Ancient Mayan Civilization Essay

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Ancient Maya was a great civilization in what is now modern Guatemala. It became incredibly powerful because of a man called Fire is Born. This man would only be able to bring the Mayans to incredible heights because of cities like Waka. But this all wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the very first people to arrive in the land which would become Ancient Maya. Maya was built in a dense rainforest, with swamps and thin soil.(Daily Life in Maya Civilization) The first arrivals changed an inhabitable land into a habitable land. They adapted the natural resources and used it to their advantage. They cleared sections of rainforest for lumber.(Daily Life in Maya Civilization) They began to navigate the rivers so they could trade. They also …show more content…

The most important leadership was Fire is Born. He urged different city-states to unite and work together. City-states that had been thriving separately began to work together. They fought together and began to trade together. The economy went up and Ancient Maya reached its highest artistic point.(Daily Life in Maya Civilization) Because the city-states united Ancient Maya become a unified, powerful civilization. When Maya was at its high point, it had a strong trade going on. A city called Waka was a main trade city.(Daily Life in Maya Civilization) Waka was Fire is Born’s stepping stone. It made it possible for him to unite of the city-states. As Waka began to trade with other cities, the economy exploded. Both exotic and common products were being traded across Central America.(Daily Life in Maya Civilization) About three hundred years after Ancient Maya reached its highpoint, things began to fall apart. First the upper class began to swell out of control, creating an unbalance of power. Once the economy was a wreck, huge city-states began to fight each other. They destroyed each other so that none of the original Maya remained when the Spaniards …show more content…

They were both huge and powerful city-states, with many allies and vassal states. They argued about money and land, and the rivalry lasted over one-hundred and thirty years. The rivalry tore apart the united city-states as they began to fight, dragging their vassal states and allies with them. The fighting went back and forth, until Dos Pilas, a city controlled by Tikal, was over taken by Calakmul. The warring city-state attacked Tikal, and destroyed it. The economy was destroyed and all the city-states began to fight each

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