Mayan Empires

The civilization consisted of city states, one being Tikal. The Mayans were helpful in many different ways, one being the modernization on the area. This modernization consisted of deforestation, swamp drainage, and erosion of hillsides. The Mayans were talented in the arts where they contributed in different ways. The Mayans had artisans and sculptors who made pottery, tools, and cotton textiles using many different materials specifically gold and silver. The architecture of Maya consisted of detailed decorations, pyramids, and using the resources in the environment, stone buildings. The notable mark that Mayans created was the creation of a mathematical system used to solve difficult math, a calendar to keep track of the days, a writing system with phonetic and syllables that found its way to America, and astronomical discoveries to explore the world beyond us. There were over thirty languages and different religions. There were many nominal Roman Catholics at first, but many switched to Evangelical Protestantism. The Mayan civilization did display class which we still find in

The first sign of Mayan Civilization comes from as early as 600 BCE in the Mesoamerican region, known today as Guatemala. The Mayan civilization did not begin to flourish until 250 CE, known as the classical period of the Mayan civilization. The Mayans were a complex and advanced society. Spiritual beliefs and religion had a major role in every aspect of life. The Mayans believed in an enormous array of gods and goddess. These deities often took on the roles of more than one symbolization at different times throughout their myths.

The leaders of the Mayan civilization were supposed to be god-like figures and had beautiful jade jewelry and adornments. The Mayan government was a hierarchical state ruled by kings and priests with a royal family. This means that the royal family has most of the power and wealth. In order to keep the power within the family a queen ruling was quite possible if there was not any men eligible to be king. The Mayan civilization was not a democracy so that means that the positions next in power were decided by the king and royal family which also means that if people were willing to pay the royal family they could gain political status.

The Mayan civilization had diffrent classes of people. All public life was controlled by the ruler.

The culture of the Mayans gradually uplifted, and the peak of their civilization appeared during the Classic Age of 250 to 900 CE. During this time, The Mayans created an abundance of art and amazing architecture that still inspire the architects of today. This civilization was on the road to greatness, but this greatness came to an end quickly. The Mayan city-states were in a constant feud and violence was constantly raging. Because of this, The Maya never became a single government unlike other major societies. Despite this, The Mayans achieved many remarkable accomplishments such as their calendar, architecture, marvelous trade system, and genius numerals that continue to be a template for the people of today.

The Mayan civilization was made of city-states, with many being independent and ruled by their own ruler, called Ajaw. The Ajaw served as a communicator between the gods and ancestors, and had

Although Maya civilization shared many characteristic “with other Mesoamerican civilizations due to the high degree of interaction and cultural diffusion” (Maya civilization, n.d.), it cannot be denied that Maya was the most successful and advanced civilization with various accomplishments in art, astronomy, architecture and writing system.

All three civilizations were very advanced for their time and helped develop many ideas that we use today. Early in the article “Mayan Civilization”, the author, Suzann Hopkins write, “Long before the rise of the Incan and Aztec Empires, Mayan civilization flourished in central America” (56). This meant that they didn’t have much competition. They had more resources available to them and their competition, if any, wasn’t very threatening. This allowed them to develop their empire easily without many obstacles in the way. Closer to the conclusion of the article, Suzanne Hopkins notes that, “…Temples and monuments remain as a testimony to the Mayan’s achievements”(56). In general, the Mayans had a very advanced way of life that put them down in history forever. In the article “the Aztecs” author Jose Maldonado claims, “when the Spanish first was the city, they thought they must be dreaming. It was larger and more impressive than any Spanish city of the time” (59). Their empire was so impressive that event the Spanish wished it was theirs. Their impressive construction and building design were one of their greater successes. Not only did they have very

The Mayans were an advanced civilization that had made great accomplishments. They had an advanced culture with gods and plenty of sacrifices to them. They also invented the basis of basketball, writing, and herbal medicines. Their cities were remarkable and they had schools, ball courts, shops, and hospitals too. The Mayans lived for a very peaceful time, until the Spanish came.They started to take down the Mayan civilization. the Spanish burned their codices and destroyed the basis of Mayan culture. Many Mayans died and the rest of them lived in small villages scattered around Mexico. The once inhabited land of the Mayans and their cities were just now overgrown

The Maya civilization was very advanced civilization. With millions of people at their peak, they had no shortage of knowledge and technology. They had a better understanding of astronomy than most cultures at that time. They created a calendar similar to the one we have today, with 365 days and 18 months, divided into three seasons. Accurate observations of the stars allowed them to have calendars that closely resemble the calendars we have today. Additionally, they had books, one of which was their holy book, recounting the story of two heroic twins called Hunahpu and Xbalanque.[insert footnote. Source 1] Finally, the Mayans had an incredibly advanced system for agriculture, using canals and reservoirs to their advantage. The Maya had an incredibly advanced technology and an abundance of knowledge, creating a civilization that incomparable to any other civilizations at that time.

The Mayans and the Egyptians are considered to be one of the most successful empires in the history of the world. The Mayan empire began in the 1800 AD but they are noticed for their achievements during 250-900 A.D. This was their golden age, but they began to decline afterwards for unknown reasons;yet they did not vanish out of existence completely. They were still around when the Spaniards came to the Americas, but they were not a big empire like they once were at the time. The Mayans lived on the Yucatan peninsula which is located in southern Mexico. The Egyptians on the other hand began their empire around 3000 B.C when Narmer,the king of upper Egypt, united lower and upper Egypt. The Egyptian empire got taken over by the Romans in 30 B.C with the last pharaoh being Cleopatra who committed suicide with Mark Antony, a Roman politician, to avoid being captured. Yet even being years apart and hundreds of miles away, both the Mayans and the Egyptians were fairly similar in many aspects such as environment, government, and architecture but they also have some differences as well.

The Maya had forty city states and spoke around seven different languages. The king could have several wives and but the woman could only have one Husband. Each city has cropped based. Only less than ten percent could read. They had a canal system that

Around 2000 B.C, small farming villages started to appear across Central America (“Maya Civilization”). This was the start of the Maya civilization. There were other civilizations in the area, like the Aztec, who were in Mexico, and the Inca, who were in the Peru area of South America. The Maya were a greater civilization than the Aztec or the Inca because their achievements in astronomy, math, language, architecture, and engineering. These achievements in those areas set them apart from the Aztec and the Inca.

The purpose of this essay is to answer the question “To what extent, if any, did ancient Maya civilization contribute to society in colonial America?”.

state so they didn’t have a central ruler of their empire. It consisted of many independent city states. Each city had it’s own king and noble class supported by smaller cities, villages and farms. Palenque, Tikal, Copán and Calakmul were the major cities. Mayans were superior in agriculture, pottery, hieroglyph writing, architecture and art. Also they made important developments in mathematics and astronomy, such as the use of zero and the calendar system based on 365 days. The Classic Maya built many pyramids, temples, palaces and observatories, decorating them