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The maya empire culture
Essays about tikal maya
Cultural aspects of the mayans
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Picture/Source : Mayan ruins of tikal, (Mayan ruins of Tikal in the Peten Jungle. Photograph.)
Description/Source The Mayan ruins of tikal in the peten jungle, originating in Guatemala. This temple is referred to as the temple of the giant jaguar. This temple was used to pray to their gods (Mayan ruins of Tikal in the Peten Jungle. Photograph.)
Artifact 2:
Picture/Source: Mayan Artwork (ARTWORK.. Photography.)
Description/Source this picture show the people in the Mayan empire gathering at the temple to pray. Also this picture captures most of the daily life, such as home and markets (ARTWORK.. Photography.)
Artifact 3:
Picture/Source Weaving from Guatemala (Britannica)
Description/Source the Mayans made carpets of pine needles, flowers and sand. To the Mayans carpet making was a very sacrificial act. It made to give to someone in memory of jesus(Weavings).
Artifact 4:
Picture/Source Mayan temple (Britannica)
Description/Source the Mayan temple was a big accomplishment for the mayans. This temple was 22 meters tall (about 72 feet.) the temple was used to pray in and much more. (Britannica- Mayan Temple)
Artifact 5:
Picture/Source Mayan calendar (britannica)
Description/Source the mayan calendar is a system of distinct calendars and almanacs used by the
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One of the most powerful and influential was Tlaloc, the Aztec rain and water god. His name translates to “He Who Makes Things Sprout.” and even companioned on the mountaintop along with Chalchiuhtlicue, the goddess of freshwater and streams. He was believed to invoke hunger and drought with his storms. Yet, he still cured chronic diseases such as dropsy, leprosy, and rheumatism to those who provided sacrifices to him. This artifact portrays Tlaloc with how the Aztec saw him; with large circular eyes and long fangs. The artifact also shows him representing his lightning by holding a serpent and a jade axe.
The most remarkable achievement of the Maya was their calendar. Every Mayan achievement listed, however, are very remarkable in their own right. Remnants of the Mayan society are still seen throughout our world today from all four of their discussed achievements. One could have an ethnocentric denial of the sheer remarkability of the advancements of the Maya because of some of the advancements of the Western World at that time period, however, the Maya achieved feats that the Western World could not even fathom. In fact, much of Maya architecture, such as their pyramids, cannot even be replicated today. The Mayan civilization may have physically declined centuries ago, but their concepts and principles will forever keep the Maya alive.
hand. Peter D. Harrison's text, The Lords of Tikal: Rulers of an Ancient Maya City, seeks to
Before the end of the 20th century archeologist began making progress in translation of the ancient writing. Discoverers believed to have solved the mystery of the Maya when archeologists J.Eric Thompson, after conducting many excavations, concluded the people of Tikal were peaceful and free from conflict. After his analysis of the hieroglyphs believe declared the Maya people were spiritual and used Tikal as ceremonial site. As studies of the Maya people continued translation of the hieroglyphs went undispu...
The word Tikal in Maya translates as "place of spirits." The city of Tikal thrived and expanded from 800 B.C. Until AD 900, spanning most of the known periods of Archaeological classification. At its peak around AD 750 100,000 lived here today known as the Guatemalan rain forest. Tikal is located west of Caribbean of the Gulf of Mexico. The site contains hieroglyphics, steal, paintings, engravings and hundreds of structures in excellent condition, including the tallest pyramid the Maya ever built.
For example, they used them for time, like to calculate the time of day. The Mayans built stronger buildings and cities than the Egyptians ever could, which is amazing to me considering how the Egyptians were able to build huge pyramids, but not a building. The Mayans also had to worry about floods that would flood their entire farm in an instant, so they were forced to adapt and raise their crops on a higher field. They would raise each terrace four feet higher and allow fish to swim through every single channel while they dropped eggs which would fertilize the soil. I found this amazing and this made me realize how smart the Mayans were.
The Maya didn’t discover metallurgy until late in the Classic period and used it only to produce jewelry and decorations for the elite. Artists and their numerous assistants cut and filled the stones used for palaces, pyramids, and housing, aided only by levers and stone tools. Each wave of construction represented the mobilization of thousands of laborers.
