1+-+What?


 * What: ** defines them? What is their culture like? What food do they eat? What do they wear? What do they do for jobs, fun, etc... What is their religion? What type of Government do they have? These are all the types of things you should include in written component and some of them would also be things that people travelling to the area would want to know as visitors.

** What Defines the Mayans? **  The thing everyone recognizes about the Mayans is: the calendar, and the pyramids.  Calendar – “The Mayan calendar round is based upon two important cycles: the 260 day ritual cycle and the 365 day vague year. The 260 day cycle consists of the complete cycle constructed by the interlocking of the first 13 numbers with the 20 named day.” (www.astronomy.pomona.edu, 1) The calendar is so well recognized though because of the prediction of the world ending in the year 2012.  Pyramid – The pyramids that the Mayans built were meant for sacrifices. The priest would climb to the top of the pyramid so he could be closer to the gods. (www.courses.psu.edu, 1)

** What is the Mayan Culture Like? **  The Mayans were a smart people. They developed the calendar and the number 0. They also thought that each of the stars was a god, therefore the Mayan culture had over 160 gods. They would often play games; however, the games were not just for fun but also for religious purposes.

** What Kinds of Food did they eat? **  The farmers in the tribe would tend to grow: different types of corn, beans, sweet potatoes, as well as squash. (Kallen, 69) Now of course they also hunted what ever animal was unlucky enough to be close by. Farmers would often grow cotton and cocoa as well. (Kallen, 69)

** What did the Mayans Look like and Wear? **  “The average Mayan is predicted to be strong and fit. On average a Mayan man is expected to have been 5 feet tall, while a Mayan woman 4 feet 8 inches.” (Kallen, 69) Men and women would grow their hair long and braid it. As for clothes, the Mayans would typically wear a strip of cloth, and a robe that hung from their shoulders. (Kallen, 69)

** What did the Mayans do for Jobs? **  The average Mayan’s job was to serve the upper class people of the society. They would work hard and give the majority of their food and hard work to the higher class people. (Kallen, 68) The average Mayan could very well be compared to the Israelites when they were enslaved by the Egyptians.

** What did the Mayans do for Fun? **  The Mayans would play ball games. Mean of any social standing could play and so could the women if they really wanted to. The main game was Pok Ta Pok. In this game their was a 11 pound rubber ball that could not be touched with hands, but had to go through a hoop to win. This game often would end in a tie with the players being very sore after. (BBC, Ancient Maya, 1) The loser of the game would usually be sacrificed.

** What Kind of Religion did they have? **  The Mayans had three beliefs as to how they were created.  The first of these is that the gods tried many different combinations of mud and grass etc. until finally one combination worked.  they also believed that a pair of twins (The Hero Twins), Hunapa and Xbalaque, defeated the gods of death in a ball game. They showed the gods that they were capable of killing themselves then bringing each other back to life. They convinced the gods to let them try it on them, only they didn’t bring them back to life after.  The third belief of the Mayans is that they were successfully created by Tepeu and Gucumatz (the corn gods) out of corn. The skin was believed to have been from both white and yellow corn. The arms and legs were apparently made from corn meal dough. (Kallen, 28-30)  The Mayans seemed to have a hard time making up their minds as to how humans were created.

** What Kind of Government did the Mayans have? **  The Ancient Mayans were a monarchy. The kings would control the large cities and would appoint governors to rule the smaller cities. The rulers of one of the largest cities, Copan, claimed to be from the sun and for that had the right to rule the others. (Kallen, 40) These people clearly must have been afraid that if they didn’t have an incredible excuse there would be a revolution.