The Maya Civilization

Group: E

Name1.MD. Mahfuzur Rahman2.MD. Taz Hasan3.MD. Shamsudduha Sami4.Isha Fahrin5.Hridoy Kumar Paul

Roll B-140602062 B-140602074 B-140602050 B-140602103 B-140602091

New World (Maya)

INDEX

1.Definition2.Introduction3.Geography4. Geographic Condition5.Development6.Mayan Accomplishment7.Political Structure8.Economic Structure9.Religion10.The Collapse of Mayan Civilization

WHAT CIVILIZATION IS ?

Civilization is a form of human culture in which many people live in urban centers, have mastered the art of smelting metals, and have developed a method of writing.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines civilization as "the action or process of civilizing or of being civilized; a developed or advanced state of human society."

The Maya:

lntroduction:

Our journey through the Americas begins with an exploration of the Mayan civilization.

This great civilization lasted 3,500 years, from about 2000 B.C.E. to 1500 C.E.

El Mirador

Geography

The Maya homeland, called Mesoamerica, spans five countries:

MEXICO  Guatemala  Belize Honduras El Salvador.

RIVERS The Rivers: A series of rivers originates in the

mountains and flows towards the Pacific Ocean on the west coast, and towards the Gulf of Mexico in the southern Petén lowlands

The Rain Forest

The Rain Forest: Apart from the volcanic glacier

mountains, most of Mesoamerica is covered by a dense rain forest.

A rain forest resembles a greenhouse, providing warmth, sunlight, and

water, and producing an enormous variety of

plants.

The Soil  The best soils are found in the southern highland

valleys where volcanic eruptions have enriched the earth.

The spring-like climate and fertile valleys made this a popular place to settle, despite the threat of volcanoes. Today, this area supports the largest Maya population.

Mayan Political StructureTHE CIVILIZATION EXTENDED FROM 1500 B.C.E. TO APPROXIMATELY 1500 C.E.THESE YEARS ARE TYPICALLY DIVIDED INTO THREE PERIODS;THE PRE-CLASSIC(1500 B.C.E. TO 250 B.C.E.)THE CLASSIC (250B.C.E. TO 900 C.E.) POST-CLASSIC (900 C.E. TO 1530 C.E.)

Maya politics did not begin with kings in the early Pre-classic period.

Much of the political systems in the Maya polities began in the late Pre-classic period around 300 B.C.E.

Men weren’t the only people who were allowed to rule. On occasion, women would rule when the king wasn’t yet of age, when a king was away at war, or if a king was unavailable for some other reason.

Mayan political life revolved around city-states.

Each city had its own king and ruling class.

the king was often considered either a god or the chief representative of the gods on Earth.

each state was linked together through trade, political alliances, similar ideologies, and rituals.

Major Cities

1)Chichén Itza2)Palenque3)Yaxchilán4)Bonampak    5)Lagartero6)Iazapa7)Kaminaljuyú8)Piedras Negras     

each state had a principle leader called the ‘Ahaw,' or king.

  The Ahaw and his council, or just the council if there was no Ahaw in place, issued various laws, carried out those laws, and practiced coercion when these laws were broken.

However, the Maya were commonly merciful in punishment and even a citizen found guilty of murder could be punished by a mere fine.

War was very common in ancient Maya, and as with most wars, the purpose was to destroy rival states, gain tribute, and capture victims.

These captured victims would then be enslaved or used for human sacrifices to the gods.

Economical Structure of Mayan Civilization

The Mayan economy was largely based on food and agriculture Farmers gave up portion's of each crop, or paid with other items such as

salt, cloth, honey, fruit, and domestic animals to the government and also used them to buy and trade goods.

Agriculture played an important role in the success of their civilization. The Mayans grew many crops such as cotton squash and an abundance of

corn. The most important crop was corn and many scientists believed that that

the Mayans depended heavily on the crop.

They use SLASH AND BURN FARMING METHOD.

THE MILPA SYSTEM (The "Milpa" system is a traditional intercropping system).

Terrace Farming. (Since ancient times, farmers have built terraces to shore up a hillside,creating several levels of farms. In a small, Seemingly Inhospitable place, they can grow the crops they need to grow to survive.)

The second form of the agriculture was raising animals. Mayan people raised a diverse group of animals, such as cows, pigs, goats, etc.

Nowadays, many countries still follow the Mayan economics, agriculture and trade.

The Development of Mayan Civilization :

While the Roman Empire was declining in western Europe, the Maya were creating an advanced civilization in the Americas.

Mayan civilization reached its height between 300 B.C.E to 900 C.E.

During this time, Mayan culture spread over much of Mesoamerica, including part of present-day southern Mexico, Belize, most of Guatemala, and parts of Honduras and El Salvador.

