WELCOME TO WELCOME TO ANCIENT MAYA! ANCIENT MAYA!

The First “Americans” • Before the arrival of Spanish explorers, the Americas were inhabited by clever

people who are believed to have migrated from Asia via Berengia ---a stretch of land 1,000 miles wide and 60 miles long that once connected Siberia with Alaska.

• These people were nomadic hunters who drifted east and south from Berengia in search of wooly mammoths, yaks, and edible plants.

• They came in waves between 35,000 and 12,000 years ago.

• Those who settled in the middle, inhabiting the southern two-thirds of Mexico and northern Central America, have come to be called Mesoamericans.

• Among them, ancestors of the Maya are believed to have migrated from northern areas of the Americans around 9,000 B.C.

Mesoamerica• The term “Mesoamerica” was coined roughly fifty years ago by anthropologist Paul

Kirchhoff. It is both a geographical and cultural term –referring to the location, common practices and habits of the diverse Mesoamerican peoples.

• The unifying cultural traits of the high civilizations of Mesoamerica (Olmec, Maya, and Aztec) include:• The use of hieroglyphic writing• The making of accordion-like books made from figbark or deerskin• The use of a complex calendar• The playing of a ball game that requires a rubber ball in a special I-shaped court• Engaging in human sacrifice by head or heart removal• The building of pyramids• Eating a diet based on maize, beans, chile peppers, and squash• Practicing a religion made up of many gods

The Olmecs• The unifying cultural practices are

explained by archaeologists with the idea of a “mother culture” –one culture that started it all.

• The Olmec culture is the earliest civilization of Mesoamerica that is believed to have been given birth to all of the rest

• These people flourished between 1500 and 400 B.C. on the southeastern Gulf Coast of Mexico

• The Olmecs are said to be the first civilization of the Americas, and one of only six original civlizations in human history! (“Original” in this sense means a civilization without influences or models from the past)

The Creation Story of the Maya• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb5GKmEcJcw&list=PL9SLkANZIEtUxpN8A9BHF

R6GGFTk24Nis&index=6

• Of all of their many accomplishments, the Olmecs were great sculptors most noted for their gigantic stone heads.

• Believed to be portraits of rulers, seventeen of these colossal heads have been discovered –some of them as much as ten feet tall and weigh several tons!

Chocolate at Every Meal! • The Maya may have been the first

humans to have consumed chocolate.

• Residues taken from a broad range of ancient Maya vessels reveal that all Maya –from peasant to king—regularly drank a spicy, foamy, chocolately brew perhaps as far back as 2,600 years ago.

• Hieroglyphs on Maya murals and ceremonial vessels show gods, royalty, even animals drinking chocolate!

• Made from the seeds of the cacao tree, Maya first removed the seeds from their fleshy pods and fermented them until they turned a dark rich brown.

• The fermented seeds were then dried, roasted, and ground into a thick paste which was mixed with water, maize, and chili.

• The cacao bean is second only to corn (or maize as they called it) in the central role it played in Maya culture

• Cacao beans even served as a form of currency vital to trade among the Maya and as well as with their neighbors.

• The cacao seeds were Maya gold, precious to the Maya in the same way dollars are to us.

• When Columbus encountered Maya traders off the coast of Honduras, he was astonished to see them frantically gathering fallen cacao seeds from the bottom of their canoes as if they were “gathering their own eyes.”

Preclassic Period (1800 B.C. – A.D. 250)• Preclassic Maya is defined by three principal characteristics:

1)They lived in densely populated villages in thatched-roof houses no different from those inhabited by modern Maya

2)They farmed. Farming is the most important invention of the Preclassic period. Agriculture and the settled life brought about improved nutrition for these people. (We aren’t sure whether they lived principally by growing maize or cassava, an ancient root crop)

3)They made pottery –principally thin-walled jars and bowls elaborately decorated with as many as three different colors as well as surface carving and modeling.

Hieroglyphs • Ancient Egyptians were not the only early

civilization to use picture-symbols to create complex meanings.

• The Ancient Mayas had their own hieroglyphic system, as well!

• On the following document, there is a set of Egyptian hieroglyphs and a set of Maya hieroglyphs. Compared to Egyptian hieroglyphs, the meaning of which can sometimes be guessed, Maya writing is more difficult to interpret. Can you guess what each symbol means?

The Rise and Fall of the Maya

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOckLspTwGA&list=PL9SLkANZIEtUxpN8A9BHFR6GGFTk24Nis&index=2

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkTaSiAmnwg&index=4&list=PL9SLkANZIEtUxpN8A9BHFR6GGFTk24Nis

Stelae• Stone pillars commemorating important

people and events can be found all over the Maya world

• Carved or inscribed with hieroglyphic writing, stelae describe deaths, births, battles, the reign of kings and are the principal source of information about the lives of Ancient Maya.

• While Maya are believed to have written thousands of books, only four survive.

• Thus, Stelae are central to unraveling the mystery of the Maya people.

