Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

336

Deep in the tropical forests of Mexico, the Mayan

people created one of the most amazing ancient civilizations,

which reached its height between 250 and 900 ce. the Maya

built cities with huge stone temples. each city was the center

of a separate kingdom, with a king who was treated like a god.

the Maya were great scholars who developed systems of

mathematics and astronomy. they even created their own writing

system and used it to carve inscriptions about their history on stone

plaques that they set up in their cities. Despite their sophistication,

the Maya had only the simplest technology. they used stone tools,

and did not know about the wheel. By the 1500s, the spanish had

conquered the region.

palenque

the temple of

the inscriptions

at palenque was a

famous Mayan

pyramid. Deep inside

the base was a secret

chamber containing the

tomb of a local king, pacal, who died in

about 684 ce. in the temple on top of the

pyramid were stone tablets carved with glyphs

that recorded the history of the local kings

up to pacal’s reign. its ruins still exist today.

Ball gaMe

Many cities had a ball court where people played

a game with a rubber ball. players wore padded

clothing, and were only allowed to touch the ball

with their hips, arms, or elbows. the aim was to get

the ball through a small stone ring at the side of the

court. players who lost were sometimes put to death.

flint carving

craftworkers made their tools out of

stones such as flint or obsidian (a

black, naturally-occurring glass). they

could work these materials to make a

sharp edge. the Maya became highly

skilled at this type of stoneworking,

and made intricate carvings in

strange shapes to show off their

skill. Many were made to

place in graves or as

offerings to the gods.

Pot shaped

like a jaguar

Glyph describing a Mayan

noblewoman called Lady Xoc

BlooD sacrifice

some Mayan communities believed

that their gods would be pleased if

people were killed in their honor.

they also saw sacrificial blood as

food for the gods. in some places a

pot shaped like a jaguar, a beast

sacred to the Maya, was used to

collect the blood.

glyphs

Mayan writing was made up

of a series of signs that

archaeologists call glyphs.

Many of the glyphs were

simplified pictures of the objects

they stood for. some represented

sounds, which were used to build

up words. others were symbols

that stood for different numbers.

the Maya used glyphs to record

their calendar, and to write

inscriptions about their history.

Bronze age

central america

Wheels

Find out more

Temple contains

historic inscriptions.

Priests used the

main staircase.

Palenque

PACIFIC

OCEAN

Tikal

Copán

Maya

Stone ring

acted as “goal.”

Players used their

elbows to hit the ball.

People taking

part in

ceremonies

could stand

on the main

stepped

levels.

Outer shell of stone

concealed earth base

and royal tomb.

Mayan civilization

the Maya came from the

yucatan peninsula and the

highlands to the south, in

what is now eastern

Mexico. they also built

cities in parts of modern

guatemala and honduras.

Chichen Itza

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