Rihla #7

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Dear Rihla,

Mayans

The Mayans was considered a developed civilization and they lived in the jungle of Mexico and Central America. The characteristics of the Mayan Civilization are the following:

Organized government: Priests were mainly in charge of the Mayan civilization. They performed ceremonies, ruled cities, and seen as wise human beings. The social pyramid consisted of priests,wealthy nobles,commoners, and slaves.

Complex religion: The Mayans practiced human scarifice to please the gods. They performed rituals and ceremonies killing individuals and they were used as an offering.

Job specialization/agriculture: The Mayan people were divided into farmers, artisans, and slaves. The main primary crop was maize and it was used in all of their foods.

Writing:
Mayan writing was either knows as glyphs or hieroglyphs. The hieroglyphs were always either painted on ceramics, carved in wood or stone, and much more. Mayan inscriptions were written in columns and read left to right, top to bottom. Bascially, they recoreded their lives on stone and paper.

Cities: Many Mayan cities began to flourish because of the influences, advancements, and developments. Also, Mayans had influenced many of the civilizations that had came after them.

Arts & Architecture:
Mayan art had started out in the Preclassical Era and transformed and grew into the Classical Era. It went into a postclassic phase until the sixteenth century put their tradition of arts to a end. Influences of the Mayan art include the Olmecs, Teotihuacan, Toltecs. Mayan Architecture consisted of pyramids,palaces, ceremonial platforms, temples, and ball courts. The buildings material was mostly made out of limsetone and man power. Many outside influences are seen to come out of art and architecture because of trade and cultural exchange.

Works Cited
http://lau.vsb.bc.ca/studentp/karlrick/website/Website%20Pages/Art.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_art
http://www.kidsnewsroom.org/elmer/infocentral/frameset/civilizations/maya/daily/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_civilization#Religion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_civilization#Agriculture

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