1. Government

2. Political Organization
Maya Social and
Political Organization
Government

4. Small city-kingdoms served as the means of Mayan political organization

5. Lord was considered a god-king Responsible for political leadership
Lords mostly men, but women had great influence on political decisions

6. King and Queen expected to sacrifice blood

7. Nobles Lived near ceremonial centers and helped lords run cities
Gathered taxes, supplies, and labor for construction projects
Served as war captains who led peasant armies during war

8. Priests
Were powerful because they maintained favor with the gods

9. Led religious rituals, calculated positions of stars, and treated the sick

10. Practiced human sacrifice on a limited scale

12. Mayan priests at temple

13. Merchants/Artisans
Merchants traded salt, cotton, fish, and animal skins for obsidian, jade, quetzal feathers, copal, and cocoa beans over long distances

14. Artisans produced sculptures, codices, and murals to pay tribute to gods

18. Peasants Men worked in fields; women managed household
Rewarded for their loyalty by being allowed to attend royal marriages and important religious ceremonies

19. Slaves Recruited from surplus children, war prisoners, and criminals
Required to do difficult or undesirable tasks like grinding maize
Not badly treated, but sometimes were killed and buried with master