MAYAN CIVILIZATION
GEOGRAPHY:
The Mayan are geographically located on Yucatan Peninsula. They are considered to be one of the most sophisticated civilizations in Mesoamerica. GOVERNMENT & CIVILIZATION: Mayan people shared elements of culture, but never a single, unified state. The Mayans developed what is known as “Slash and burn” agriculture: cut down small trees and brush and burn the dead vegetation to fertilize the land. SOCIAL ORDER: women-homemaking and raising children men-hunted and fought Everyone participated in war (all classes). Apart of hereditary ruling class. |
SPIRITUAL LIFE: all life is in hands of divine powers.
Rulers and the elite served religious and political functions. Decorated bodies with tattoos and elaborate costumes. Communicated directly with the supernatural. Elite captives were sacrificed. Commoners were used as forced labor. INTELLECTUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Wrote in hieroglyphics or “picture symbols” Mayan calendar (3114 BC-2012 AD). Math and writing provided the foundation for these calendars and astronomical observations on which they were based, concept of zero. Decades of urban decline, social conflict, and increased warfare preceded the collapse. The destructiveness of warfare finally undermined political structure and disrupted the web of economic relationships that tied Maya cities together. |