The Mayans

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The Mayans

The ancient Mayan civilization settled in the Yucatan Peninsula in around 900 AD. This civilizations was one of the most advanced of its times. They created their own religion, language, mathematical structure, a very precise calendar, and many other things.

The Mayan way of life revolved their religion. They had a polytheistic religion praising many gods. Each god had a certain thing that they would rule over or take care of. Chac was the god of rain, Kinich Ahau was the sun god, and Yum Cimil was the god of the underworld. There were many gods and goddess for almost every reason one could think of, there is even a goddess of suicide. They would perform human sacrifices, bleeding rituals, and dances to praise and to please the gods and goddess. They also believe that there were two levels in life. The first is the current state of life. The second would be a spiritual life with the gods, souls of ancestors, and other supernatural creatures. There were many ceremonies. One was the Pok-a-tok. This was when they would take a rubber ball, about the size of a basketball, and bat it back and forth in a walled court.

Every structure that they constructed had something to do with the praising of their gods. They made plazas, temples, and pyramids. The pyramids symbolized sacred mountains; they were used to gather people for ceremonies and festivals. These structures were engulfed in images based on the beliefs and practices they had. They were constructed with limestone and faced with lime stucco. They developed the corbel arch, the stacked each block at opposite sides, closer to the middle, and then peaked at the top.

Since the kings, called Ah Kin Mia meaning "the highest one of the Sun", were mostl...

... middle of paper ...

...ere very unconventional compare to what other civilizations knew about. As a matter of fact, the calendar they produced was more accurate than the one we use today.

Bibliography:

1. Farah, Molinir & Karls, Andrea. "World History the Human Experience". New York: Glencoe, 1999

2. "Mayan Indians". 5 Nov. 2001. http://www.crystalinks.com/mayan.html

3. "Mayans". 5 Nov. 2001. http://home.echo-on.net/~smithda/mayans.html

4. "Incas, Mayas, y Aztecs". 10 Nov. 2001. http://www.thinkquest.org/library/lib/site_sum_outside.html?tname=C006206F&url=C006206F/Mayas_i.htm

5. Hooker, Richard. "Civilizations in America: The Mayas" 10 Nov. 2001. http://ask.com/main/askjeeves.asp?ask=Where+can+I+find+out+information+about+Mayan+art%2C+architecture%2C+and+culture%3F&o=0

6. Sharer, Robert J. "Daily Life of Maya Civilization". London: Greenwood Press, 1996.

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