The Maya were indigenous people that came from the regions of northern Mexico and settled in Central America.The year 250 CE (Common Era) is seen as the rise of the Maya and this period lasted until 900 CE. Maya society was created on the basis of trade and farming as these two professions helped the Maya in expanding its domain.Based on archaeological findings, Maya is seen as one of the most advanced civilizations of its time as the Maya population is credited with various inventions that are of significance even to this day. The Maya excelled in maths and used the subject in various orders as they put maths to use in the creation of complex architectural structures and their famous Mayan calendar.The fall of the Mayan empire is linked to the Spanish invasion that the empire saw. The invasion could not be thwarted by the Mayans, leading to the Spanish to colonize Maya and putting a halt to the vast Mayan empire.If you like this article about ancient Mayan facts, be sure to check out articles about ancient Greece facts and ancient Indian facts too!Who were the Mayans?Mayan civilization was created when indigenous people of Central America and Mexico came together to form one city. The term “Maya” is derived from the name of Mayapan, the capital of the last Kingdom of Maya.The emergence of many Mayan cities, including the Yucatec Maya, was seen between 250-950 CE. This period is also recognized as the Classic period in the Mayan civilization.The Maya people were merchants and traders and traveled all the way to what is now modern-day Central American and Mexico. Food, salt, weapons, clothing, and tools were some of the basic daily life necessities that they traded. Gold, obsidian, bright feathers, and jade were some luxury items that the Mayans traded. Mayans created trade routes to help them traverse the lands better.Through the excavation of tombs and other relics, researchers have learned that the Maya culture practiced the ritual of burying rulers with their belongings.Mayan CultureMayans were the first culture to produce chocolate! Chemical traces of cacao have been found in archaeological discoveries that confirm this fact! Chocolate was used as a drink. Honey, cornmeal, chili peppers, cacao, and water were the ingredients used in the drink. An image from the Dresden Codex, a Mayan book, portrays the god of sustenance, K’awil, carrying a container filled with cacao beans.The Mayan civilization assumed that the Earth was founded in the year 3114 BC. The Mayan calendar begins on this particular date. Mayans believed that animals came first, followed by wet clay, wood, and then humans, who were made of maize. Mayans believed that everything leading to the existence of humans was done by “artisan gods” who sculpted the world.The “Maya blue” was a rich blue color that was used by the Mayans. The color was used in stones, buildings, and monuments. In the case of a human sacrifice, the victim was covered in blue as it was believed that the rain god Chaak preferred the color.There are many ancient Maya sites that are known for their cave or stone paintings. These paintings depict wars, human sacrifices, and massacres. It is believed that the wars between the several city-states of the civilization led to the decline of the civilization.The Maya were known to be literate and had created their own writing system which they used to write books. The glyphs used by the ancient Maya were complex as they could represent either a syllable or a word. However, not everyone was literate, as most of these books were written by priests. When the Spanish arrived, the devoted clerics or priests burned most of these books to protect them from falling into the hands of the invaders. Today, only 4 Mayan books, known as Codices, survive.The ya’axche, or ceiba, was thought to be a sacred tree representing earth, heaven, and hell. The tree was seen as a communication method between the three realms. The fruit of the ceiba tree was believed to be of good health since the branches and trunks symbolized heaven.In ancient Maya, the Mayan people cleared huge land segments of the nearby tropical rainforest region to create massive underground reservoirs to store rainwater.The moon and the stars were important in the daily lives of Mayans, so much so, that Mayans believed celestial bodies to be literal gods is not a far-fetched idea. Celestial events were seen as a way to communicate with the gods.The rain and storm god Chaak, the sun god Kʼinich Ajaw and the lightning god K’awiil are some of the gods that the Mayans prayed to. Human sacrifice was a norm in the culture as the Maya believed that people had a “life force” and this life force could be offered to the god by draining the blood of humans. An arrowhead with human blood was discovered by archaeologists that confirms the human sacrifice ritual.Stories about the sea monster Sipak were passed through generations in ancient Maya. Based on the research of the fossilized remains, it is understood that the remains came from the extinct Megalodon shark.In the Maya civilization, Mayan Kings were seen as the direct successors of Mayan Gods.Mayans believed that the earth was situated between heaven and hell. The region under the earth was known as Xibalba. Mayans believed that caves could be used as the entrance to the underworld. Because of this belief, sacrifices and rituals were conducted inside caves.The ancient Mayan civilization had