...The Maya civilization was one of the most dominant native societies of Mesoamerica; the area of present day southern Mexico and Central America. The earliest Maya settlements date back to around 1800 BCE, but by the late 800 CE to early 900 CE, the Maya civilization in that region had collapsed. The reason for this mysterious decline is unknown, but the theories for their disappearance have varied. Two of these theories include constant warfare and possible invasion by competing city-states, and the other is the exhaustion of their environment no longer able to sustain a large population and it’s constant growth. The latter of these theories was proposed by Atmospheric scientist Bob Oglesby. According to Oglesby the collapse of the Mayan settlements was in large due to forestation. The evidence he found was based on the thickness of the floor stones in the Mayan ruins. His study revealed that they would have needed about 20 trees to build a fire large enough to make the plaster floor stone that is about one square meter. In the earliest ruins, these stones were as thick as a foot or even more, but these stones progressively got thinner in the more recent built ruins; those were only a few inches thick. Oglesby calls the Mayan deforestation the granddaddy of all deforestation events. Further studies reveal that the Mayan population reached its peak population at 1,800 to 2,600 people per square mile. In comparison, Los Angeles County averaged...
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...cities of Maya There are 10 annotated bibliographies about the development of ancient Maya sites and each article focuses on different development and origin of the Maya cities. The structure of the political and empire of ancient Maya and the climate atmosphere of the Maya sites were discussed within the articles. The understanding of Maya cities through public building structures along with changing political powers. There were articles about the religions significance of mosaic mirrors and jadeite are also examined throughout the paper. The origin of Maya sites was identified through textile and Nahuatl languages that were found on the architecture walls. The issues of collapse in Maya cities are also identified and discussed in the paper. Blainey, M. G., & Healy, P. S. (2011). Ancient Maya Mosaic Mirrors: Function, Symbolism, and Meaning. Ancient Mesoamerica, v 22, n 2, p 229-244. The article examines the meaning of the mosaic mirrors in ancient Maya through the process of how the mirrors are made and what it is made out of. As mentioned in other article, ancient Maya were creative at art and artifacts. Also, their community were hierarchically organized. Therefore, these well made lithic reflectors were used for ceremonial artifacts and mostly used by elite individuals. These mirrors were flat, shiny objects with highly polished plaques and it has been described as luxury goods which indicate high status for the owner. Furthermore, the meaning of ancient Maya iron-ore...
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...Extended Essay In World Religions [pic] “An Investigation into the Sacrificial Blood Rituals of the Maya Culture.” Abstract This essay focuses on the religious beliefs and practices of the ancient Mayan civilization that spanned from the borders of present day Honduras up to Mexico, but which only a certain amount is truly known. The principal reason why I chose to focus on these people was to challenge myself to try and gain a greater understanding of why they engaged in such strange rituals as bloodletting and even human sacrifice? What prompted them to commit such acts? I proposed that the performance of these actions, as they seemed to be so entwined with their culture, must have had something to do with their religious beliefs but which ones exactly, and how did they originate? It was with this in mind that I conducted an investigation into the sacrificial blood rituals of Maya culture. Thus, from conducting library based research - using books, Encyclopedias and the Internet - I found out that the Mayans had created for themselves a complex Creation Myth and pantheon of gods. It was to supposedly sustain these gods, who were constantly fighting against one another, that the Mayan conducted bloodletting and human sacrifices, believing that in return the gods would provide them the water needed to grow their maize. The gods, replenished by this blood, were able to maintain the harmony of the universe by preventing any one group of...
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...Land Bridge- a connection between two landmasses that allowed humans and animals to colonize new territory before it was cut off by the sea Mayas- The Mesoamerican Indian people living in southeast Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize (300-900 AD). The Maya are best know for their architecture and city planning, their mathematics and calendar, and their hieroglyphic writing system. Aztecs- A nomadic tribe in northern Mexico, arrived in Mesoamerica around the beginning of the 13th century emerged as the dominant force in central Mexico, developing an intricate social, political, religious and commercial organization that brought many of the region’s city-states under their control by the 15th century. The Spanish conquistadors overthrew the Aztecs...
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...Who was the Greatest Marques Conklin & Markita Ray In this essay we will be talking about the great achievements and advancement in Science & Technology, Art and Crafts (i.e. Dance, Art, and Weaving). The groups of people we will be talking about will be the three major groups in the early Americas. Their names are the Mayas, Aztecs, and the Incas. Mayans Many of the Mayans greatest achievements dates back to the Classic Period (300 -900 C.E.) It was during this time that the Maya civilization achieved its greatest achievements in art, culture, power and influence. Most of their achievements were so high that hundreds of years later other groups such as the Aztecs and the Incas used them (i.e. the calendar and mathematics) The Mayans are important because they made a major breakthrough in both Mathematics and Astronomy. The Mayans were the first to calculate the number of days in a year accurately by observing how the start and planets move. Doing this, they helped create the calendar as we know it today. The Mayans also had a strong hand the Art and Crafts, they made large statue of solid rock to represent an important leader (Called a Stele). Not only did they represent important leader, but they represented a written record of his accomplishments in the formed of carved stone glyphs. Aztecs Even though the origins of the Aztecs are not necessarily clear, we know that they did adapt from the Mayan ways. One of their achievements was building their city called Tenochtitlan...
