March 04, 2014
Mayan Introductory Video
March 04, 2014
Mayan
Culture
If you have any brown grocery bags,
we would love to have them for a fun
t wist on vocabulary for this unit!
March 04, 2014
You will see this on the quiz!
Do you know where things go?
Palenque
Tikal Honduras
United States
Pacific Ocean
Guatemala
Mexico Bonampak
Chichen Itza
Tulum
Gulf of Mexico
Mayan Lands
March 04, 2014
h
Chic
a
z
t
I
en
Tulum
Palenque
Bonampak
Tikal
March 04, 2014
Chichen Itza is known for all of the
architecture.
Hundreds of building stood once in this area.
Possibly the best
known construction
on
the site is Kukulkan's
Pyramid. El Castillo
(KukulkanQuetzalcoatl).
Approximately 75
feet
tall.
The sacred well
March 04, 2014
Another Important City: Palenque
This 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.
Palenque has the highest average rainfall each year.
The Temple of
Inscriptions
Pacal the Great was
found in a tomb inside
of the Temple of
Inscriptions.
March 04, 2014
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
Important Mayan Cities
/
/
Chichen Itza
It means "at the well of
the mouth of Itza."
March 04, 2014
The Mayan Map
United States
Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
Ma
Pacific Ocean
y
Palenque
ds en Itza
n
La Chich
n
a
Bonampak
Tulum
Tikal
Guatemala
Honduras
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 citystate; Mayans believed these were
selected by the gods.
March 04, 2014
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
March 04, 2014
Terraces: flat areas carved into
hillsides used to grow crops
Irrigation: a man-made system of
bringing water to crops
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
March 04, 2014
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
March 04, 2014
Mayan Hieroglyphics
On 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
March 04, 2014
1. Read aloud
2. Discuss
text features
3. Identify ways
to connect to
culture.
March 04, 2014
• Successfully farmed in rain
forest by using slash-andburn, terraces irrigation
Built
• Dense rainforest covered
land making farming hard
large
• Created irrigation networks to
support city-centers, like Tikal
city-states
**These ideas still used today!
ceremonial
• 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 foothigh step pyramid
Planted corn,
squash, beans, and
other crops in fields
March 04, 2014
March 04, 2014
• Was considered a god-king responsible for leadership
AJAW
• 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
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
Steep temples with
thatched roof and steps
leading to alter
Mayan PICTURE Writing system
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