1. Maya Social and Political Organization
ruled by divine right
Political leader, Men
LORD
Gathered taxes and supplies and organized workers for building
War captains that led peasants into battle
NOBLES
Very powerful because they kept the gods happy
Led religious ceremonies, acted as astronomers, created calendars and treated the sick
Practiced some human sacrifice
PRIESTS
Merchants traded salt, cotton, fish, animal skins, jade, quetzal feathers and cocoa beans
Artisans produced murals, sculptures, pottery and codices that paid tribute to their gods
MERCHANTS AND ARTISANS
PEASANTS
Men worked in fields, women managed the household
If they were a good, hard working citizen then they were rewarded by being able to attend a ceremony, royal wedding or ballgame
SLAVES
Made up of surplus children, war prisoners and criminals
Forced to do “grunt work” like grinding maize and chopping trees
Not poorly treated but often killed and buried with master

2. Unique Standards of Beauty
Based on images of their Gods
Skulls were bound in order to be elongated
Teeth filed to sharp points
Gold and jade inlaid on teeth
Tattoos and scarring
Jewelry, large headdresses and blue body paint worn

3. Achievements
Zero- Allows for large numbers and mathematical, scientific and architectural calculations
System using place values of 20’s
Bars = 5
Dots =1

4. Math
8000’s
400’s
20’s
ones

5. Stele and Writing Pyramids
Large stone monuments
Covered with glyphs
Some were over 200 feet tall
Some were used
Some ceremonial for gods
Placed to mark celestial events

6. Farming and Food Production
First to make chocolate
Created corn products like cornmeal and tortillas
Pioneered slash and burn farming

7. The Controversial Calendar
Two calendars
Solar 360 with 5 unlucky days
Sacred 260 days
Doomsday Prophecy 8-25

8. Noteworthy Achievements of the Maya
Ball Game
Legends
Most big cities had courts
Rubber ball and hip guards used
Players treated like celebrities
Recreational and religious purposes
Legends recorded on
Murals, codices (wood
sheets) and stelae
(stone monuments)
Very few works of lit. survive
Calendars
-Calendars were connected to religion
-2 important calendars
sacred round-260 days
vague-18 months of days each and 5 unlucky days (365 days)
Architecture
Very decorative stonework and detailed facades
Corbeled arch was imp. feature
Astronomy
Priests were astronomers
Knew phases of the moon
Accurately predicted eclipses
Hieroglyphics
-Only Native American group to have complete writing system
-Used block-like symbols to show ideas and objects
-Symbols called glyphs
Mathematics
-based on units of 20
-bars=5 dots=1
-sign for zero (wow!)