March 04, 2014

Mayan Introductory Video

March 04, 2014

MayanCulture

If you have any brown grocery bags, we would love to have them for a fun twist on vocabulary for this unit!

March 04, 2014

Mexico

United StatesGuatemala

Honduras

Pacific Ocean

Gulf of Mexico

Mayan Lands

Tikal

Tulum

Palenque

Chichen ItzaBonampak

You will see this on the quiz!Do you know where things go?

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TikalTulum

Palenque

Chichen Itza

Bonampak

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Chichen Itza is known for all of the architecture. Hundreds of building stood once in this area.

The sacred wellPossibly the best known construction on the site is Kukulkan's Pyramid. El Castillo (Kukulkan-Quetzalcoatl).

Approximately 75 feet tall.

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Another Important City: PalenqueThis city was once covered with trees and bushes.

It was uncovered and studied. Within this city, there are many sculptures, buildings, and carvings

that help us learn about the Mayan culture.

Pacal the Great was found in a tomb inside

of the Temple of Inscriptions.

The Temple of Inscriptions

Palenque has the highest average rainfall each year.

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A lot was known about Tikal because of the massive amounts of hieroglyphics and lists found within the buildings. A list of rulers was found!

March 04, 2014

Another important Mayan City:Tikal ("at the waterhole" or the "place of voices")

Located in the Peten rainforest in Guatemala.

March 04, 2014

It means "at the well of the mouth of Itza."

Important Mayan Cities

Chichen Itza/ /

March 04, 2014

Mexico

United States

GuatemalaHondurasPacific Ocean

Gulf of Mexico

Mayan Lands

TikalTulum

Palenque

Chichen Itza

Bonampak

The Mayan Map

March 04, 2014

Mayan Vocabulary List

City-state: a Mayan city and its nearby town or village; each city-state was controlled by a different ruler.

Ajaw: the name for the ruler of the city-state; Mayans believed these were selected by the gods.

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Temples: typically the tallest building in a Mayan city-state; they were considered to be homes to the gods and the Mayans used them as a place to pray

Nobles: important people of a high-ranked birth

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Terraces: flat areas carved into hillsides used to grow crops

Irrigation: a man-made system of

Slash-and-burn: a farming technique where forest trees and plants are cut down and burned, so crops can later be planted in the area

bringing water to crops

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Hieroglyphs (Glyph): a writing system used by the Mayans; made mostly of pictures and symbols to represent a word

Mesoamerica: the land that is presently known as Mexico and Central America

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Mayan HieroglyphicsOn your brown bag (or paper if you didn't bring in a bag):Create a glyph for each word (except glyph!) Each word should be defined with a glyph progression showing how pictures got easier to draw/carve over time!

Original Glyph for Mesoamerica(detailed drawing)

Final Cursive for Mesoamerica(Very simple drawing)

Definition: Land we know as Mexico and Central America

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1. Read aloud

2. Discuss

text features

3. Identify ways

to connect to

culture.

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• Dense rainforest covered land making farming hard

• Climate was hot and humid

• Seasonal rainfall was depended on for water

• Rain soaked through limestone leaving little surface water

• At Tikal, Temple I was built, 130 foot-high step pyramid

• Successfully farmed in rain forest by using slash-and-burn, terraces irrigation

• Created irrigation networks to support city-centers, like Tikal

Planted corn, squash, beans, and other crops in fields

Builtlarge

ceremonialcity-states **These ideas still used today!

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• Was considered a god-king responsible for leadership

• lords, mostly men, but women had great influence on political decisions

• Helped lords run cities, gathered taxes, supplies and labor for construction projects

• served as war captains who led peasant armies during war

• Maintained favor with the gods• led religious rituals, calculated positions of stars, and treated the sick• practiced human sacrifice

• Merchants traded salt, cotton, fish and animal skins for obsidian, jade, feathers, and cocoa beans

• artisans produced sculptures and murals to pay tribute to gods

• Men worked in fields; women managed the household

• rewarded for loyalty by being allowed to attend royal marriages and important ceremonies

• Recruited children, war prisoners, criminals• required to do difficult or undesirable tasks • not badly treated, but sometimes killed or buried with master

AJAW

March 04, 2014

Polytheism - many gods/goddesses

Gifts of blood sacrifices - without sacrifices, the rain, sun, everything would stop

All buildings made of local stone

Great plaza in every city with important temples

Mayan PICTURE Writing system

Steep temples with thatched roof and steps leading to alter

2 teams of 5 people: keep ball moving and off the ground on an open grass court aiming to get ball through hoop, played to DEATH POK-A-TOK

3 calendars at once very close to what we still use today (365 days)! 18months w 20 days

Calculated moons, stars and planets

Predicted future

Had a system for counting based upon 20