The Mayans were very wise people. They used the seven characteristics to live a daily life. By doing so, they became people with strong beliefs in Government, Food supply, Art, Religion, Technology, Social Structure, and Writing. The Mayans Government kept everyone in order, and their Writing helped them communicate with others. Their Religion helped them practice their beliefs; their Technology helped them accomplish tasks and challenges. The Mayans Art helped them express themselves in many ways and, their Food Supply helped them know which foods to eat and which food they had. Lastly, the Mayans Social Structure helped them by telling everyone where they belong in their society.
The Maya’s Government was very organized. Priests ran governments, ruled cities, led ceremonies, and preformed many jobs. Kings rose during the Preclassic Period and they ruled with the advisory council. The head of the ceremonial center was Ahalach Winik. He oversaw a system of officials that included judges, counselors, and governors. The Lesser Elites ruled smaller communities. They were responsible for collecting payment from commoners and keeping order. The Mayan’s had a very organized Government.
The Mayan’s Writing was important for recording information. They used Glyphs recorded on fig-bark paper or deerskin. The Glyphs date from about 250 A.D. They consisted of a combination of phonetic that stood for syllables and ideograms. They recorded important information and sacred knowledge in codices. There are three codices (found today), The Dresden, Paris
Mayan religion was Polytheistic. That means that it included many gods. The Mayans believed in more than 160 gods. The Mayans believed that the Mayan Gods could change their appearance and if they were a good god or bad god. The Mayans built their cities around ceremonial and religious centers. They also believed in the After Life and practicing human sacrifices. Purification was required before entering areas inhabited by deities. To be a Mayan Priests, young boys had to serve as acolytes while helping a priest with his duties. Acolytes soon became priests.
The Mayans had many technological advances and techniques. They used wooden digging sticks and stone-bladed hoes and axels for farming. Mayans built long ladders of logs tied together with ropes made of twisted vine, so they could collect water from cenotes. For hunting, they used atlatls to hunt many animals. To catch fish, fisherman used bone husks on lines and built dams on small rivers. When the fish swam into the pool, the fisherman would drop a crushed poisonous root from the bulche tree in the water. When picked out, the fish were paralyzed by the poison. The women used a Tapiscadore to scrape edible kernels from corn husk. They used a nixtamal technique for treating corn. They boiled it with white lime or ground-up snail shells. The nixtamal technique allowed the body to absorb niacin from grain. Without niacin, people would have died of pellagra. These technological advances and techniques were useful and helpful.
The Mayans had different ways in which they made art. Paintings were made upon paper and plaster, carvings in wood and stone, clay models, and terra cotta figurines from molds. When their resources were scarce, they made ornaments. The greatest Mayan artistic ability and culture is the hieroglyphic stairway. The stairway is composed of statues, figures, and ramps. A common Mayan art theme painted on Mayan vases is the royal audience. It had many interesting details such as clothing styles, decorative patterning, face painting, masks worn, and gestures. Their ways of art has become even famous today.
The Mayans had a food supply that consisted of many things. Mayan people were vegetarian and their source of protein came from beans, corn, and squash. Corn was abundant and frequently used stable. Corn was used in tortillas, tacos, quesadillas, and tamales. Meat served only as a minor dietary statement for Yucatan Mayans. When the Spanish took over, they introduced pigs, cattle, and chicken. During certain rituals, Iguanas were occasionally eaten. Other foods that were consumed included deer, rabbit, fish, birds, mice, rats, wasp larvae, and snails. Their food supply consisted of many natural and wild foods.
The Mayan’s Social Structure had people scattered around everywhere. Most people were commoners. The Middle Class consisted of stonecutters, pottery painters, and scribes. Some wealthy Mayans lived in homes larger than commoners. When death occurred, ordinary people would be wrapped in straw mats. When Rulers and important people died, they were buried in their finest clothing in a tomb in a pyramid-temple. Upper classes managed the calendar and preformed astronomy calculations. The Elite Class consisted of rulers, priests, warriors, merchants, and estate managers. The Low Class consisted of slaves that were criminals, sold in slavery, and commoners captured in war. The Mayans had a Social Structure where everyone belonged.
I believed that the Mayans did not have a civilization. Although, they had Writing, Art, Government, Social Structure, Technology, and Food Supply, I don’t think they had a civilization because of Religion. They had rituals where they sacrificed each other. Civilizations are supposed to live in harmony and to respect and not harm each other. A civilization would not kill each other in sacrifices or rituals. Therefore, the Mayans did not have a civilization
