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    The Culture Mayan

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    Fernanda Reyes
    The Mayans were an ancient Mesoamerican civilization that developed between 2600 BC and 900 AD in southern Mexico and Central America. They created one of only a few fully developed writing systems in the pre-Columbian Americas and made advancements in mathematics, astronomy, architecture, and art. The Mayans built grand ceremonial structures and temples without metal tools, developed intensive agriculture including irrigation systems, and had a complex society with priests and nobles ruling over farmers, traders, and slaves.

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    The Culture Mayan

    Uploaded by

    Fernanda Reyes
    22 views1 page
    The Mayans were an ancient Mesoamerican civilization that developed between 2600 BC and 900 AD in southern Mexico and Central America. They created one of only a few fully developed writing systems in the pre-Columbian Americas and made advancements in mathematics, astronomy, architecture, and art. The Mayans built grand ceremonial structures and temples without metal tools, developed intensive agriculture including irrigation systems, and had a complex society with priests and nobles ruling over farmers, traders, and slaves.

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    The Mayans were an ancient Mesoamerican civilization that developed between 2600 BC and 900 AD in southern Mexico and Central America. They created one of only a few fully developed writing systems in the pre-Columbian Americas and made advancements in mathematics, astronomy, architecture, and art. The Mayans built grand ceremonial structures and temples without metal tools, developed intensive agriculture including irrigation systems, and had a complex society with priests and nobles ruling over farmers, traders, and slaves.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    22 views1 page

    The Culture Mayan

    Uploaded by

    Fernanda Reyes
    The Mayans were an ancient Mesoamerican civilization that developed between 2600 BC and 900 AD in southern Mexico and Central America. They created one of only a few fully developed writing systems in the pre-Columbian Americas and made advancements in mathematics, astronomy, architecture, and art. The Mayans built grand ceremonial structures and temples without metal tools, developed intensive agriculture including irrigation systems, and had a complex society with priests and nobles ruling over farmers, traders, and slaves.

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    THE CULTURE MAYAN

    The Mayans were a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for Maya script, the only known fully
    developed writing system of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and
    mathematical and astronomical systems.

    ORIGINS AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

     The Ancient Mayans lived in the Yucatán around 2600 B.C. Today, this area is southern Mexico,
    Guatemala, northern Belize and western Honduras. By 250 A.D., the Ancient Mayans were at
    their peak power.
     The Mayans were the indigenous people of Mexico and Central America. The term Maya came
    from the ancient Yucatan city of Mayapan, the capital of the last Mayan Kingdom.
     Between 250 and 950 CE came to be known as the Classic Maya Period which saw the
    emergence of the great cities of the Yucatec Maya.
     It was in this period that saw the height of the Mayan civilization when mathematics, astronomy,
    architecture, and visual arts flourished.
     During the Post-Classic Period, great Mayan cities were abandoned, which were later re-
    populated by a new tribe in the region, the Toltecs.

    MAYA CULTURE AND ACHIEVEMENTS

     The Ancient Mayans developed the science of astronomy, calendar systems, and hieroglyphic
    writing. They were also known for creating elaborate ceremonial architecture, such as pyramids,
    temples, palaces, and observatories. These structures were all built without metal tools.
     The Maya were skilled weavers and potters. They also cleared routes through jungles and
    swamps to create trade routes. This allowed them to sell and trade the goods they had made for
    goods they needed.
     Codices were books that were folded like an accordion. The pages were fig bark covered in white
    lime and bound in jaguar skins. The Mayans wrote hundreds of these books. They contained
    information on history, medicine, astronomy, and their religion. The Spanish missionaries
    burned all but four of these books.
     The Ancient Mayans were a very religious people. Mayan actions were based on rituals and
    ceremonies. The Mayans had many different gods. They also had rituals. One of those rituals
    was human sacrifice.
     The Mayan Kings were considered to be direct descendants of the Mayan Gods. Mayan religion
    was divided into three parts with earth as one part, the level above the earth as another part,
    and the level below the earth as the third part. The level above the earth was like the Christian
    heaven and the level below the earth was like the Christian hell.
     The Mayan people were also skilled farmers. In order to farm, they had to clear huge sections of
    tropical rainforest. Groundwater was scarce in these areas, so they had to build large
    underground reservoirs to store the rainwater.
     The Ancient Mayans had a class society. At the top were the nobles and priests. Their middle
    class was made up of warriors, craftsmen, and traders. The farmers, workers and slaves were at
    the bottom.
     The Mayans wove beautiful fabrics and designed musical instruments like horns, drums, and
    castanets. They also carved huge statues. Archaeologists can tell a great deal about the ancient
    Maya from their wonderful pottery and clay figures. The art they created honored their leaders,
    gods, and their daily life.

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