilization ends when the Spanish arrive in America

  6. Mayas day 3 Daily questions and thoughts Religion -Mayans were polytheistic -Believed that ALL life was in the hands of the gods -Most powerful god was Itzamna -There were good and evil gods -Priests were very important parts of society. They could explain life and death, carry out religious festivals, performed medical ceremonies, and knew the secrets of math and astronomy. Itzamna

  7. Writing, math, and calendars -Writing was based on pictures -Wrote books on bark and folded the bark up like an accordion (the folded up book was called a codex) -Developed a solarcalendar (based on the sun) with 365 days. There were 18 months with 20 days in each one and there were five extra days at the end of the year. -Developed a mathsystem based on the numbers 0 – 19.

  8. Mayas day 4 Daily thoughts and questions Mayan mystery – the Mayans left their cities and moved into the forest -Historians have NO idea why the Mayans left their cities, but they have a few ideas

  9. 1. Naturaldisaster – earthquake, hurricane, disease (yellow fever – you get it from mosquitoes) 2. Revolt – peasants revolted against kings and stopped farming, so there was no food for anyone 3. Invaders – other people came in to the cities and took over 4. Agricultural (farming) reasons a. The soil was used up by slash and burn farming, so the Mayans could not grow enough food to support their population. b. They ran out of fields to farm near their cities and did not have anywhere to grow their food. c. They left the city in smaller groups (easier to feed fewer people) and returned to the forest. -Because the Mayans did not live in big cities and were scattered throughout the countryside it was harder for the Spanish to find them and conquer (take over) them.

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