THE MAYA LANDS OF THE MAYA POLITICAL CHARACTERISTICS

THE MAYA

LANDS OF THE MAYA

POLITICAL CHARACTERISTICS Never form a unified political system Do create a unified culture Larger city-states dominated smaller citystates Large city-states built elaborate commercial and religious centers Chichen-Itza

EL CASTILLO AT CHICHEN ITZA

EL CASTILLO

MAYA ECONOMY Cultivated maize, cotton, and cacao Increased agricultural production by draining swamps, terraced fields, and irrigation ditches Led to environmental degradation Hereditary nobility controlled most of the land Maya merchants came from ruling class Traded primarily in luxury products

MAYA SOCIETY Elite women participated in bloodletting rituals and other ceremonies Women rarely held any political power Common women played a role in agriculture and textile production Coercive labor used to build large palaces and temples King Nobles: Priests & Warriors Merchants Peasants Slaves

MAYA RELIGION Polytheistic Cosmos consisted of three layers: the heavens, the human world, and the underworld Priests could communicate with residents of both supernatural worlds Mayan developments: calendar, writing system, and mathematics Used to determine religious holidays

MAYA SACRIFICE Had to please the gods via sacrifice Piercing of bodies with needle Human Sacrificed prisoners of war, slaves, and children

MAYA ACCOMPLISHMENTS Understood movement of heavenly bodies Invented the concept of zero Calculated the length of a solar year Off by 17 seconds Created Two an elaborate calendars: solar and ritual Glyphic writing system

MAYA WRITING

MAYA DECLINE Maya city-states were abandoned or destroyed between 800 -900 CE Causes for decline include: The disruption of trade after the decline of Teotihuacan in Central Mexico Environmental degradation caused by overpopulation Epidemic disease