societies based on class. The priest and nobles were at the top of society. Craftsmen, warriors, and traders were the middle-class citizens while the workers, farmers, and slaves were the lowest-class citizens.Mayans are credited with being the first culture to use saunas! Mayans used saunas for their healing abilities.Maya CivilizationMayan civilization is divided into three periods, the Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic. The Maya people had a humble beginning as merchants and farmers and by the end of the Postclassic period, the Mayan civilization was thriving as the Mayans traded with the Mesoamerican population of central Mexico.Maya culture is known to be inventors of religions, writing systems, farming methods, sports, and their personal calendars.Mirador, a Mayan city, was known as one of the greatest cities to exist in the pre-Columbian Americas. Mirador was built around three Mayan pyramids, the largest being the La Danta, which is now lost to the thick forests around it, making the pyramid difficult to reach by tourists as well as locals. The shape of these pyramids was meant as a way to mimic mountains because ancient Mayans, much like the ancient Greeks, assumed that their god resided on the mountaintop.The La Danta pyramid in Guatemala is the largest pyramid in the world based on total volume.Mayans prided themselves in their pyramid-building skills with several pyramids and other structures were left behind by the civilization.The decay of the Mayan civilization remains a mystery even to this day. It is assumed that by 900 AD, the southern lowland regions of the civilization were empty. It is believed that this abandonment was caused because the Mayans drained their natural resources. Fierce city-state competition is also thought to cause the fall of the traditional system that the dynastic power once held.Chichen Itza city is known for its El Castillo pyramid which was built as a temple to Kukulcan, a Mesoamerican serpent deity. The pyramid is just under 100 ft tall and is climbable from all four sides thanks to 91 steps on each side.The final nail in the coffin that ended the once-great civilization came at the hands of the Spanish invaders in 1524 when Tecum, a K’iche’ warrior, lost the battle of Utatlan to Pedro de Alvarado, a Spanish conqueror.Most of the structures erected by the Maya were done with the use of metal tools! Elaborate architectures were created using simple tools.Some glyphs in the Mayan alphabet described sounds. This writing system consisted of 800 glyphs.Mayans excelled in the field of abstract math. A base 20 system was commonly used by Mayans as it helped them in managing their economy, and also played a part in the creation of the famous calendar.The Mayan empire was divided into small city-states, just like ancient Greece. A major city had its own class of nobles that reported to their own ruler. The noble classes were sustained through the efforts of the villages and farms in the surrounding smaller cities. As aforementioned, Maya rulers went thought to be the successors of gods.Tikal was the largest Mayan city. The territory of the city exceeded over 47.8 sq km (124 sq km). Tikal, like most other Mayan cities, was evacuated during the Mayan collapse.Remnants of the ancient Maya civilization can be found in modern-day Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico. The small population still follows some traditions like religion and dressing that can be traced back to the once-great Maya culture.Where did the Mayans live?The ancient Maya society made the Yucatán peninsula their home in 2600 BC. In modern-day, the Yucatán region is divided into western Honduras, northern Belize, Guatemala, and southern Mexico, and El Salvador. The Maya reached their peak by the year 250 AD. The Maya lived in these regionsIt is estimated through archaeological findings that early Maya cities were the results of proper planning. The northern Peten region of Guatemala houses various temples, pyramids, and other structures that used a grid system indicating civic plannings.Did You Know…The Maya calendar is known as one of the most complicated systems in the world. This calendar was a cause of worry around the world as people believed that the would end with the end of the Mayan calendar which could count until the year 2012. However, it is now known that the calendar simply reset to zero on December 21, 2012.The Spanish conquest is often seen as the end of the Maya society as European diseases were spread throughout the Mayan empire that led to the decline of the population. Bartolome de Las Casas, who accompanied the Spanish as a missionary to the Mayan empire, recorded that the Mayan people were enslaved by Spanish rule. The Mayan empire was broken and the Spanish bureaucrats took over the lands that were up for grabs.Based on the archaeological findings in El Mirador, it is believed that the Maya first domesticated turkeys! Turkey bones were discovered on the site and their origin was traced back to Preclassic Maya.The Maya land is volcanically active! The region has its chain of active volcanoes and these volcanoes can often be seen from tourist spots.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for ancient Mayan facts then why not take a look at ancient Japan facts, or ancient Africa facts.
The Maya were indigenous people that came from the regions of northern Mexico and settled in Central America.
