THE MAYAN EMPIRE

As the Roman Empire fell in Europe, a new civilization called the Maya was gaining power in the Americas. Mayan culture was spreading over much of Mesoamerica, including present day southern Mexico, Belize, most of Guatemala, and parts of Honduras and El Salvador.

The Mayan civilization was built off ideas of a group of people called the Olmec. Like many other early civilizations, the Olmec's main focus was agriculture. Farming allowed them to create permanent settlements rather than spend all day traveling and hunting for food.

There were three periods of the Mayan civilization: the pre classic period, the classic period, and the post classic period.

PRE CLASSIC PERIOD

The Pre-Classic period lasted from about 2000 BCE to 300 CE. Mayans farmed the land and lived in simple groups of houses.

Slowly, the Mayans culture began to become more and more advanced. Settlements became larger due to increase in population and public building were beginning to be constructed. Around 50 BCE, the Mayan began to adapt to the Olmec way of writing and develop their own form of hieroglyphics.

THE CLASSIC PERIOD

Mayan civilization reached its peak during the Classic Period. The Classic Period began 300 CE and lasted till 900 CE. During this period of time, Mayans adapted and developed ideas from the Olmec. They improved on the Olmec's building techniques.

Even without the discovery of metal and the wheel, the Mayans managed to create massive stone cities that had beautiful pyramids and palaces.

SOCIAL STRUCTURE

CLASS STRUCTURE

• The Ruler
• Nobles, Priests
• Artisans, Craftsmen
• Commoners
• Slaves

SLAVES

Slaves were the lowest class in Mayan society. They were usually orphans, war prisoners, criminals, or the children of slaves. Although they weren't necessarily mistreated by their owners, slaves still had no rights or privileges in society.

RELIGION

Mayan religion was characterized by the worship of nature gods (like the gods of sun, rain and corn), a priestly class, the importance of astronomy and astrology, rituals of human sacrifice, and the building of temples.

WARFARE

Wars and major raids were led by the ahau, or King. Members of the highest ruling class often were military and spiritual leaders of the cities and their capture during battles was a key element of military strategy. It is believed that many of the cities, especially the larger ones, had large, well-trained armies available for attack and defense.

FAMILY LIFE

Life as a Maya commoner was full of hard work. The typical peasant worked as a farmer. At the start of the day, the wife would get up early and start a fire for cooking. Then the husband would leave to go work at the fields. After a hard day working at the fields, the farmer would come home and bathe. Bathing was an important part of the day for all the Maya people. The men spent evenings working on crafts such as tools, while the women wove cloth to make clothing.

DECLINE

It is believed that the Mayan civilization fell at around 900 AD but no one knows for sure why. Possibly because of drought, famine, or a disease.

THE END!