Maya City-States
The Maya civilization consisted of a large number of city-states. Each city-state had its
own independent government. A city-state was made up of a major city and the
surrounding areas which sometimes included some smaller settlements and cities. Each
large city ruled over the land surrounding it. The cities were not planned out but tended
to grow out from the center over time. The center complexes, however, do appear to be
planned with buildings often in alignment to the sun. Archeologists believe there were
hundreds of Maya cities at the peak of the Mayan civilization.
Each city was home to the local king who lived in a palace within the city. The only way
a new ruling family could take over would be by war. This is one reason fights and wars
between Maya cities were common.
The city was also home to large pyramids that served as temples to their gods. Typically
cities were located near trade routes and good farmland.
The city-state government of the Maya was similar in many ways to the government of
the Ancient Greeks.
Source: http://www.ducksters.com/history/maya/government.php
TASK:
In your own words, write a short
paragraph to explain Mayan
city-states. Your paragraph
must have at least 3 sentences
and should be written on the
front of page 7.65 in your
Learning Target notebook.
Maya Agriculture
The Maya were skillful farmers. They used their knowledge of calendars and seasons to grow
crops. In the beginning, they grew more food than they needed. City-states did trade some
surplus food for other items. But most of the surplus food was stored by each city-state to feed
anyone who needed it in that city-state.
As the population grew, farmers found it ever more difficult to grow enough food to feed the
growing population. Farming was difficult in the Maya region. There
were dense forests, little surface water such as rivers and lakes, and
the soil was poor. But the Maya were clever.The Maya did not try to
use one system of agriculture. The farmers in each city-state fit their
system to the land.
 In the mountainous highlands, they used step farming, so that
each step would be flat and able to be irrigated to better grow
and harvest crops.
 In the swampy lowlands, the Maya built raised earth platforms, surrounded by canals, on
which they could grow crops. (Later on, the Aztecs improved on this system, and built
floating gardens.)
 In the dense forest, they used a slash and burn technique to create a flat surface to plant
crops. They dug canals throughout the fields to irrigate the crops.
The ancient Maya grew pumpkins, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, chili peppers,
tomatoes, avocados, breadfruit, papaya, cotton, tobacco, vanilla, cacao, and a wide variety of
wild fruit. Corn was called maize. Out of all their foods, maize was the most important. They
made corn flour and used it to make tortillas and other kinds of breads. Ancient Mayans also
domesticated turkeys, bees, ducks, and dogs. A small hairless mute dog was most prized for
eating. However, as soon as cattle, pigs, and sheep were introduced by the Spaniards the Mayans
stopped consuming dog.
Sources: http:// mayaincaaztec.com/maag.html and http://mayas.mrdonn.org/agriculture.html
TASK:
Answer the following questions on the front of page 7.65 in your Learning Target notebook.
For numbers 1-2, write your answers in complete sentences.
1. Describe three types of farming practiced by the ancient Maya.
2. What is maize and why was it important to the Maya?
3. Draw and label four pictures to show examples of foods grown or hunted by the Maya.
Maya Social Structure
The social structure in the Maya Empire was set. It was very difficult to move upwards.
Status was usually hereditary. Occupations for Maya men were limited to their father's
occupation. If your father was a farmer, you were a farmer. If your father made bricks,
you made bricks. There were some exceptions, but they were rare. Women, however,
could be involved in government, economics, and religion, as well as responsible for
hearth, home, and children. Still, Maya women could not marry outside their social class.
Social Classes, the Caste System: A caste system is a very rigid social system in which
you are born into a social position and cannot leave that position. In a caste system you
are required to marry within your own caste. The upper caste was composed of rulers,
nobles and priests. The middle castes were businessmen, merchants and soldiers. The
lower caste was made up of farmers and slaves.
Rulers: Each city had a ruling family. That family lived a life of luxury. During
religious ceremonies, rulers wore headdresses that were taller than they were. Rulers held
hereditary positions. Sons inherited their right to rule from their fathers. The only way a
new ruling family could take over would be by war. This is one reason fights and wars
between Maya cities were common.
Nobles and Priests: The only people who could read and write in the ancient Maya
world were most of the priests and some of the nobles.
Priests: The most powerful people in the ancient Maya Empire were not the ruling
families; the most powerful were the priests. The common people brought the priests
tributes or gifts and provided free manual labor for whatever they needed. They did this
because the people believed the priests could talk to the Maya gods. Priests lived a life of
luxury with servants and attendants. They usually lived away from the common people.
Except at the major festivals, the people who supported the priests rarely saw them.
Nobles: Nobles did not have to pay taxes. They did not need to produce anything,
although some had jobs. Those who wanted them were given jobs in civil service, as
military leaders, and as business leaders in commerce and trade. Most nobles had a great
deal of free time and lived lives of luxury.
Merchants and Craftsmen: The Maya didn't have a middle class, so merchants and
craftsmen were either nobles or peasants creating art or running a business. For those
B3
craftsmen who were peasants, their life was a step up from the life of a farmer, but they
could not act like or dress like a noble. They were peasants and if they forgot that, they
risked death.
Peasants: Peasants made up the bulk of Maya society. Craftsmen lived in the cities.
Farmers lived outside the cities, in their fields. Peasants worked very hard. They did not
live a life of luxury. Peasants were used as human sacrifice if no other people, like
captured warriors, were available.
Slaves: Slaves were the lowest level. In general, slaves were not treated poorly. In some
cases, their lives were far more comfortable than the life of a farm family. But no matter
how they were treated, slaves had no rights or privileges. Slaves could be orphans,
captured people, or punished people - people who were serving a sentence as a slave.
Most of the victims of human sacrifice were selected from the slaves.
Warriors: Warriors were special. They didn't fall into any class really except that of
warrior. Military leaders came from the nobles. In the rank and file, some warriors were
sons of warriors. Some warriors were peasants, pulled from the fields to fight, who
remained in the military if they showed an aptitude for warfare. Some warriors were
highly respected, and in some cases, honored. But there was a pecking order. If you were
a peasant, you might become a warrior but you would never achieve the same rank as the
son of a warrior, although your son might, because your son would be the son of a
warrior.
Source: http://mayas.mrdonn.org/socialstructure.html
TASK:
Draw a Maya social structure
pyramid similar to the one
shown (you do not need to
draw the people). Write the
social class that belongs in each
level. For each social class,
write a one-sentence
description for that level. Be
sure sentences are written in
your own words. Be sure to add
an extra note outside the
pyramid about the warriors.