Me llamo _________ Clase 8 Nv La fecha es el 14 de septiembre del 2012 Propósito # 1: ¿Quiénes son los Mayas? Actividad Inicial: Copia y completa con el antónimo correcto: 1. Take active notes on this powerpoint. To answer the following questions:  Students will become familiar with:  · The Mesoamerican origins of modern day ball games  · The Mesoamerican ball game as it was played in prehispanic times  · The ritual significance of the ball game to the Mesoamerican cultures  · The pictographic and hieroglyphic texts related to the ball game  · The ball game as a unique contribution of Mesoamerican cultures to the world today

Los Mayas The Golden Age of the Maya Civilization existed from around 250 B.C. to A.D About seven million Mayan Indians still live in parts of Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua,and southern Mexico. Two particularly intriguing elements of the Maya civilization are mathematics and architecture. The Mayan number system used base 20. Numbers were represented by dots and bars. Also, the number system contained the number zero, a concept unknown to the Greek and Egyptian civilizations. Mayan architecture is a fascinating subject. The Maya built many ornate temples of great height. They put vaulted hollows inside the roof sections to reduce weight. The structures contained many chambers and rooms. Within the city of Tikal alone, there were 3,000 buildings and more than 200 monuments. In the Yucatan Puuc region there is evidence of great site planning and architecture techniques. The Puuc design—buildings faced with limestone, archways framed by round columns, and elite mosaics—is named after this area. Many of the designs contained figures such as turtles, gods, or humans

 When Mexican historian Paul Kirchhoff first introduced the term “Mesoamerica,” he defined it as a cultural zone where the indigenous inhabitants spoke as many as sixty different languages, but were united by a common history and shared a specific set of cultural traits that made their civilization unique in the world. Among the most significant was the development of both pictographic and hieroglyphic writing as well as the production of books constructed from animal hide or amate paper. A divinatory calendar of 20 x 13 days (tonalpohualli), calculated together with a solar calendar of 365 days, is widely regarded as being more accurate than those of many other ancient civilizations throughout the world. Mesoamerican architecture was also unique and distinguished by preferences for stepped pyramids, stucco floors, and ballcourts. Finally, and perhaps most importantly for development in the Americas, was the cultivation of specialized foods including maize, beans, and squash, together with cacao (chocolate) and fermented beverages made from maguey. Many of these foods became the staples of a world-wide diet we continue to thrive on today.

 Geografía  Durante la época Prehispánica, los mayas habitaron un extenso territorio con diferentes climas y variada vegetación; montañas y planicies, selvas con alta precipitación pluvial y sitios secos, tierras con ríos, lagos y cascadas, y una buena extensión de costas. La zona maya comprendía km², lo que en la actualidad son los estados de Quintana Roo, Campeche, Yucatán, Tabasco y el oriente de Chiapas en México; Guatemala, Belice y la parte poniente de Honduras y El Salvador en Centroamérica.

 Mesoamerica once boasted a population of over 50 million people living throughout an area roughly contiguous with the modern nations of México, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, and El Salvador. Today each of these countries is distinguished by the manner in which they have blended their PreColumbian Indian and Colonial Spanish heritage.

 México: México is named for the Méxica, an Aztec society who developed an empire that conquered and dominated much of the central and southern part of the country from A.D The flag of México features an eagle standing on a cactus clutching a serpent. This symbol signifies the legendary founding of the city of Tenochtitlán, the ancient capital of the Aztec Empire known today as México City. In 1521, Tenochtitlán was attacked by a confederated Spanish and Indian army in what became the longest continuous battle known to history.

 Guatemala: Ruled throughout the 15th century by the Kiché, Kakchiquel, and Itzá Maya, this nation’s flag features the Quetzal, a bird reknowned for its long, shimmering green tail feathers considered to be more valuable than gold in the PreColumbian world. Indeed, Guatemalan currency today is counted in "quetzales". Conquistadors learned to call the region Guatemala, after “Quauhtemalla” an Aztec translation for the Maya Paq’uiché or “Place of Many Trees.” Guatemala’s Department of the Petén was the center of the Maya’s great Classic era florescence between A.D Here the magnificent ruins of such capital cities as Tikal, Uaxactún, and Piedras Negras can still be seen today.

Chronology

Tarea #1  On a separate piece of paper, create a short story using Mayan Symbols. You will share your story (one to two minutes in front of the class)  Create a poster or powerpoint to share.  Create a Mayan Symbol for your name.