agenda 5.6: the maya 1)attendance, do now, guess who (5 min) 2) q& a: current event project (5...
TRANSCRIPT
Agenda 5.6: The Maya
1) Attendance, Do Now, Guess Who (5 min)
2) Q& A: Current Event Project (5 min)
3) The Maya (25 min)
4) Reminds me of… (10 min)
5) Map Activity (10 min)
6) Exit Ticket (5 min)
Objectives
• WWBAT describe the geography of the Mayan Civilization and how this affected their culture.
• WWBAT state the cultural and scientific contributions of the Maya Civilization
Do Now
• Why did hunter gatherers settle down and stop moving all the time?
• What grew when people started to settle down?
Geography of Maya
• Southeastern part of Mexico,Guatamala, Belize, and Honduras
• Yucatan Peninsula
• Thick Tropical
Forests
Way of Life • 4000 years ago *(~2000 BCE – what else was
going on around this time?)
• Grew crops- cleared forests to do so
• Small isolated Villages
• Used plants and trees to build houses
What happens when people live together, make friends,
and eat well?• Population increases! (about 100k)(size of Flagstaff)
• Urban Center of Tikal (Guatamala)
Religion
• Center of Culture and Government
• Temples dedicated to gods
Polytheism
• Kukulcan, God of fire
• Chac, God of rain >>
• Itzamna, Creator
Government
• Several City-states connected by• roads (what is the benefit?)
• Strong military
• Priests were leaders of city-states
• Captured people during battles with other civilizations and used them as slaves
Sports
• Ball game called pitz – you could only hit it with knees, elbows, or hips.
• Court was a giant rectangle 30 meters (~90 feet) long and 10 meters (30 feet) wide.
LANGUAGE AND MATH• System of writing:
Pictographs and Symbols• Phonetic (representing
sounds) or could represent objects/words
MATH: Number system based on 20
They were the first people to use zeros
• 365.242198 days a year using astronomy
• 260 day religious event calendar
• About 20 other different calendars for different uses
• How were they able to calculate a 365 day year? They were really good at math!
• They recorded history using their number system
• Grouped years in 400 year cycles, equaling 5,200 years. This calendar ended in 2012, supposed to be the demarcation of a new beginning.
• Based on your birthday, you have a day name and a number that determine your character and your energy.
Calendars
Art & Architecture
• Temples aligned with the cardinal directions
• Did not have wheels or metal
• Painting
• Stelae: large stones
with Mayan art
Discussion Questions
• Why do you think roads were so important?
• How do you think the calendar system helped with farming? (use knowledge of Egypt to inform your inference!)
• Do you think it is a good idea to have religious leaders in government? Why or why not?
What happened to the Maya?
What happened to the Mayan’s?
• Many Mayans disappeared at around year 900 CE because of…• Drought?• War?• Cruel Kings?• Ran out of food?