Show:
Before the State
Primary and Secondary States
Culture and Beliefs
Important Events
Hello Stranger
100
What three animals did the early villagers of Belize eat the most?
Freshwater turtles, deer, and dogs.
100
What do emblem glyphs tell us about the relationships between Maya polities?
Regional hierarchies between sites.

100
Which two writing systems preceded the system created by the Maya?
Zapotec and Isthmian
100
What chiefdom had to collapse before El Mirador rose to power?
Nakbe
100
What does the skeleton of the Copán dynastic founder tell us about him?
He was foreign (from Tikal), middle-aged, elite, and a warrior.
200
Where are archaeologists likely to find dedicatory caches, which serve to animate a structure?
Under the floor of a house or temple. 
200
Where is the earliest known Maya palace?
Tikal (360 AD)
200
What is the function of a cache?
To animate, consecrate and/or dedicate a building, like a house or temple
200
In what year was the first (that we know of) palace built, and where?
360 AD at Tikal
200
For a while archaeologists thought the elite burials at Kaminaljuyu were foreigners from Teotihuacan. How was this proven to be wrong?
Chemical analyses of their teeth showed they had grown up in the local area
300
Which of the following is true of pre-Maya writing: 
a) The calendar existed before the Maya, including the Long Count

b) Isthmian, Zapotec, and Aztec writing all predate Mayan.

c) Earlier writing systems shared Mayan writing's ability to convey full spoken language.


(Select ALL correct answers)

Only A is correct.


For B) Isthmian and Zapotec are older than Mayan, but Aztec writing is not.

For C) Earlier writing did not capture spoken language as well as Mayan did. 

300
Who commissioned Altar Q, and Why?
It was commissioned by the 16th ruler of Copan, and shows him as the legitimate successor in the founder's dynasty by tracing his (fake) descent from the founder, K'inich Yax K'uk Mo'
300
What substance was frequently burned in Mayan rituals?
Pom/copal

(tree sap incense)

300
Who did the Copán dynastic founder marry, and why?
The highest-ranking local woman – a strategy to consolidate his power
300
Why did the Copán founder commission a flurry of monuments and texts?
Because he was a foreign usurper – this was one way to legitimize himself.
400
What distinguishes the Formative from the Archaic period?
Formative Maya had pottery and lived in villages.
400
What are the two examples of Maya first generation states that we talked about?
Calakmul and Tikal
400
In addition to deities, what other group was Mayan religion focused on communicating with?
Ancestors.
400
In what year did Tikal get the upper hand over Calakmul?
AD 695
400
A baby from Tikal was the first ruler of this secondary state.
Dos Pilas
500
Which of the following best describes Nakbe and El Mirador?
a) They were competitive chiefdoms
b) El Mirador rose to power following the decline of Nakbe

c) They took turns conquering each other 
(Select ALL correct answers)

A and B
500
How did the relationship between Tikal and Calakmul differ from that of Monte Alban and Teotihuacan?
They were constantly at war with one another, struggling to gain the upper hand.
500
What are some of the signs of Central Mexican/Teotihuacán influence in the Maya area?


(3)

Ceramics (Thin Orange, Tripod cylindrical vessels) Architecture (talud-tablero) Art showing visitors/ambassadors
500
Altar Q tells us about the founding of Copán. What was the name of Copán's dynastic founder?
K'inich Yax K'uk Mo'


[pronounced like Kin-each Yach Cook Mo]

500
When the Spaniards arrived in the Maya area, what was the political organization of the Yucatan peninsula?
It was made up of 16 independent provinces called "cuchcabalob"