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    The Maya Civilization - Part 2

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    api-295534951
    The document summarizes aspects of the Maya civilization. It describes that the Maya lived in city-states across a large region including the Yucatan Peninsula and Guatemala, with differing environments including forests, flatlands, and mountains. Each city-state had its own ruler who would become ruler upon the death of the previous ruler. The Maya developed hieroglyphic writing and calendars that still influence modern calendars today. They farmed crops like corn and built cities, though the reasons for their eventual abandonment of cities remains unknown.

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    The Maya Civilization - Part 2

    Uploaded by

    api-295534951
    417 views4 pages
    The document summarizes aspects of the Maya civilization. It describes that the Maya lived in city-states across a large region including the Yucatan Peninsula and Guatemala, with differing environments including forests, flatlands, and mountains. Each city-state had its own ruler who would become ruler upon the death of the previous ruler. The Maya developed hieroglyphic writing and calendars that still influence modern calendars today. They farmed crops like corn and built cities, though the reasons for their eventual abandonment of cities remains unknown.

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    the maya civilization - part 2

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    The document summarizes aspects of the Maya civilization. It describes that the Maya lived in city-states across a large region including the Yucatan Peninsula and Guatemala, with differing environments including forests, flatlands, and mountains. Each city-state had its own ruler who would become ruler upon the death of the previous ruler. The Maya developed hieroglyphic writing and calendars that still influence modern calendars today. They farmed crops like corn and built cities, though the reasons for their eventual abandonment of cities remains unknown.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    417 views4 pages

    The Maya Civilization - Part 2

    Uploaded by

    api-295534951
    The document summarizes aspects of the Maya civilization. It describes that the Maya lived in city-states across a large region including the Yucatan Peninsula and Guatemala, with differing environments including forests, flatlands, and mountains. Each city-state had its own ruler who would become ruler upon the death of the previous ruler. The Maya developed hieroglyphic writing and calendars that still influence modern calendars today. They farmed crops like corn and built cities, though the reasons for their eventual abandonment of cities remains unknown.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 4

    Name: edHelper

    The Maya Civilization, Part 2

    The people of the Maya civilization were hard workers. They must have been to have
    built the cities in which they lived. Each city-state had its own beauty. Each city-state
    had its own problems.

    The Mayas lived in a large area. The northern boundary was roughly the Yucatan
    Peninsula. This is the piece of land that sticks out into the Gulf of Mexico like a
    thumb on Mexico's northeast coast. The southern boundary lies near modern day
    Guatemala. In this area you would find mountains, rain forests, and flat lands. The
    people had to learn to live in their differing regions.

    The forests contained many fierce animals. Jaguars, crocodiles, and poisonous snakes
    were dangerous enemies of anyone or anything in their way. The Mayas hunted for turkey, rabbits, and rodents in
    the forests. They were good sources of food. Monkeys and colorful birds could be found in the rain forests.

    Farmers in the flat areas grew maize (corn), squash, beans, chili peppers, and cacao. They grew cotton which was
    used to make cloth. They grew sisal which was used to make rugs and rope. Crops couldn't grow in the mountains
    or highlands. In these areas, Mayas found obsidian, jade, cinnabar, and hematite that were used in trade. The
    metals were brought from the highlands to the lowlands and transported on the many rivers. Some of the lowlands
    received as much as 160 inches of rain a year. That kept the rivers full and flowing.

    Each Mayan city-state had its own ruler. At the death of one ruler, his son became the next ruler. When a son was
    born to a sitting ruler, the ruler was required to draw blood from his own body and offer it to the gods. The son
    could not become the next ruler until he had captured an enemy. The captive was held until it was time for the new
    ruler to take his place as ruler. At that time, the captive was killed as a sacrifice. It is believed that this was done to
    assure that the gods would keep the universe going.

    The Mayas presented two gifts to the world which have withstood time. They developed their own form of
    writing. This writing consisted of words and pictures. Hieroglyphs were symbols which stood for an entire word or
    a sound found in a word. These symbols often contained pictures which help to show action or help the reader to
    understand what was being said. Examples of Mayan writing can be seen today on the walls of buildings which
    have survived. Books written by the Mayas were destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors. Only four such Mayan
    books have survived until today. The second gift the Mayas created was a calendar. Much of today's calendar is
    based on what was developed by the Maya.

    Art was important to the Mayan cities. The art came in different forms. Statues and small figurines were fashioned
    by artists. Pictures showing the lives of the people and their beliefs adorn the walls of monuments and temples.
    Clothing also became an art form. Peasants became skilled at decorating cloth in their weaving. They also used
    Name: edHelper

    thread to sew designs onto the cloth. The color and shape of the garment helps archaeologists in deciding where the
    garment came from. Rulers used art to show their importance. They required artists in their city-state to create
    tributes to them that would last. They wanted future generations to know just how important they were.

    Perhaps we will never know just what caused the Mayan people to abandon their elaborate homes. We are able to
    enjoy the fruits of their labor by visiting the ruins at Palenque and Tikal. These natives had no metal tools to work
    with, yet they fashioned a lasting tribute to their lifestyle which has endured for centuries.

    The Maya Civilization, Part 2

    Questions
    1. Each Mayan city-state had its own ruler.
    A. true
    B. false

    2. How would you describe Mayan writing?

    3. Which of these did the Mayan people invent?


    A. calendars
    B. gods
    C. roads
    D. pyramids

    4. How did someone become ruler of a Mayan city-state?

    5. What might you find in a Mayan rain forest?


    A. wolves
    B. monkeys
    C. tigers
    D. lions

    6. Who or what destroyed all Mayan books?


    A. the ruler
    B. the Spanish
    C. wild animals
    D. a hurricane
    Name: edHelper

    7. How did the Mayans transport trade items?


    A. by horse
    B. by foot
    C. on the rivers
    D. by wagon

    8. What is the "thumb" on Mexico's east coast called?


    A. the Belt of the Maya
    B. the Yucatan Peninsula
    C. Tikal
    D. the Gulf of Mexico
    Name: edHelper

    How many of these can you write about? Think! Write! Check all the ones you answered.
    What would the life of a Maya be like? Were they friendly?

    What did the Mayas invent that is still used today? What would you like to invent that would last for
    centuries?

    Don't stop writing. Use a blank piece of paper to continue.

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