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...End of Mayan Civilization Samuel Nathaniel H. Stansbury HUM 111 11/3/2012 The mystery concerning the fundamental explanation for the collapse of the Mayan Civilization has been a major focus for researchers in the fields of anthropology and archeology for a considerable period of time. At the very core of this mystery of the Mayan collapse was the question of how could such a strong, stable civilization that had flourished for approximately twenty-seven hundred years disappear without a clear, rational explanation. As a result, researchers have put forth a large number of theories for the explanation of the collapse and subsequent decimation of the Mayan empire. Although it would be convenient or simple to put forth a theory concerning only one reasonable or rational factor explaining the collapse of the Mayan civilization, this would be both insufficient and impossible from a strictly theoretical standpoint. For example, Henry M. Sayre argues that by 900 A. D. (900 CE), Mayan civilization had been decimated as a result of not just one single factor, but, rather, as a result of a number of equally important factors. These factors included overpopulation and accompanying ecological degradation, political competition, and warfare (Sayre, 2012, p.392). Once again, it is essential to clearly articulate the fact that it is theoretically impossible to put forth only one single underlying factor in a theory offering a coherent explanation for the collapse of the Mayan civilization...
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...Yucatan Peninsula of present day Mexico. The Maya culture was made up of various groups of indigenous peoples who shared a common religion, practiced its rituals, shared a common calendar, and to some degree, a common writing system. The ability to read one type of hieroglyphics does not mean one can read the writings from all Mayan geographical areas. The Mayas spoke several distinct dialects; their hieroglyphics also depict this difference. One theory is the Mayans did not disappear; although millions did vanish, all at once, about 1,200 years ago, in the ninth century AD. There are many, many Mayans living today, principally in Guatemala. It is stated that in the Tikal area of Guatemala, there are relatively that the Atlantic area turned extremely cold, that the normal tropical rain band of Central America is pushed further south, into the northern part of South America. Secondly, scientific investigations of the ice in the far north were using ice techniques the deep core corresponding shows extremely low ammonia content in the soil. The second theory is that over population may have caused the people to move because there was not be enough food for everyone. The Maya was a farming people and the farmland would to be fertilized like today. Some historians have also said droughts may have caused the people to move-since they would have to land and water for their families. According to The Rise and Fall of the Maya Empire, “All three of these factors—overpopulation...
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...Could you imagine the whole United States just disappearing? That is what happened to the Mayans. In a time span of only one hundred years the whole Maya population was wiped out, there are several theories about what the cause for this decline was. What anthropologists do know for sure is that the Mayans were an ancient mesoamerican civilization dating back to 250 B.C “made up of more than 19 million people”(smithsonian.com). Their empire centered in the tropical lowlands of what is now Guatemala. The Maya people reached their peak of power around the 6th century A.D. The Mayans were successful in many ways; History.com, a website dedicated to informing the public about important historical information, states, “The Maya excelled at agriculture,...
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...The Mystery behind the End of Mayan Civilization Vanessa Espinoza Professor Perry World Cultures I Strayer University Mayan Mystery Civilizations all over, rose to become strong, powerful nations and descended due to many reasons. One civilization in particular, is the Mayans. The Mayan Empire began around 1800 B.C and lasted until around 900 A.D. Located in tropical environments, in what is now known as the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, Belize and parts of México. The Mayan people were known for their advance levels of mathematics, astronomy, and they develop a calendar system based on 365 days that we use in present day. The Mayan people also created many elaborate cities with stoned pyramids that partially remain intact today. How can a great nation, who developed a complex system, and flourish for many centuries, just disappear; leaving many questions unanswered? What happened to the Mayans? This is one mystery that has many people asking questions about what happened to a large number of people without wondering if this could ever happen again. Two theories that could explain what happened to the Mayan people are: drought and climate changes lead to the demised of the Mayan culture, and/or warfare from neighboring cities or foreign invaders caused the Mayans to become extinct. Scientist Martin Medina-Elizalde and Eelco Rohling believe that the climate changes affected the rainfall causing droughts. Many others believe that invaders from other countries...
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...The Fall of the Mayan Empire Naomi M. Cranfield Prof. Hunsucker Hum 111 February 2, 2013 The Maya civilization was several independent city states which shared a cultural heritage of language, customs, dress, artistic style and material culture. They were located in the Central American continent, to include parts of Belize, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. It was an area of approximately 150,000 square miles. Some of the better known city states were Tikal, Calakmul, Caracol and Dos Pilas. There were several strong kings at those locations, but none of them ever truly conquered the others. The city states traded with one another, and they also warred with one another from time to time. The population has been estimated to have been millions. In the 1600s, the Spanish reported that there were approximately 600,000 people living in the Yucatan peninsula alone. Each of the larger cities probably had populations in excess of 100,000. That doesn't count the rural sectors that supported the larger cities. But what happened to such a large culture that they seemed to have disappeared in such a short span of time? There have been so many concepts as to why the Maya civilization fell, but one of the more interesting and in my opinion more plausible beliefs has to do with a severe change in climate. ("The rise and," 2004) “Tom Sever, NASA's only archeologist, has been using satellites to examine the Mayan ruins. Combining those data with conventional down-in-the-dirt...
