When & Where
What two areas that the Mayan Empire occupied made up MesoAmerica?
Central America and Mexico
This was the most important crop. Give both names.
corn or maize
The Maya believed in _______________________
(2 words)
nature gods
This word means persons arranged in classes from lowest to highest.
social hierarchy
Type of writing used by the Maya.
Hieroglyphics
What is a state that has its own government and is made up of a city and the area around it?
A city-state
This mineral is a shiny, black volcanic glass and was used to make weapons and tools.
obsidian
The Maya believed in __________________________ (2 words) to please the gods
human sacrifices
What happened to the Mayan civilization?
Historians have many theories, but they're still not sure.
How many hieroglyphs or symbols did the Maya have?
800
This was the largest Mayan city.
Tikal
What type of farming technique did the Mayans use for wet places?
raised fields
The Mayans valued _____________________.
(2 things)
Cross-eyes and flat foreheads
This was an ordinary person without rank or title.
commoner
This is a Mayan book.
codex
What two things did the Maya believe about the Earth?
1. The Earth was flat
2. It was located on the back of a crocodile that floated in a pond.
What type of farming technique did the Mayans use in order to grow crops on the sides of mountains?
terracing
This was the main god of the Maya.
Itzamna
This was a poor farmer of low social status who owned or rented a small piece of land.
peasant
The Maya number system consisted of 3 symbols. Explain what they were and what number they symbolized.
shell = zero; dot = 1; bar = 5
What time period did the Mayan Empire exist?
1800 BC to 900 AD
Mayan tools were made out of _______________.
stone
According to Mayan beliefs, there _____ layers of heaven above the Earth.
13
Each city-state had a ruler believed to have descended from the gods called a __________________.
Halach Uinic
Write number 37 using Mayan numbers.
7 bars and 2 dots