Mayan+Spice+Chart

Mayan Spice Chart

Religion: Polytheistic. Vuilt pyramids that served as religious mountains and the doorways were gates to the underworld. Wealthy elite members were both religious figures as well as priests. Through human sacrifice and other gory rituals the mayans worshipped their gods

==Economy- The mayans were farmers. They would cut down small trees and brush then burning the dead vegetation to fertilize the land. These creates high yields for a few years but then it uses all of the soils nutrients. The eventual high population during the classic period required more intensive agricultural advancements.==

Intellectual Acheivements: Wilson Compton The Mayans believed that the cosmos had a direct effect and they feared and knew how to predict solar eclipses. They also used astrological cycles to aid in planting and harvesting and developed two calendars that are as precise as those we use today. The Long Count system identified each day by counting forward from a fixed date in the distant past. (In the early 20th century, scholars found that this "base date" was August 11 or August 13, 3114 BC.) It grouped days into sets, or cycles, as follows: baktun (144,000 days), k’atun (7,200 days), tun (360 days), uinal or winal (20 days) and kin (one day). The Maya incorporated their advanced understanding of astronomy into their temples and other religious structures. The pyramid at Chichén Itzá in Mexico, for example, is situated according to the sun’s location during the spring and fall equinoxes. At sunset on these two days, the pyramid casts a shadow on itself that aligns with a carving of the head of the Mayan serpent god. The shadow forms the serpent’s body; as the sun sets, the serpent appears to slither down into the Earth. Until recently, people believed that vulcanization--combining rubber with other materials to make it more durable--was discovered by the American Charles Goodyear in the 19th century. However, historians now think that the Maya were producing rubber products about 3,000 years before Goodyear received his patent in 1843.

__Social Structure__
 * Few women directly ruled Maya kingdoms, but Maya women of the ruling lineages did play important political and religious roles
 * ahau (king), nobles, priests, merchants and artists, and peasants and slaves
 * Most people in Mayan civilization were farmers, but their rights in society were not much better than those of slaves
 * Slaves were usually captured enemies or criminals from within the Mayan citizenry
 * farmers likely made up of most of the Mayan's military
 * the middle class had much more wealth than the lower classes
 * they were to be respected by anyone of lower class
 * made up the middle layer of the military- not on front lines, but not commanding an entire army
 * the smallest and most wealthy and powerful of the social classes was the upper class
 * nobles and royalty