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...fertile topsoil, warmer climate, and a possible reduction of precipitation. Since the Mayans depended on water reservoirs from precipitation, this would have had a detrimental effect. Another theory surrounding the disappearance of the Mayan people is consistent droughts that took place preceding the tenth century and the reduction of civilization through various wars caused the Mayan civilization to dwindle down to virtual extinction. While both theories sound relevant, scientific data is also consistent to what is happening the region of Central and South American and the deforestation of the rain forest. Perhaps history is only repeating itself. Cited References Medina-Elizalde, M. & Rohling, E. J. (2012). Collapse of Classic Maya Civilization Related to Modest Reduction in Precipitation. Science 24...
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...Compare and Contrast the Maya, Aztec & Inca The following Essay must be a minimum of 5 paragraphs of 10-12 sentences each (a sentence is 10 words or more) . It must contain location, time periods, and capitals for each civilization. You must compare and contrast at least three of the following five topics ( Economy, Religion, Social System, Government, Technology). You will also describe the end of each civilization and it contributions. INTRO The Maya, Inca, and Aztec all have different things in common.The comparisons and differences about the 3 different groups. The comparisons and differences that will be throughout the essay is the Economy,technology and lastly government. Economy First the differences for the Maya is that they had their own prized possession. The possession that the Mayans traded was called Jade, they also carved humans (like gods and animals).The gods helped the Maya trade. Jade was a rare gemstone. The Maya traded goods with people living to the South for jade. Also The economy was based on trade. They participated in long distant trade. Wealthy merchants traveled further. What the Aztecs difference is that they fished a lot more than the other two groups. They fished for abundant crayfish. Lastly...
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...http://ancientmayawebquest.weebly.com/index.html Gathering Questions 1. The ancient Maya were the only people in the Pre-Columbian America to develop what? hieroglyphics 2. Mesoamerica is considered by historians and archaeologists as one of the "well-springs" of civilization. What are some other "well-springs"? 3. What are the 3 major periods archaeologists have separated Maya history into? 4. What are the approximate years of the 3 periods? 5. What happened to the Maya as a people? the Maya Empire consisted of a number of powerful city-states spreading from southern Mexico to northern Honduras. 6. Where were the Maya primarily living? (In what modern-day countries?) 7. Name some of the more famous Maya sites 8. What are Maya "Codices"? folding books stemming from the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, 9. Why are there only 4 Maya codices today? What happened to the rest? 10. What mathematical milestone did the Maya achieve (that the Greeks and Romans did not?) 11. What is obsidian and what did the Maya use it for? 12. Who was "Pacal the Great"? He was king of the Maya kingdom of Palenque. Analysis Stage (3-5 sentence minimum response) 1. Briefly describe the term epigraphy. identifying graphemes clarifying their meaning classifying their uses according to dates and culture context. 2. Who was Linda Schele and what was her contribution to Mayan epigraphy? Linda Schele was an expert in the field of maya epigraphy. 3. Who is David Stuart and what was his contribution...
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...The Maya, Aztec, and Inca were three civilizations that lived in Latin America during the middle ages. It is hard to overlook the fact that they had remarkable similarities, but also some differences.(castletown) Their class structures were similar, and they all valued religion. However, when it came to the roles and expectations of men and women, there are differences between the three races. Each civilization has similarities and differences socially, culturally, economically, politically, militarism, and diplomatically(castletown). In the Mayan civilization, kings, priests, and hereditary nobility were at the top of the social pyramid. Merchants were also relatively high status. However, the majority of people were peasants or slaves. The...
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...Romero Prof. Lowell Larry Pullen, Ph.D. HUM111 – World Cultures I Strayer University May 4, 2013 Abstract Maya Civilizations was truly remarkable. There is so much to learn from this Ancient society. Due to advance research, new clues have aroused about the disappearance of this magnificent empire. We now know they suffered a calamity, the mighty Maya; timekeepers of the universe, together with their centers of learning were vanished. Their incredible achievements and legacy in astronomy, mathematics, Maya pottery and other Pre-Columbian art as well as monumental constructions in stone were obliterated. All was reclaimed by nature. Even their writing was forgotten in time. Until very recent, the glyphs in stone and four surviving Maya manuscripts were considered a mystery. It is only recently with some scientific advancement that we are starting to decode what words were written and truly comprehend the excellence of their achievements, their great fall and disappearance. The Disaster and Warfare Theory are discussed, believing the Warfare Theory is the most plausible one. No one can say for certain what happened to the Mayan people, but theories abound and include varied possible alternatives to explain the abrupt and mysterious disappearance of the Mayan civilization. Minster’s (2013) Article explains the following: In 800 A.D., the Maya Empire consisted of a number of powerful city-states spreading from southern Mexico to northern Honduras. These cities were...
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