Maya

The Topic:

Maya

Easier - Ancient Maya had a highly structured civilization that thrived in southern Mexico and Central America around year 1000. In the 1500s, the Maya were discovered, conquered, and almost totally destroyed by invading Spanish. Today's Maya are descendants of that American Indian tribe.

Harder - Maya people once dominated the region that is now eastern and southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and western Honduras. Prior to the sixteenth century arrival of Europeans, they developed one of the most advanced Native American civilizations in the western hemisphere. Without metal tools, the Maya constructed massive stone pyramids and temples. They created stone sculptures and painted elaborate murals. They also recorded events in hieroglyphs, a form of pictorial writing. Their most complex achievements were in astronomy and mathematics. Maya used a numbering system and could complete abstract and complicated calculations. They developed a pair of interlocking calendars. One calendar was based on the position of the sun and contained 365 days. The other was a sacred 260-day almanac. Designation of any given day involved combining the name for the sun calendar day and the sacred almanac day.

The Maya culture's greatest period was from about year 300 to 900 AD. After that zenith, the Maya mysteriously declined in Guatemala's southern lowlands, but later their culture revived in the Yucatán Peninsula. There the Maya continued to dominate until the Spanish conquest. Today's Maya descendants still comprise a large segment of that region's population, living their lives as peasant farmers. They speak a mixture of Mayan and Spanish languages. One tribal group, the Lacandón people of Mexico, still makes pilgrimages to worship the ancient gods among the ruins of the pyramids and temples.

Jaguar Sun by J. Criscenzo

Maya Civilization - Past & Present by P.Giese

Mayan Kids

Mystery of the Maya from the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation

After visiting several of the websites, complete one or more of the following activities:
Play A Mayan Game. Follow the procedures found at Play Bul, A Mayan Game of Chance from Half Moon.

Solve The Mystery Of Mayan Glyphs. Join National Geographic's Amazing Travel Bureau and solve the Secret of the Maya Glyphs. You can also write your name in Mayan glyphs by following the procedures found at How to Write Your Name In Mayan Glyphs.
Read A Mayan Folktale. You will find some stories that were translated by F. Peñalosa at (1) Mayan Folktales. Others can be found at (2) Maya Stories and (3) The Mayas.
Complete A Maya WebQuest. Adapt or follow the procedures found at one of the following webQuest sites.: 1) Ancient Maya WebQuest http://web.nmsu.edu/%7Eaahmad/WebQuest.htm; 2) International Human Rights (Grades 10-12, Activity on today's Maya); http://omega.cc.umb.edu/%7Eptaylor/Chiapas/internat.htm; 3) On the Day You Were Born (Grades 9-10) by M. Abbatinozzi, M. Lopes, M. Ricci, & E. Sapochetti; http://europa.tcs.tufts.edu/teach21c/private/pbu/files/94/mayanew_20010613160848/index_pa; ge.htm; 4) Maya Adventure from Science Museum of Minnesota http://www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/ma/; 5) Maya and Inca WebQuest http://www.scarsdaleschools.k12.ny.us/mslib/webquestmayainca.html; 6) Vanishing Act . . . What Happened to the Ancient Maya? (Grade 6) by A. Kelly; http://www.voluntown.k12.ct.us/WebQuests/Mayanquest/WebQuest

Compare and Contrast Maya To Aztec Or Inca Civilization. You can learn more about the other ancient Mesoamerican Civilizations at Aztecs and Incas, both from eduScapes 42eXplore. Pick One to research and compare with Maya Civilization. Identify the characteristics of both cultures; greatest achievements, time periods and locations, decline and causes, etc. How were they alike and how did they differ? Create a multimedia presentation that summarizes your findings.

Construct A Model of Mayan Architecture. Construct a model of a Maya home, a temple, or pyramid. Use the websites and other library media resources to make your model as authentic as possible.

Plan A Trip To Your Favorite Maya Location. Select a favorite Maya location. This could be a modern Maya area or an ancient ruin. In addition to the websites provided, you may find useful information at (1) Lonely Planet and (2) MapQuest. For travel arrangements, you may want to use (3) Expedia, (4) Travelocity, and/or (5) Orbitz. Detail all aspects of your simulated travel including travel dates and itinerary, activities, methods of transportation, and expected costs for the trip. Be as thorough as possible and include tables, illustrations, and photos where appropriate.

Websites By Kids For Kids

Ancient Maya from The William Penn Charter School Sixth Grade

From Our World to Theirs: The Ancient Maya (2001 ThinkQuest Junior project)

La Cultura Maya (2000 ThinkQuest Internet Challenge)

Primitive Math? We Don't Think So (2001 ThinkQuest Junior project)

More Websites

Maya from Annenberg/CPB's Collaspe: Why Civilizations Fall

Maya Astronomy Page

Maya Codices from GB Online

Maya Government from Mesoamerican Governments

Mayan Architecture by C. Moore