Mayan Social Classes

​Many of the cultures that we have today have evolved from past events. Such as language it was something that became known throughout the years. Some of the languages that came from that were English, Spanish, German, and Latin to name a few. These languages were derived more past civilizations. One important civilization that is known for having great success is the Mayan civilization. The Mayan civilization is known for many things like they fully developed written language, art, architecture, math and some other factors. Historians have said that they don’t know an exact date of when this civilization rose up but they do mention that it flourished for about 2000 years. Although staring in 250 AD it is said that it was the start of their high point and it continued until the arrival of the Spanish in 1524. The Maya area covers southern Mexico and northwestern Central America. According to Sharer the area is divided into three regions: the Pacific coastal plain to the south, the highlands in the center, and the lowlands to the north. Even though these three regions were under the same civilization they all practiced different religious rituals. Religion plays a big role in every civilization. Some civilizations tend to praise more than one god and they always mention that what they have is thanks to their god. When they see things going wrong they often say that their god is punishing them because they did something that the god/s did not like. This tends to be the same

After finding these results, the authors linked the growth and collapse of the Maya civilization directly to the climatic results they found. Although the Cariaco can not totally explain the relationship between climate conditions and the Maya collapse, it still supports that the changes in rainfall was an important factor. They first suggest that the enlargement of the Maya civilization between 550 and 750 A.D. was due to relatively wet conditions. The Ti concentrations are much higher right before the Terminal Classic Collapse period. Not only were they expanding, but they were expanding to the limit of what the environment can sustain making them largely susceptible to drought. Between 750 and 950 A.D., the

They did not use a wheel, but instead laid out the pottery coiled together and in a line one after the other. The large amount of pottery found belonging to the Maya Civilization suggests that it was an important part of their culture, and as it was women’s job to make the pottery, their artistic skills were important. As well as potters, Mayan women were skilled weavers, basket makers and feather workers. They helped each other out, and they also liked to talk and gossip about others in the community. This is important as it displays their independence as women whom had jobs to do, and who felt as though they could talk comfortably to each other without answering to their husbands. Their artistic skills were also displayed at ceremonies in the community, especially religious. Dancing, pottery, feather work and mosaics were also on display for everyone to enjoy and take part in the

The Mayan had a very complex way of living.Mayan society was divided between different nobles. Women that lived in the Mayan empire,would have to do many jobs like,waking up before the sun. The women and their daughter had to build fires,cook,sweep their homes,wash clothes. Men also had to do work on the fields.The men and boys would hunt with all kinds of weapons like bow,blowguns,and traps.When the Mayans went to war, all of the men would have to serve as soldiers in battle and war.The Mayan king and nobles had a very easy life, because their work was all done by commanders and slaves.

The Maya were a people from Middle America, which includes modern Guatemala, Southern Mexico, and Northern Belize (Editors). The Maya civilization was considered to be “one of the most dominant indigenous societies of Mesoamerica,” (Maya). “The Maya excelled at agriculture, pottery, hieroglyph writing, calendar-making, and mathematics, and left behind an astonishing amount of impressive architecture and symbolic artwork,” (Maya). They also gave mankind the modern calendar (Jarus, Maya). The Mayans were a very advanced people, but one of the most important things in the Mayan culture was their religion/god worshipping rituals.

The priestly class lived in the cities, while the general population lived away in small farming villages. The priests would carry out daily religious duties, particularly sacrifices, and the peasants would gather periodically for religious ceremonies and festivals. They built the ceremonial centers in a specific design for religious practices. They constructed tall pyramid temples, warren-like single story palaces, and a ball court that was surrounded by a broad central plaza. The architectural features of the Mayan pyramids include towering roofs, corbel vaults, and elaborate embellishment with stucco reliefs (Palfrey 2). It is amazing to imagine the detail that the Mayans were able to create in their architecture with only primitive tools. For the Mayans, science and religion were linked. Time was extremely important and their agriculture and religious ceremonies required a system that could record time.

Maya culture relied heavily on the female population. Before, agrarian labor was seen as a male domineering field; however, studies of the Classic Maya culture indicates farming was a communal occupation. All citizens, including children, participated in farming and other domestic tasks central to the communities upkeep. Roles in politics were also open to women, and contextual evidence “indicate[s] that women played important roles .. [in] Maya, politics” (Stockett). The sovereignty of the Classical Maya was embedded in the separation of noble houses. Each house governed by either a man or women, “especially mothers”, placing an independent value on the sexes.(Brumfiel). Textiles, which were almost exclusively made by women, became a leading factor in the economy the Maya relied on. One of the main priorities the female had was to turn resources into goods that the society could profit from. Without the contribution of women, the Maya would not have achieved the feats they did, shaping politics and religious festivals. Both home keeping and childcare were activities for women to carry out.