Podcast – Ancient Maya Language • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/speaking-ancient-maya.html

Ten Interesting Facts about the Ancient Mayas:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0Ul9_DyEOE&list=PL9SLkANZIEtUxpN8A9BHFR6GGFTk24Nis&index=3

Fig Bark Books• Maya books are called codices.

• The word codex (the plural is codices) comes from the Latin noun code which can mean “tree trunk,” “wooden tablet,” or “book,” and may ultimately derive from the Latin verb cudere meaning “to beat.”

• The paper used in Maya codices was made from the beaten bark of fig trees joined in sections or folds, accordion like.

• Many thousands of these books once existed, but only four survive today.

• A Spanish bishop named Diego da Landa burned as many Maya codices as he could find in 1562. Da Landa wrote, “We found a large number of books” but as they were full of –as he believed– “superstition” and “lies of the devil,” all were burned.

Pyramids

• Reading: Pyramids of the Maya, Part I & II

• Chichen itza clip: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/ancient-mysteries/chichen-itza-temples

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyvw6G9Max0&index=8&list=PL9SLkANZIEtUxpN8A9BHFR6GGFTk24Nis

• http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-22521669

Map of Mayan Cities• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/map-of-the-maya-world.html

Ancient Maya Medicine • Maya medicine was a blend of religion and science.

• Surgery involved binding wounds with human hair, setting bones, amputation, and therapeutic bleeding.

• Maya had conflicting ideas about disease.• On one hand, sickness was thought to be a spiritual

problem caused by the hostile actions of a god or sorcerer or brought on by spiritual imbalance.

• On the other hand, a disease could indicate a special relationship with the supernatural—a sign that one had been tagged or chosen by the gods.

• If cured, the sick person was believed to have acquired special powers and often herself became a curer or shaman.

• Once a shaman determined the cause of an illness, the cure usually involved bathing of streams or taking sweatbaths.

• Sweatbathing was a purification ritual practiced throughout Mesoamerica. As past of the ritual, the “sick” person was struck with various herbs, grasses, and sticks.

• Not much is known about Ancient Mayan dentistry, but it seems to have been practiced for cosmetic reasons only.

• Maya skulls discovered by archaeologists reveal that Maya filed and drilled their teeth to achieve certain artistic shapes and patterns.

• Dental inlay was also desired as Maya teeth have been found filled with jade beds and bits of turquoise and other stones and materials. There is no evidence that Maya ever used dental inlay to repair cavities.

Ancient Maya Calendar • Ancient Maya Calendar – Reading

“The Maya recorded time in a series of cycles, including 400-year chunks called baktuns. It's these baktuns that have led to rumors of an end-of-the-world catastrophe on Dec. 21, 2012 -- on that date, a cycle of 13 baktuns will be complete. But the idea that this means the end of the world is a misconception, Stuart said. In fact, Maya experts have known for a long time that the calendar doesn't end after the 13th baktun. It simply begins a new cycle. And the calendar encompasses much larger units than the baktun” (Excerpt from Discovery News)

Let’s Play Ball! • The Maya were among the first people to play organized

sports.

• Here is how the Maya’s ball game was played:• Two teams composed of 2-3 members each

• Team members hit the ball using their upper arms and thighs (hands could not be used) with the goal of bringing the ball into contact with stone rings positioned high along the alley walls

• It was at times played for fun and at others had a ritual significance tied to the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. In some cases, the winners decapitated the losers.

• The Maya of the classic period forced captives of war to play the ball game.

• Defeated captives were bound and trussed and themselves used as the ball which was then bounced down a flight of stairs

• The balls were as large as 12” in diameter and weigh as much as 7 ½ pounds!

More on Maya Ball Games!

•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCzhtTjzWvU

Maya Sacrifice and Ball Game:

•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmcnZ5lP9tg

Maya Math • Counting all over the world is based on either ten or twenty

depending on whether fingers or both fingers and toes are used.

• Mesoamericans, Maya included, had a base 20 system.

• Remarkably, the Maya used only three symbols –a dot for one, a bar for five, and a stylized shell for zero combined with a place-value system (likely invented by the Olmecs) to record any number.

• Whereas our system is horizontal and moves from right to left, the Maya system was vertical and moved from bottom to top.

• Symbols occurring in the lowest position have a value of one, in the second position a value of 20, the next highest 400, and so on.

The Maya Today • Despite pressures over many centuries that continue

today, the Maya people still exist.

• They continue to inhabit the land they have occupied for thousands of years and number at least 7 ½ million!

• To some extent, they have maintained their culture.

• After the Spanish invasion of the early 16th century, over 90% of the native population died due to disease brought by the Spanish –smallpox, influenza, and measles.

• In their weakened state, the Maya adapted to many elements of colonial culture.

• Today, free from Spanish rule, Maya culture remains a blend of Maya and Spanish traditions.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86F10IrvVus&list=PL9SLkANZIEtUxpN8A9BHFR6GGFTk24Nis