Objective: Students will be able to evaluate the strengths (Golden Age) and weaknesses (decline

and fall) of Mayan Civilization.

Question of the Day: Should the Maya be considered a classical civilization?

Do now: Begin MC QuestionsBe nice now

Homework: Maya comparison

Mayan Civilization•Pre-Classic(2600 B.C.E-250 B.C.E)

•Classic (250 C.E-900 C.E)

•Mayan Collapse

•Post-Classic period ( 1000-1600 C.E)

It is notice of the demise/expiration of a person

Tonight it will be used for the MayaIt highlights important events, achievements

and advancements compared to others.Provides a who what where and whyIs created to provide a legacy as well as a

cause of deathWhat yours read?

Political FragmentationDensely populated urban

and ceremonial centersNo city-state ever

succeeded in creating a unified empire

Ruled by "state shamans" who could mediate with divine

Tikal was the most important political center of the Mayan realm at its height

Tikal's population was around 50,000 people, with 50,000 more in hinterland (The land directly adjacent to and inland from a coast.)

Necessary to provide the subsistence needs of a large population : environment of Maya lowlands was limiting in terms of landforms, thin soils, seasonal drought, an absence of permanent natural water sources

The Maya established one of the largest and most complex civilizations in the New World before modern times.

Sophisticated agricultural practices included TERRACING: creation of amount of arable land by flattening slopes, capturing soils, and controlling water runoff in areas where erosion prevents cultivation

Mayan SocietyWhat was life like in

the Mayan Civilization?

Land divided into city - states (major city and surrounding towns) were headed by a ruler who was often a priest

Frequent warfare; capture & sacrifice of prisoners

Mostly involved in agriculture

Large-scale human engineering projects: swamp drainage, terracing, water management system

Supported a substantial elite and artisan class

Leader

Nobles

Trade/warriors

Farmers/slaves

Mayan SocietyWhat was life like in

the Mayan Civilization?

Mayan civilization had unique ideas of beauty Crossed Eyes:

Considered particularly beautifulBabies were given

objects to stare at to encourage crossed eyes

High, flat, sloping foreheadTied boards to babies

foreheads

Mayan BeliefsWhat did Mayan People

believe?

Polytheistic (more than one god)Gods were not good or evil,Religious ceremonies closely

tied to natural cycles ( moon phases, seasons, etc.)

Religious ceremonies consisted of singing, dancing, competitions, dramatic performances, and some human sacrificeHuman sacrifice usually

voluntaryParticipants gives blood or

pieces (arms, tongue, eye, etc) to the god

Mayan BeliefsWhat was the role of

priests in Mayan society?

Believed priests could talk to gods

Most daily life directed by priests

Decided: when to plant, who could marry, sometimes leaders

Mayan people believed in an afterlife Heaven was reserved for

people who died in sacrifice, childbirth or hanged

Hell or xibal was for everyone else

Mayan BeliefsWhat did Mayan People

believe?

Believed in the underworld, the sky and the Earth

Knowing the past meant knowing the cycle of the present and knowing the present provided information for knowing the future

This focus on time led to development of sophisticated calendars and time keepers: they interwove a solar year of 365 days and a ceremonial calendar of 260 days

After an interval of 52 solar years, the ceremonial & solar Mayan calendars returned to their respective starting points. The end of a cycle would bring monumental change.

Mayan CivilizationWhat are some

contributions the Mayan civilization made to the world?

Most complex writing system in the Americas

Development of advanced mathematical system based on units of 20 (vigesimal)

Art and architectureTemple buildingCity developmentPyramids, palaces,

public plazas

HieroglyphicsEach picture had its own meaning. The Maya could write in full sentences and even stories. A story was

made by drawing several pictures together. The Maya covered their cities and buildings with hieroglyphs carved into the stone.  Most Mayas could read some hieroglyphs. But priests and nobles were probably the only people who knew the whole language.  The Maya carved these symbols into stone, and made books from tree bark.  They would take one strip of bark and fold it over and over to make pages. These "books" were wrapped with wood and deer hid. Each image was first outlined with black ink made of a coal base. The first drawing was done with a tool made from the thorns of the maguey cactus or from chips and bones of small animals including birds. Brushes were made of animal hair.

