300-900 A.D.

Yucatan Peninsula & Central America

Settled in dense rain forests and cleared land for

living and farming

Chichén Itzá- Center of Mayan trade

 We don’t know much about Chichén Itzá
 Archeological evidence suggests collapse was violent

Largest Mayan city- Tikal (modern day Guatemala)

Arranged into city-states

Every city-state had a ruling chief

 Ruling chief usually a man though sometimes
women served

Nobles under the chief led the military,

collected taxes, and enforced laws
Traders – No carts or transportation, carried
goods on back
Traded honey, cocoa, and feathers

Farming Method
 Cleared rainforests and created raised fields
that caught rain water
 Channels drained excess water
Polytheistic – Over 160 Gods

God
of
Death
God of
Rain
 Sacrifices took place on top of tall pyramids
 Sacrifice needed to keep order in the universe

 Three planes: underworld, sky, and earth

 Underworld reached through caves and ball courts

 No clear concept of good or bad – decided by season

 Suicides, sacrifices, women who died in childbirth, and

warriors went straight to heaven
Chief at the top
Considered god-like
Moved on to sons – when sons born,
blood sacrifice of chief’s blood
To be king, have to take a captive and
use captive as part of ceremonial sacrifice

Ruling nobles
Priests – important because only they could
perform religious ceremonies needed for
success in war and good harvests

Majority of Mayas were farmers – grew corn,

beans and squash
Men cultivated while women made food
Paid taxes in food and helped build temples
Beauty standards – skull deformation,
piercings, and tattoos
Hieroglyphs – just recently deciphered
Books kept on bark

Ball games
Rubber ball – forbidden to use open
hands or feet – usually used hips
Captain of losing team or other
members sometimes sacrificed
Math
Priests decided
ceremony times
Numbering
system included
zero
Calendar
365 day solar
calendar
260 day calendar
based on the
orbit of Venus
Mayan 365
day
calendar
with 260
day
calendar
added
Around 900 A.D., Mayan cities abandoned
– don’t know why
Frequent warfare causes Mayans to
abandon homes
Overpopulation = over farming =
abandoning homes
Peasant revolts from heavy taxing