World History 7, Chapter 13 The Mayan Civilization, Civilizations of the Americas

How did deforestation lead to the end of the Maya civilization?

A combination of a shortage of crops, un-sustainable environment, and large population led to the fall of the Mayan Empire.

Why did a government structure develop in urban societies?

A government structure helped develop urban societies because it structed in and ranked societies so it could run smoothly.

What are the geogrphic features of the Mayan Civilization?

Belize Barrier Reef, Caribbean Sea, Yucatan Peninsula, and Motagua Valley.

What types of buildings were built? From what materials?

Buildings that were built were temples, monuments, and settlements in small villages. They were built from stone, and rocks from the surrounding areas.

What is The city of Copan?

Copan was a developed urban society and capital of the Maya

What was the capital city called?

Copán

What was traded? With whom?

Different sources of crops, gold, jade, caco, feathers, and obsidian were traded. They mainly traded in small shops is different towns or a trade market and sometimes trade with neighboring city states.

How did population growth and food surpluses affect the labor force?

It affected the labor force because it pressured the laborers to grow more with the impression that they would still have surplus crops.

What do most historians think about the mayans city states?

It's probably best to think of the Maya as a collection of independent city-states, who shared some ritual and ceremonial practices, some architecture, some cultural objects.

What was central in this city?

Markets

What did the population grow to in Tenochtitlán?

More that 25,000 people

Why were natural resources important in the architecture?

Natural Resources were important in architecture because they resemble your skill and what part of the maya you are in.

Why was religion a major part of life in ancient urban societies?

Religion was a major part of urban societies because temples were central to the city.

What were the two main social classes?

Rulers and Commoners

Who lived within the city?

Rulers and Priests

What did priests do to make the gods happy?

Sacrifice Humans

Where did common people live?

Settlements outside the city

What is the Belize Barrier Reef?

The Belize Barrier Reef is the second largest coral reef in the world. An incredible variety of organisms live here. They include more than 60 species of coral and more than 300 species of fish. The reef breaks rough ocean currents before they hit the shore, protecting coastal villages from rough water and storm surges. Along the reef, many small islands provide places where ocean water can be evaporated to extract salt. Edible fish and conch that live in the reef can be dried for long-distance transport.

Who was in control and what type of power did he/she have?

The King was in control of all the power and the king was a social, political, and religious figure.

What is The Mayan Civilization?

The Maya Civilization—also called the Mayan civilization—is the general name archaeologists have given to several independent, loosely affiliated city states who shared a cultural heritage in terms of language, customs, dress, artistic style and material culture.

Why did the Maya civilization gain more power over people and territories?

The Mayan Civilization gain more power over people and territories because they had a large surplus of food. With a combination of influence through religion and agriculture. Architecture had a great influence because they used celestial works such as buildings that tracked the solar calendar and with that ability made the most accurate calendar . Religion united people, government organized people and trade expanded people and gave government's power. Different Sovereign States worked together to form the Maya and for a long period of time they were extremely successful.

How did Mesoamerican religion develop and change over time?

The Mesoamerican religion developed through the belief of nature and elements of nature are different types of gods. Some of them were the Sun, Earth, and Moon. It did not really change over time but they used human sacrifice as the way the worshiped their gods. Not just that they believed they had a say in nature and had some control over nature.

Why did the population increase?

The city was a center of social, religious life, and trade.

What is the Caribbean Sea?

The clear waters of the Caribbean Sea support some of the most diverse marine communities in the world. These communities include coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangrove swamps. Fish, brightly colored shells, and coral offer food and other resources for people. The warm water here evaporates into the air. This evaporation increases the rainfall along coasts and powers storms that can grow into huge hurricanes.

How did the environment affect the expansion of agriculture, population, and cities in the Maya civilization?

The environment affected the expansion of the agricultural, population, and cities in the Mayan Civilization was it (in the begining) provided for lots of crops, and food to feed the soon to be large population and a bustling city. They grew corn, beans, peppers, and other products. Their agricultural skills allowed for surplus goods for trade. This sparked an inflation of population and later led to deforestation which led to the fall of the empire. In a drought in need of water there was a growth of deforestation this led to weak soil and more problems. Eventually this led to the fall of The Mayan civilization.

What were the Mayas using the wood for?

The mayas used wood to fuel the fires that cooked the lime plaster for their constructions.

How did population growth and food surpluses affect the labor force in Copán?

The population put so much pressure on the labor force to the point where they could not supply the food the people needed in the numbers needed.

What is Deforestation?

The process of turning a jungle or forest into nothing and taking away all of its resources

What social classes existed?

The two main social classes were ruler, and commoner.

What was their religion based on? What were their practices?

Their religion was based on the forces of nature and they believed that they had some control over nature. Their religious practices involved human sacrifice.

What specialized craftsmen and laborers were there in Copán?

There were laborers that worked to grow corn, beans, peppers, and other products. There were craftsman that made mayan gods, architects, and engineers that made up the city.

What area of land did the Mayan's occupy and what present day countries did it hold?

They occupied the central American continent, including the southern parts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, an area of about 150,000 square miles.

Why were natural resources important to trade and the economy?

They resembled how powerful one city state or trade was.

What is Yucatan Peninsula?

This flat area was once seafloor and is made of limestone. The limestone neutralizes acid from plant decomposition in the forest, resulting in unusually rich tropical soils. Limestone erodes easily, forming wells, called cenotes that provide access to fresh water. Limestone provides an important building material for people. It can be carved into large blocks and burned to make cement. Burnt limestone added to cornmeal keeps tortillas soft and flexible.

What is the Motagua Valley?

This valley is located where the Caribbean and North American tectonic plates meet. It is the only place in the Americas where jade, a valuable gemstone, occurs. This hard green stone is polished into jewelry, masks, and important ceremonial objects. Water from the highlands of Guatemala runs through this valley in permanent rivers. These waters bring rich volcanic soils to the lowlands and provide travel routes for trade.

What are the climate zones of the Mayan Empire?

Tropical Wet, Tropical Dry, and Semi-Arid.

How were the urban societies structured?

Urban Societies were structured like they would create different settlements inside the city or around the city for food, community, religion, and work. Each city was structured into different social classes and varied by each culture and social class. How architecture was developed was developing knowledge and skills of the people were reflected in the city and each city had a different style of architecture they used stone and rock materials. Religion was also a key component and different gods represented different things like sun and moon and the forces of nature. Government was its own sovereign state that ran on its own. Trade in urban societies was dependant on the goods and services industry. The stronger that industry was the stronger trade was.

What did the people sell in the markets?

food, gold, jade, cocoa, and feathers

Why would the commoners come inside the city for?

special events, ceremonies, and festivals