PUT YOUR PENS DOWN.STOP TAKING NOTES.BREATHE.&JUST LISTEN.

WHAT’S UP? WHAT’S HAPPENING?

CLOSE YOUR EYES.NO…REALLY CLOSE YOUR EYES.

IMAGINE.

HEIRS OF THE OLMECS: THE MAYADun. Dun. Dun.Presented byPatricia Rodriguez

WHY THE MAYANS WERE SO COOL.

If I were a Maya…my people were cool

because…They were heirs of the Olmecs

WHY THE MAYANS WERE SO COOL.

They were geographically & agriculturally lucky!

If I were a Maya…my people were cool because…

WHY THE MAYANS WERE SO COOL.

INDEPTH: Highlands of Guatemala

• offered fertile soil

• excellent conditions for

agriculture

WHY THE MAYANS WERE SO COOL

INDEPTH: Highlands of Guatemala Permanent villages appear in 3rd century

B.C.E. Most prominent village, Kaminaljuyú

WHY THE MAYANS WERE SO COOL.

Maya society flourished after the 4th century. mostly in poorly drained Mesoamerican

lowlands Thin soils quickly lost fertility

To enhance the agricultural potential of the region Mayans build terraces harvested maize cultivated cotton raised cacao

WHY THE MAYANS WERE SO COOL.

They built more than 80 ceremonial centers!

• All with pyramids, palaces, & temples

• TIKAL, most important Maya political center between the 4th & 9th centuries C.E.

(as shown on left picture)

If I were a Maya…my people were cool because…

WHY THE MAYANS WERE SO COOL.

Mayan kings bore menacing names!

Prominent Maya kings included

Great Jaguar PawShield JaguarBird JaguarJaguar Penis

Curl ScoutSmoking FrogStormy Sky

If I were a Maya…my people were cool because…

WE ARE THE MAYANS! WE LIKE TO FIGHT!

WE ARE THE MAYANS! WE LIKE TO FIGHT! Mayan kingdoms fought constantly Take over ceremonial centers

Purpose of Mayan Warfare Not kill enemies but capture them in hand-to-

hand combat on the battlefield

WHERE? OH WHERE DID THE MAYANS GO? By 800 C.E. most of the Maya population had begun to desert their cities

Historians suggest the following causes of decline: invasion by foreigners Internal dissension & civil war failure of the system of water control destruction of the forests =‘s ecological problems spread of epidemic diseases Natural catastrophe such as earthquakes

WHERE? OH WHERE DID THE MAYANS GO? In any case this is what happened….

population declined people abandoned their cities long-distance trade came to a halt tropical jungles of the lowlands took over

human settlements gradually smothered the cities, temples,

pyramids

“ A great civilization is not conquered from without until it is destroyed from

within. ”

—W. Durant