When did they exist?
The Maya civilization existed between the Classic Period, which is the period from A.D 250 to 900.
When was its cultural height?
The Maya Civilization's cultural height was around A.D 250-900. At this time, they had built many spectacular cities such as Tikal which is a center located in the northern part of Guatemala. They also created many other important cities sch as Copan, Palenque, Chichen Itza, and Uxmal.
Cultural Aspects
The Maya dressed in a fairly interesting way because the men usually dressed dramatically differently than women. The men usually wore the traditional cotton breech clout. As for footwear, sandals were usually worn with distinctive strops of leather around the heel portion. Hair could be as worked into as many complex styles as possible. On the other hand, women were covered from neck to ankles in a long blouse. The clothes were usually woven by women often with many different patterns and colors.
Architecture
“The Maya architects created beautiful and monumental structures. The buildings are artistic in structure, as well as in ornamentation” (Holt 450). The style of the Mayan architecture is so great that archaeologists and tourists are still awed by the Maya architecture. The Maya created large structures for religious and ceremonial purposes. One of the most noticeable structures would be the pyramid which dominates the entire landscape of the cities. One of the major characteristics of the Maya architecture is that the interior and exterior detailing is highly advanced.
Religion
The Mayas' religious beliefs had led to the creation of mathematics, astronomy, and the calendar. In their religion, they believed that time was actually a nuisance and was carried on the back of a god. “At the end of a day, month, or year, one god would lay the burden down and another would pick it up. A day would be lucky or unlucky, depending on the nature of the god that picked it up.” (Holt 448). The Maya religious beliefs were highly complex and even led to discovery of things used in modern time.
Literature
Sports
The Maya had created a game which was called the Ball Game. In this game, the Mayans used a rubber ball, which was about 20 inches in diameter, to play the game. The game was played on a stone court which always varied in size. The goal of the game was to pass the ball around without having the ball touching your hands. It was hard to get the ball in the ring since the rings were high up and the players could not use their hands. The winners of the game were treated like heroes and usually were given a huge feast. The losing team had unusual punishments for losing such as death. The leader of the team who lost the game was usually killed because the Mayas believed that human sacrifice was necessary for the ongoing success of the peoples trade, health, and agriculture. Therefore, this was truly one of the deadliest sports in history.
The Maya civilization existed between the Classic Period, which is the period from A.D 250 to 900.
When was its cultural height?
The Maya Civilization's cultural height was around A.D 250-900. At this time, they had built many spectacular cities such as Tikal which is a center located in the northern part of Guatemala. They also created many other important cities sch as Copan, Palenque, Chichen Itza, and Uxmal.
Cultural Aspects
The Maya dressed in a fairly interesting way because the men usually dressed dramatically differently than women. The men usually wore the traditional cotton breech clout. As for footwear, sandals were usually worn with distinctive strops of leather around the heel portion. Hair could be as worked into as many complex styles as possible. On the other hand, women were covered from neck to ankles in a long blouse. The clothes were usually woven by women often with many different patterns and colors.
Architecture
“The Maya architects created beautiful and monumental structures. The buildings are artistic in structure, as well as in ornamentation” (Holt 450). The style of the Mayan architecture is so great that archaeologists and tourists are still awed by the Maya architecture. The Maya created large structures for religious and ceremonial purposes. One of the most noticeable structures would be the pyramid which dominates the entire landscape of the cities. One of the major characteristics of the Maya architecture is that the interior and exterior detailing is highly advanced.
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| http://wikis.lib.ncsu.edu/images/d/d0/Pyramid.jpg |
Religion
The Mayas' religious beliefs had led to the creation of mathematics, astronomy, and the calendar. In their religion, they believed that time was actually a nuisance and was carried on the back of a god. “At the end of a day, month, or year, one god would lay the burden down and another would pick it up. A day would be lucky or unlucky, depending on the nature of the god that picked it up.” (Holt 448). The Maya religious beliefs were highly complex and even led to discovery of things used in modern time.
Literature
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| http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/Popol_vuh.jpg/250px-Popol_vuh.jpg The Maya did have an extensive and quite advanced set of literature. There was an excerpt from the Popol Vuh, which is a copy of a sacred book that the Quiche Mayas which was occurred after the Spanish conquest. The excerpt represents the Mayas' attempt to preserve the religion, history, and traditions of their people. The text is seen as one of the best pieces of literature coming from the culture of pre-Columbian America. The Maya also created one of the most advanced writing systems in the ancient Americas because the writings consisted of about 800 hieroglyphic symbols or glyphs. Some of these glyphs were either representing a whole word or syllables. The Maya had used this writing system for recording historical events and carving their glyph in stone or recording them in bark-paper book. |
The Maya had created a game which was called the Ball Game. In this game, the Mayans used a rubber ball, which was about 20 inches in diameter, to play the game. The game was played on a stone court which always varied in size. The goal of the game was to pass the ball around without having the ball touching your hands. It was hard to get the ball in the ring since the rings were high up and the players could not use their hands. The winners of the game were treated like heroes and usually were given a huge feast. The losing team had unusual punishments for losing such as death. The leader of the team who lost the game was usually killed because the Mayas believed that human sacrifice was necessary for the ongoing success of the peoples trade, health, and agriculture. Therefore, this was truly one of the deadliest sports in history.
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| http://www.luxuriousmexico.com/wwwluxuriousmexico/Luxurious%20Mexico/PicsQuintanaRoo/Quintana%20Roo,%20Riviera%20Maya,%20Xcaret,%20Maya%20Ball%20Game%20-%20Photo%20by%20Riviera%20Maya.jpg |
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