The Mayans Essay - 587 Words

The Mayans The ancient Mayan civilization settled in the Yucatan Peninsula in around 900 AD. This civilizations was one of the most advanced of its times. They created their own religion, language, mathematical structure, a very precise calendar, and many other things. The Mayan way of life revolved their religion. They had a polytheistic religion praising many gods. Each god had a certain thing that they would rule over or take care of. Chac was the god of rain, Kinich Ahau was the sun god, and Yum Cimil was the god of the underworld. There were many gods and goddess for almost every reason one could think of, there is even a goddess of suicide. They would perform human sacrifices, bleeding rituals, and dances to praise and to†¦show more content†¦The children in upper class families would be taught many different skills, whereas the commoners children would just learn the skill of their parents. The children would continue to live with their parents until the got married. Th ere were many regulations about sex and marriage. Homosexuality and inbreeding was strictly forbidden. If they practiced those they would become an outcast. There was also no marriage outside the classes unless the chief of the district approved it. The Mayans were also were technologically advanced. They used their own math system. One dot stood for one, a bar symbolized five, and a shell figure was zero. The numbers were expressed vertically with the highest on top. The also created a very precise calendars. Two different calendars were calculated 260-day and a 365-day. They were able to calculate the dates because at noon time there was no shadow. This was important for them to use in predicting eclipses, scheduling religious ceremonies, and when to plant and harvest. Agriculture and trade were the basis of the economy. A wide variety of things were grown. The predominate crop was maize. However, beans, squash, pumpkin, chili peppers, tomatoes, frijol, yucca, cocoa, t obacco, avocado, and sapota were grown and traded. The goods were taken to major cities and traded for things like cloth, jade, pottery, fish, deer meat, and also salt. All of these were traded by canoe. They also domesticated dogs andShow MoreRelatedMayan And Mayan Writing System1067 Words   |  5 PagesMayan culture and civilization are said to be far beyond their time by their complex writing and numerical system. In the pre-Columbian America, the Mayan writing system is said to be the â€Å"only† true writing system within the Americas. By examining the environment the Maya had lived, we are able to look at the how the Maya used their writing system and it also further reflects the Maya’s surroundings. The Mayan civilization had flourished throughout the Yucatan peninsula in Central America. TheyRead MoreThe Maya And The Mayan Civilization1439 Words   |  6 PagesMaya). 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