Famous Mayans

This shows Itzamn

This shows Kukulcan

Itzamn and Kukulcan were 2 famous Mayans. Itzamn was considered a sun god, and he is the earliest leader. In a legend, he did basically what Moses did-he led the migration and parted water like Moses. Kukulcan was a priest and a teacher. He is considered the founder of the Mayan civilization. He led the second migration around the 2nd century A.D.

Mayan Education

This shows a Mayan calendar.

The Mayans only taught priests, chiefs, leaders, and war leaders. Mayans had a language similar to Egyptian hieroglyphics. They studied astronomy and medicine, something that the Greeks didn't study. The Mayans created a calendar with 365 days to accurately date the festivals using the stars. They discovered how combine rubber with other materials to make hard rubber products. They used this rubber to create their ball game called pokatok.

Mayan Government

This shows the hierarchy of Mayan civilization.

The Mayans had city states. These city states were linked through trade and tribute obligations. Originally the Mayans were ruled by simple chiefs. By the classical period, the Mayans were ruled by emperors. The nacom were military leaders who serve three-year terms. Each individual city had a priest. Bob Hobbs had political, military, and judicial authority over their city state.

Mayan warfare

A Macuahuital- an obsidian sword

       Starting out as a peaceful society. The Mayans later started to fight each other for military dominance and the ability to capture prisoners these prisoners would later fight in ball courts where the loser would be sacrificed. These city states were led by their rollers or the upper-class. The cities well-trained army but were never true unified.

       The Mayan cities has walls typically 10 to 12 feet high and also the cities were built on hilltop. The Mayans had several different weapons including obsidian and stone pointed swords. Two cities went to war and one of the most intense battles of the civilization. It was between the Carakmul and Tikal during the fifth and sixth century. The Carakmul won. Even the great city fell. For reasons like the historians believe that the Mayans disappeared because of warfare

A picture of a Mayan throwing an atlatal.

Mayan Sports

This shows the a Mayan ball game.

The Mayans had one interesting sport. This sport was called the ball game. They Mayans played with a rubber ball that was 20 inches in diameter. They could not use their hands to touch the ball.  There are 2 hoops on either side, and they were high up. Also, the court they played in was also very large. Because of this, the game usually ended when one side scored a point, or the ball touched the ground. The losing team is sacrificed to the gods. They did this because they believed the gods wanted to sacrifice the people that lost. They believed the gods would grant the people good agriculture, trade, and health.

Mayan Religion

This picture depicts the Mayans sacrificing people.

The Mayans had a very deep history and religion. The Mayanculture began around 250 A.D. It was influenced by the Olmec civilization and practiced astronomy, divination, human sacrificing, and elaborate burial for royalty. They worshipped their gods in pyramids. The Mayan text describes religion.The Mayans are polytheistic. Their main gods are Quetzacoatal, Itzamna, Bolon, Tzacab, and Chac. The Dresolon, Madrid, and Paris codices contain important  things about Mayan religion. The Mayans had a important religion that influenced other people's that came after then such as the Aztecs. The Mayan religion is very important to the media medical society

Agriculture

Mayan Canal

      Mayans planted corn, what the Mayans called maize, from Guatemala to the Yucatan Peninsula. They used elaborate canals for irrigation.

    Unfortunately farming had some issues for example droughts and commonly occurred because rainwater evaporated quickly and the Mayans couldn't access groundwater. Also during the first year of farming in area it had 100% productivity the next year if that we care and so so on until becomes useless then they burn it. This method was called slash and burn.Thankfully the Mayans had so much land that they could afford to burn the fields.

Slash and burn