Mayan Geography

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Have you ever wondered about the ancient civilizations of North America that existed long before us? These civilizations had different ways of living because they were dependent on the land features that still cover North America today. In 200 B.C to AD 250 the Mayans lived in Meso- America. The Mayan civilization was impacted by many geographic features including the Yucatan Peninsula, Gulf of Mexico, mountains, and rainforests.
The first civilizations in Meso-America formed on the Yucatan Peninsula. Some civilizations that settled on the Yucatan Peninsula were the Uxmai, Itza, Tulumanchi, Incas, Aztecs and Mayans (“Early Civilizations in the Americas” 339) . The Yucatan peninsula was a great location for a civilization because it was surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico (“Mystery of the Maya”). This made it easy to get resources like salt and fish. Fish was used as a source of food and salt was used to preserve food. It was also easy to trade with other civilizations because they would use the ocean to help transport goods (“The Maya” 19).
Some Mayan civilizations were located in Southern Mexico, Guatemala and northern Brazil mountainous region (“Maya Mountains”). The mountains isolated parts of Meso-America and resulted in the formation of separate city states. The city states were very similar because they influenced each other and they used the same calendar and lived in the same region but controlled by different kings ( Shuter 5). Other Mayan civilization were located in rainforest regions. The people that lived in the rainforest were hunters and farmers so they had to cut down trees and burn the underground in order to plant crops for food (“Ancient Maya and Aztec Civilizations...

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... Ancient Maya and Aztec Civilizations. New York: Chelsea House Pub., 2007. Print.

Peppas, Lynn. Life in Ancient Mesoamerica. New York: Crabtree Pub., 2005. Print.

Maya Mountains” Britannica School High

“Mystery of the Maya’ Early Cilivizations in the Americas Reference Library.Ed. Sonia G. Benson,Sarah Hermsen, and Deborah J Baker. Vol 2 Detroit UXL,2005 333-346 “World History in Content”

“How Slash and Burn Agriculture Affects Geography." About.com Geography. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014." About.com Geography. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

Greene, Jacqueline Dembar. The Maya. New York: F. Watts, 1992. Print.

PSherrow, Victoria. The Maya Indians. New York: Chelsea House, 1994. Print.

Shuter, Jane. The Maya. Chicago: Heinemann Library, 2002. Print.

Green, Carolyn. "What All Did the Mayans Grow & Eat?" EHow. Demand Media, 01 May 2011. Web. 01 May 2014.

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