Level 4

Connection to our past

Mayan Empire

Skilled Builders: Nobody knows where they came from, but about 2,400 years ago, a new tribe of
people appeared in Central America. They settled in the rainforests of the Yucatan Peninsula. They
were called the Maya Indians. They were very clever people. They set about making cities in the
rainforest. They did not use metal tools. They used stone tools, wood tools, and tools made from
shells. They were skilled builders. They built palaces, temples, pyramids, walls, homes. They built
hundreds of beautiful cities.

Maya City-States: The cities were connected with well built roads that ran through the rainforests
and jungles on the Yucatan Peninsula. Every city had a ball court, at last one and usually more than
one temple, and a central plaza. Each city was a center of learning and religion. Each city had its own
ruling family. The Maya city-states never unified. Like the ancient Greek city-states, the Maya cities
often went to war with each other. Some historians believe they were almost always at war with
someone.

A History Mystery: By 900 CE, the Maya cities were mostly deserted. Some people remained, and
their descendants still live in Central America today. But without enough people to take care of
them, the great Maya cities fell into ruin. That's why the Maya are called "the mysterious Maya" -
nobody knows where they came from, and nobody knows what happened to them. It is a history
mystery.

A Fascinating People: In the ancient Maya cities discovered, many thousands of hieroglyphics have
been found. But not all of the around 800 different symbols that make up the Maya glyph system
are understood today. As archaeologists and other scientists continue to decipher this ancient
language, we hope to learn more about these fascinating people.

Warriors

Some of the warriors were actually more powerful than the nobles they served. The leaders of the
warriors in each city might work with the city priests to determine if captives were needed for
sacrifice.

Warriors spent their life training to be better warriors. It was important to be a good warrior because
the Maya cities were often at war with each other. Some scholars think they were always at war.

The Maya did not use metal weapons. They had stone weapons and weapons made of wood and
shells. They also carried shields.

Warriors fought battles only during the day. That's how things were done when Maya cities went to
war. A temporary peace was called each night. A battle continued, day after day, until the leader of
one army was hurt or killed. Once that happened, the battle was over. The army without a leader
went home leaving captives and their dead behind.
The losers had to pay a tribute to the winners. This was negotiated and could be just about anything,
including goods, people, textiles, gold, silver, copper, and salt.

1- Why were they known for and how did they do it?

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2- What were city states and how was their relationship among one another?

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3- What can you say about their language?

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4- How did they make their weapons?

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5- What happened to the losing side during a war?

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6- How were mayan wars fought?

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Taken from http://mayas.mrdonn.org/ - Prepared by: Esteban Arango on 04/10/2017