Lands of the Maya
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Transcript Lands of the Maya
THE MAYA
LANDS OF THE MAYA
POLITICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Never form a unified
political system
Do create a unified
culture
Larger city-states
dominated smaller citystates
Large city-states built
elaborate commercial
and religious centers
Chichen-Itza
EL CASTILLO AT CHICHEN ITZA
EL CASTILLO
MAYA ECONOMY
Cultivated maize, cotton, and cacao
Increased
agricultural production by draining
swamps, terraced fields, and irrigation ditches
Led to environmental degradation
Hereditary nobility controlled most of the
land
Maya merchants came from ruling class
Traded
primarily in luxury products
MAYA SOCIETY
Elite women participated
in bloodletting rituals and
other ceremonies
Women rarely held any
political power
Common women played a
role in agriculture and
textile production
Coercive labor used to
build large palaces and
temples
King
Nobles: Priests & Warriors
Merchants
Peasants
Slaves
MAYA RELIGION
Polytheistic
Cosmos consisted of three layers: the
heavens, the human world, and the
underworld
Priests
could communicate with residents of
both supernatural worlds
Mayan developments: calendar, writing
system, and mathematics
Used
to determine religious holidays
MAYA SACRIFICE
Had to please the gods via sacrifice
Piercing of bodies with needle
Human Sacrifice
Sacrificed prisoners of war, slaves, and children
MAYA ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Understood movement of heavenly bodies
Invented the concept of zero
Calculated the length of a solar year
Off
by 17 seconds
Created an elaborate calendar
Two
calendars: solar and ritual
Glyphic writing system
MAYA WRITING
MAYA DECLINE
Maya city-states were abandoned or destroyed
between 800-900 CE
Causes for decline include:
The
disruption of trade after the decline of
Teotihuacan in Central Mexico
Environmental degradation caused by
overpopulation
Epidemic disease