Maya architecture is best characterized by the soaring pyramid temples and ornate palaces which were built in all Mayan cities across Mesoamerica from El Tajin in the north to Copan in the south. Pyramids were the epicenter of all Mayan cities because the culture was based on a theocratic design; the famed stepped pyramids had both political and religious significance and unifying Mayan civilization. With large quantities of limestone and flint available, plaster and cement were easily produced. This allowed the Mayans to build impressive temples, with stepped pyramids, multi-level elevated platforms, massive step-pyramids, corbelled roofing, monumental stairways, and exteriors decorated with sculpture and moldings of Mayan hieroglyphs, geometric shapes, and iconography from religion such as serpent masks are all typical features of Maya architecture. On the summits were thatched- roof temples, known as "Triadic Groups".
BYU Studies 38.4 (1999): 43-64. Print. The. Sharer, Robert. A. The Ancient Maya.
A land dominated by two colossal pyramids and an extensive sacred avenue, Teotihuacan became considered a spiritual land to most inhabiters. Teotihuacan itself means, “the place where the Gods were created” or “where men became Gods”, reflecting the belief of the Aztecs that the creation of the universe occurred on that very land. (Jarus, Owen. 2012) The Temple of Quetzalcoatl along with the Pyramid of the Sun and Moon, all stand out as the monumental distinguishing characteristics of Teotihuacan. Standing sixty three meters tall and two hundred and fifteen meters square in the heart of the city, shadowed by the massive mountains of Cerro Gordo you’ll find the Pyramid of the Sun. (History.com Staff. 2009) It’s no secret that to this day it is one of the largest structure ever erected during the ancient Americas. Traveling west among the silhouettes of the mountains lies the second largest structure in Mesoamerica, the Pyramid of the Moon. Holding equal historical and religious value as the ...
Palfrey, Dale Hoyt. "The Classic Period, Part 3 of 3-The Maya." Mexico Connect. *http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/hclassic3.html* (3 Feb. 2001).
The Mayan civilization was located in southeastern Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula. One of the first American civilizations, it lasted from about 1000 B.C.-1542 A.D. Their civilization flourished during the Sixth Century. They built many temples and over forty cities. The Mayan population consisted of almost fifteen million people who were all living in one of the many cities. The Mayan people were extremely religious and believed in multiple gods which meant they were polytheistic. Their most commonly worshiped god was the Maize God, or god of corn, as corn was the most grown and most relied on crop. The Mayans grew all of their own food so they needed to have useful farming methods. The one they used most often was the slash and burn method, which involved cutting down trees and burning them to make the soil fertil which was necessary to grow crops. This method worked for many years, but soon started to backfire. The Mayans were ahead of their time, but that did not prevent their mysterious decline which occurred between the years 800 A.D.-900 A.D. Although it is not known exactly why the powerful empire fell, but there are various probable theories. The mysterious decline of the Mayans may have been caused by
The Mayans lived in Southern Mexico and Central America in their capital, Tikal, which is in present day Guatemala. The Mayans were known for their engineering, one structure they were famous for is their pyramid temple in Tikal (Document 1). This pyramid was the tallest structure in the Americas up until the 20th century and is still standing today. The government must have been strong and well organized in order to carry out such a large task. The Mayan religion had multiple gods and this pyramid was most likely devoted to one or used as a place for sacrifices. Another accomplishment of the Mayans was the creation of their calendar. An extra document that would be useful is one that explains how the calendar was created. The Mayans must have studied astronomy and math to a great length. Similar to the Ancient Egyptians, they wrote with symbols and pictures known as glyphs that were used in the calendar. These glyphs were gods, such as Zotz (Document 2). The use of glyphs is an acknowledgement of a writing system, which is another accomplishment.
Mark, Joshua J. "The Mayan Pantheon: The Many Gods of the Maya." Ancient History Encyclopedia. TSOHOST, 7 July 2012. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
Ranney, Edward. Stonework of the Maya. 1st ed. universityf new mexio press alburquerque: the meriden gravure company, 1974. 1-76. Print.
The Maya culture has a long history that started in about 1000 BC. The history of the Maya is divided up into four different time periods: The Middle Preclassic Period, Late Preclassic Period, Classic Period, and Postclassic Period. The Middle Preclassic Period was when the small areas started to become city-like in the way that they started to build larger temples. The Late Preclassic Period was when the cities began to expand with paved roads and massive pyramids. The Classic Period was the time the Maya civilization hit it’s peak. Populations were growing rapidly and the structure of politics was formed. The Postclassic Period was when warfare was on the rise and cities were being abandoned(Coe 2005). This paper will focus on the Classic Period due to the fact that that is the greatest time period in Maya history.