Using color to illustrate the codices was not done just for looks. Colors and shades of colors meant a lot  The Maya gave a special meaning to each color, which they related with gods, nature and the sky. People thought the writers were in touch with the gods. The codices were considered sacred. The books were kept in special rooms inside temples and important buildings.

Number SystemInstead of ten digits like we have today, the Maya used a base number of 20 in

their mathematics. They also used a system of bars and dots as "shorthand" for counting. A dot stood for one and a bar stood for five. It was very easy to add and subtract using this number system. They did not use fractions. Adding is just a matter of adding up dots and bars.  Maya merchants often used cocoa beans, which they laid out on the ground, to do these calculations.

The Indian civilizations of South and Central America have a rich musical culture. Flutes, including panpipes and whistles were most important. Rattles, scraper and drums were also used. There is no evidence of stringed instruments at all! A whistle flute, sometimes called a fipple flute is a flute blown from the end. Air is sent through a simple mouthpiece against the sharp edge of a hole cut in the pipe below the mouthpiece. It can be made of clay, wood cane. Finger holes make more than one pitch possible.

MAYAN

MUS IC

They carved jade into figures and jewelry and also used jade to make masks. And they did this without metal tools. Their terra cotta figurines and

polychrome vases are admired not only because they are very old, but as fine works of art. This vase is from Campeche from about 1,400 years ago.

Mayan Arts

Mayan Architecture

Temple of Kukulkan, Chichen Itza, Mexico

Mayan Ball Game

The Mayan Ball game was the first organized game in the history of sports. The Mayan Ball Game was not only an exciting and dangerous sport, it was also a complex ritual based on religious beliefs. Often people were killed as part of this ritual. Mayans believed the only way to keep life happy and growing was to sacrifice a valuable human being. http://ballgame.org/main.asp

Political- city states (Palenque,Tikal,Chichen Itza), ceremonial centers, formidable military, prisoners of war, priest-kings(divine)

Economic- regional trade, merchants, use of numeric system, currency (cocoa beans), slavery, agricultural products (corn,tomato, beans, etc.)

Religious- polytheistic (animism), Creation myth(apocalypse ) in Mayan Codices, sacrifices and offerings

Intellectual/Artistic- terrace farming, slash/burn, musical instruments, Maya ball game, astronomy, calendar, engineering( temples, ceremonial centers),

During the classical Age, both the Maya and Greece were made up of decentralized political structures known as city-states, both utilized monumental building to illustrate polytheistic beliefs, however, Greece’s Mediterranean naval power would connect diverse cultures and climates while the Maya would be regionally isolated along the Yucatan peninsula.

Or

In the Classical Age the Maya was decentralized with regional theocratic city-states in Tikal and Palenque while Rome was a centralized Republic then Empire. The Maya independently innovated astronomy and mathematics while Rome was the heir to the Hellenistic philosophy. Rome and Maya, however, both engineered monumetal irrigation systems which may have contributed to their decline in the end

End of the Mayan CivilizationWhy did the Mayan

Civilization end?

Rapid collapse in the century after a long-term drought began in 840 CE - population dropped by at least 85%

Extremely rapid population growth after 600 CE outstripped resources

Political disunity and rivalry prevented a coordinated response to climatic catastrophe

Warfare became more frequent It took 170 years for the Spanish to get

control of Mayan lands. Mayans remained independent until the

1700s Other theories?

Mayan culture, language, and art still practiced

Government fails to respond to the following 5 points

Damaged Environment Deforestation and erosion

Climate Change Draught

Hostilities Fought amongst themselves

Politics Competition among kings and nobles that led to chronic war

and erecting monuments instead of solving problemsTrade

Trade with external societies was not a factor because of their seclusion

They traded amongst themselves… or