MAYA

Raquel Smith Espanol II - Grade 10

Language: Mayan itself is a

language and most Mayan descendants now speak Spanish. There are 21

separate dialects attributed to Mayans.

The Mayan language was spoken 5,000 years ago.

Geography:

The Mayans lived in Central America which consists of southern Mexico. It’s located south of the tropic cancer and north of the equator.

Government:

Government was an important part of the Maya civilization. Priests seemed to be the most significant and ran everything.

Many of them were rulers of the cities. One of the most famous rulers was Lord Pacal. What was surprising was he became king at 6 and legally took the throne at 12. He was a priest/ruler and king for about 50 years before he did.

Religion:

In Mayan religion it

mostly consisted of the

worship of nature gods.

Gods like of the sun, rain,

and corn.

They showed the

importance of astronomy

and astrology.

Rituals of human

sacrifice and the building

of pyramidical temples.

Some of the Mayan

religion still lives on

today.

Social Levels:

The Mayans had 3 main social levels: Royalty- lived in

palaces. Wealthy- lived in large houses near palaces. Poor- lived in outskirts of town and they were poor.

There were slaves, peasants, artisans, nobility, priests, and leaders.

Daily life: For the everyday lives of the women it was basically quite simple. They stood home and played the role of a house wife. They woke up as early as 4:00 am and fed there families. There husbands at 5 am would go with their sons to the fields and farm.

When that was done the sons would go hunting and kill birds and things of that nature.

Husbands would come

home waiting for a hot

bath and dinner. The

women made sure their

dinner was prepared for

there men.

They would only serve

them, but oddly they

didn’t sit down and eat

with them. They would

enjoy their dinner.

Later they would create

clothing for their families

to wear.

Architecture: The hay huts were a basic structure for Mayans and most of the Mayan

population lived in these types of houses. They were made from resources around the area like the walls consisted of mud and stone.

They stood up by wooden poles. The Mayans architecture advanced over time and the buildings were big but they weren’t that tall.