Olmec Period:• The Olmec civilization existed from 1300 B.C.

to about 400 B.C.• The Olmec are believed to be the earliest

civilization in the Americas. • The Olmec people established a civilization in

the area we know today as southern Mexico.

Map of Olmec Empire

Mayan Accomplishments :►MATHEMATICS►TRADE (LONG DISTANCE)►WRITING AND SACRED LIBRARIES►CALENDAR►MUSIC

Mathematics :THE MAYANS ALSO MADE A CONTRIBUTION TO MATHEMATICS. THEY USED A BASE 20 AND BASE 5 NUMBERING

SYSTEM ALSO. THE PRE-CLASSIC MAYA AND THEIR NEIGHBORS

INDEPENDENTLY DEVELOPED THE CONCEPT OF ZERO BY 36 BC.

INSCRIPTIONS SHOW THEM ON OCCASION WORKING WITH SUMS UP TO THE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS AND DATES SO LARGE IT WOULD TAKE SEVERAL LINES JUST TO REPRESENT THEM.

Trade: Trade in Maya civilization was a crucial factor in renaming Maya cities. The economy was a mixed capitalist/command system combining free

market trade. Chief staples of Maya economic activities were centered primarily around

foods like fish, squash, yams, corn, honey, beans, turkey,vegetables, chocote drinks;

Raw materials such as limestone, marble, jade, wood, copper and gold; and manufactured goods such as paper, books, furniture, jewelry, clothing, carvings, toys, weapons, and luxury goods.

The Maya also had an important service sector, through which mathematicians, farming consultants, artisans, architects, astronomers, scribes and artists would sell their services.

Writing and sacred libraries:

They developed an advanced writing system, and they developed parchment to write on from cactus.

Maya wrote using 800 individual signs or glyphs, paired in columns that read together from left to right and top to bottom.

the sky

a kinga house

a child

the city of Palenque

Most writing written on stelae buildings, portable sculptures, and pottery vessels few was written in books.

Calendar: Using their knowledge of astronomy and mathematics, the Maya developed

one of the most accurate calendar systems in human history. These calendars are based on solar, lunar, planetary, and human cycles. This calendar ended on 12 December 2012. There are three most commonly known cyclical calendars used by the

Maya. 1. The Haab (which is a 365day solar calendar) 2. The Tzolk’in (which is a 260-day sacred calendar) and 3. The Calendar Round of 52 years

Music

The Mayan music was based in two types of instruments: Wind: whistles , flutes and snails. Percussion: turtle shells, xylophone.

Believes

Polytheist Itzamná Kukulcán Bolon Tzacab Kinih Ahous Yum Keax

Animal Companion “Way’ ob” Intermediaries

Afterlife Vanquished to underworld A dangerous voyage Represented by Jaguar Evil Gods

Heaven Sacrificed Died in childbirth

Architecture

Towering Pyramid Temples Used for Religious Purposes Step-pyramids Monumental Stairways Sculpture Geometric-shapes Chamfer( deep horizontal grooves)

Magnificent Palaces Larger buildings Multi-door ways Corbelled Roofing and passage-ways Wooden crossties. Lavatories and Steam- rooms Sleeping quarters, cooking areas and workshop

Ball courts To play ballgames Elegant sloping sides Religious significance

Hieroglyphics

800 individual glyphs(signs) No Alphabet Glyphic cartouche Glyphs Logograms Syllabograms Carved and painted

Family Life :

Mayan peasants lived in one-room huts built of interwoven poles covered with dried mud. A house containing the kitchen was often placed directly behind the main house.

Duties of Family Members :

Mayan women rose before dawn to get the fire burning in the fireplace. With the help of her daughters, a Mayan woman cleaned the corn that had been boiled and left to soak and soften overnight.

Special Occasions :

A ceremony that celebrates the end of childhood and acceptance into the adult community.

Marriage Custom :

Men usually married around the age of 20. Girls married when they were as young as 14.

Families had to agree on how much food and clothing would be given to the bride's family.

The Collapse of Maya Civilization: The fall of the Maya is one of history’s great mysteries. One of the

mightiest civilizations in the ancient Americas simply fell into ruin in a very short time.

There are many theories as to what happened to the Maya, but little consensus among experts.

The Disaster Theory:Early Maya researchers believed that some catastrophic event may have doomed the Maya. An earthquake, volcanic eruption or sudden epidemic disease could have destroyed cities and killed or displaced tens of thousands of people.

The Famine Theory:A famine or other agricultural calamity affecting basic crops could certainly have caused the downfall of the ancient Maya.

Environmental Change Theory:As the Maya were dependent on the most basic agriculture and a handful of crops, supplemented by hunting and fishing, they were extremely vulnerable to droughts, floods, or any change in the conditions that affected their food supply.

Without these facts there are many other factors that affects the maya civilization.

THANKS TO ALL