maya timeline olmec1200-1000 bce early preclassic maya 1800-900 bce middle preclassic maya 900-300...
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MAYA TIMELINEMAYA TIMELINEOlmec 1200-1000 BCEEarly Preclassic Maya 1800-900 BCEMiddle Preclassic Maya 900-300 BCELate Preclassic Maya 300 BCE - CE 250Early Classic Maya 250-600 CELate Classic Maya 600-900 CEPost Classic Maya 900-1500 CEColonial period 1500-1800 CEIndependent Mexico 1821 to the present
MAYA GEOGRAPHYMAYA GEOGRAPHYLowlandsLowlands
West borders Pacific Ocean, fertile plainYucatan PeninsulaCenotes (excavated caverns) for water in east
HighlandsHighlands granite and volcanic area of Sierra Madre (Mexican
Chiapas, Guatemala, Honduras)Rich land, abundant waterConcentrated settlement
MAYA HISTORYMAYA HISTORYDid not record history or daily lives, so much
of what we know comes from archaeology and European (colonial) records.
Many holes in our knowledge, and educated guesses.
MAYA HISTORYMAYA HISTORYNever recognized themselves as one peopleRelated dialects – similar languageCity-states (Palenque, Copan, Chichen Itza)No king or emperor but nobilityCity-states tried to dominate each other
(sound familiar?)
MAYA HISTORYMAYA HISTORYOlmec lived in tropical lowlands of south-central MexicoProvided basis for Mesoamerican civilizationsBloodletting, glyphs similar to MayaDistinctive art (colossal heads)
MAYA ARTMAYA ARTStelae – carved stone
monumentsRulers in elaborate
costumesOften with texts that
described lineage and accomplishments
Headdress, ceremonial bar
MAYA ARCHITECTUREMAYA ARCHITECTUREHouses of poles and thatch (cool)Tikal (left) and Palenque (right)
MAYA SOCIETYClass societyCaste (membership
hereditary and movement rare)
Little known about women, but evidence of city-state queens
MAYA CULTUREMAYA CULTURECorn (maize), beans, squash, chilies for
flavour, domesticated turkeyLoved dance, musicpok-a-tuk (pok-a-tok) Maya ball gameLosers (including coach) sacrificed
MAYA CULTUREMAYA CULTUREPierced ears,
tattoos, body painting, straight black hair,
Large headdress for importance (Pacal, leader of Palenque, to right)
MAYA TRADE AND ECONOMYMAYA TRADE AND ECONOMYSalt valued from Yucatan coast (preserve
food, medicine, religious ceremonies) from north
Granite from low mountains of BelizeJade, volcanic glass, and obsidian from
Chiapas highlands of western GuatemalaTikal and Copan ‘middlemen’ cities in tradecacao
MAYA ECONOMY/TRADEQuetzal
feathers for nobility headdress
Extensive trade over 1000 miles
Porters carry goods (no beasts of burden)
MAYA WRITINGWriting 800 glyphs (picture/symbol represents
an object, idea, or soundRead left to right and top to bottomOnly elite could read as writing considered to
be gift from the godsWrote many books (destroyed by Spanish)
MAYA RELIGIONDriving force behind every
aspect of lifePublic temples and household
shrinesOrganized religionEstablished schedule for
agriculturePolytheistic and revolved around
nature (eg. Chac – Rain God)
MAYA RELIGIONPriestly blood sacrifice Human sacrifice later in Post classic Period
(Mexican influence)Religious festival every 20 daysWorld 3 layers – Heavens, Earth,
Under(Other)worldPriest dressed as jaguars , scary masks to scare
demons of UnderworldBelief in afterlife