The Maya civilization is a renowned part of history, as it is remembered for its delicate and detailed culture filled with alluring architecture and arts. Not only this, but the Maya civilization is also memorable for their astronomical and mathematical skills (Demarest 2004, Sharer & Traxler 2006, Houston & Inomata 2009). Yet, despite their flourishing agriculture, economy and political state, the Classic Maya society met their demise in the 9th century (Willey et al. 1967, Culbert 1973). Paleoclimatologists and archaeologists come together to better understand the circumstances which brought the end of the Classic Maya civilization, creating a variety of arguments which would explain so. Although many reasons are presented to explain the

The Preclassic period begins where the first signs that the Maya can be recognized as a distinct people. The two

The Mayans had a large variety of jobs and roles that kept their society together. One exciting example is the High Priest, located on the Sacrifice Pyramid. He is vital to Mayan culture because he is the head of their religion, from which their society is based: if you omit the high priest, there would be no sacrifices or rituals. Another great example of Mayan jobs/roles would be their leaders (King [city center], governors [village], and lords/army [city center]) Their Government is somewhat of a theocracy because the Mayan religion believed that their kings were actually holy and/or gods; however, governors were not considered holy, and their power was similar to that of the king but over a smaller area; also, the lords were the heads

The Classical Maya was lost to the archaeological records until the last 200 years due to it’s abandonment. When the Mayans left there great cities, thick vines and jungles overtook the great monuments they once built. But in the last 200 years, in depth research has lead to breakthroughs into what the Classic Maya was like. The earliest Mayans were agriculturalist, growing crops such as corn (maize), beans, squash and cassava. The Mayans also invented a very accurate calendar, a math code using 0’s, constructed buildings still intact today, and a writing system that took decades to decode. The Mayans were situated in one geographical block covering all of the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico), modern-day Guatemala, Belize, parts of the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas, and the western part of Honduras and El Salvador. Due to their location on the

Massive temples hidden in the jungles of the Yucatan, mysterious stone stelas, and cryptic calendars eluding to advanced knowledge of the stars and mathematics are just some of the artifacts originating from the “Classic Maya” period (200 CE-900 CE). However, these popular items should not be the only defining characteristics of a society that dominated the Mesoamerican region for nearly a millennia. Dynastic lines, similar to those found in European houses, were important elements during this period in places like Palenque, Tikal, and Calakmul. Additionally, the Maya experienced violent and consistent warfare between localized powers and the backbone of their society, agriculture, suffered through several multi-year droughts. These factors

As far back as society goes, people have been placed in different social categories. Regardless of what standing a person has in society, their status will affect their lives on a daily basis and on a larger scale. It is clear that social status is an ever-present and universal social determinate, since differences between classes are as apparent in ancient civilizations as they are in contemporary society. Evidence of status in ancient communities, such as the Maya, has been preserved for centuries and is still detectable through the study of archaeology. The Mayans were people with a culture deeply rooted in living within a stratified society, where the gap between the elite and the poor was prominent both in life and death (Somerville et

The city states consisted of numerous citizens but these citizens were not all equal. Indeed, one characteristic of Maya society was the hierarchical nature of its social organization. This meant that, at different levels in the society, people would be treated according to their status. This difference in social treatment automatically meant that some citizens enjoyed a better standard of living with more of the amenities of life than others. It also meant that at the bottom of this graded social pyramid were the agricultural farmers and foot soldiers of the empire flourished. By virtue of being at the bottom of the social pyramid their training and skills consisted largely of the social functions that they performed. Hence, they were not literate and concerned themselves largely with issues of agriculture and the basics of following orders in warfare.

Mayan culture existed a thousand years ago, in what is now part of Central America. Its ruins were almost entirely abandoned by 600 A.D, and were not rediscovered until the early 1500’s, by Spanish settlers. Mayan architecture astounded the early conquistadors, and continues to be of great interest to modern archeologists as well. These scientists have labeled a certain period of Mayan architectural history as the “Classic” period.