
The decline of the Mayan civilization remains mysterious.Lands were grabbed and divided among Spanish bureaucrats. As described in the accounts of friar Bartolome de Las Casas, the Mayan people, along with other native subjects of the Spanish rule, were enslaved.Along with the Spanish conquest was the spread of European diseases, including measles and smallpox, which was believed to have diminished the Mayan population.Just like Cortes, Alvado subdued one city-state after another. At the same time, he learned about the city of Mayapan in the Yucatan peninsula and sent Pedro de Alvarado. In 1521, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortes conquered the Aztecs.Subscribe to KidsKonnect on YouTube → THE SPANISH CONQUEST AND END OF CIVILIZATION The art they created honored their leaders, gods, and their daily life. Archaeologists can tell a great deal about the ancient Maya from their wonderful pottery and clay figures. The Mayans wove beautiful fabrics and designed musical instruments like horns, drums, and castanets.The farmers, workers and slaves were at the bottom. Their middle class was made up of warriors, craftsmen, and traders. The Ancient Mayans had a class society.Groundwater was scarce in these areas, so they had to build large underground reservoirs to store the rainwater. In order to farm, they had to clear huge sections of tropical rainforest. The Mayan people were also skilled farmers.The level above the earth was like the Christian heaven and the level below the earth was like the Christian hell. Mayan religion was divided into three parts with earth as one part, the level above the earth as another part, and the level below the earth as the third part. The Mayan Kings were considered to be direct descendants of the Mayan Gods.One of those rituals was human sacrifice. Mayan actions were based on rituals and ceremonies. The Ancient Mayans were a very religious people.The Spanish missionaries burned all but four of these books. They contained information on history, medicine, astronomy, and their religion. The Mayans wrote hundreds of these books. The pages were fig bark covered in white lime and bound in jaguar skins. Codices were books that were folded like an accordion.They chiseled the glyphs into stone and inside codices. Some of the glyphs were pictures and others represented sounds. The Mayan writing system was made up of 800 glyphs.This allowed them to sell and trade the goods they had made for goods they needed. They also cleared routes through jungles and swamps to create trade routes. The Maya were skilled weavers and potters.These structures were all built without metal tools. They were also known for creating elaborate ceremonial architecture, such as pyramids, temples, palaces, and observatories. The Ancient Mayans developed the science of astronomy, calendar systems, and hieroglyphic writing.

Each major city had its own ruler and noble class supported by smaller cities and the surrounding farms and villages. Instead, there were as many as 20 separate areas, similar to ancient Greek city-states.

#Mayan glyphs quizlet download
See the fact file below for more information on the Ancient Mayan or alternatively, you can download our 20-page Ancient Mayan worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment. The Mayans were a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for Maya script, the only known fully developed writing system of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. THE SPANISH CONQUEST AND END OF CIVILIZATION.Download the Ancient Mayan Facts & Worksheets.
