The Mayas
The Mayas are native people of South Mexico and Central America. They originated around 2600 B.C. The ancestors of the Maya crossed the Bering Strait twenty thousand years ago. They were traveling hunter-gatherers. The Mayas presently inhabit Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Western Honduras, El Salvador, and Northern Belize. The Maya were skilled farmers, clearing large sections of tropical rain forest and, where groundwater was scarce, building large underground reservoirs for the storage of rainwater. They were equally skilled as weavers and potters, and cleared routes through jungles and swamps to promote widespread trade networks with distant people. Almost four million people live in the Mayan area. There are at least twenty-eight different languages spoken there although most speak Spanish. The Mayans today preserve many of the ancient traditions. The day-to-day activity of each person depends on customs governed by religious beliefs. They keep their lives in harmony with their family, their community, and their gods. The Mayan people had centralized governments, commanded by a king, which ruled territories with
The Maya civilization is far from being over. Most of the aspects of the Mayan culture have changed over many decades; however, the activities and way of life in the Maya civilization are still unmistakable. Their religion, however, was based on a body of beliefs about supernatural powers that explained life and the universe. These concepts reinforced the social and political power order and were used by kings and the elite to maintain their power and control. Their religion, however, has changed over time. By the time of the Spanish Conquest, the Maya had been influenced by customs introduced to them from other parts of Mesoamerica. visibly distinct boundaries. These boundaries changed as the different states lost and gained control over territory. In between 300-600 A.D. the population of the central lowlands declined significantly due to famine, drought, breakdowns in trade, and political breakup. Disintegration from large states into smaller cities caused the Mayans to use much of their resources on rivalries between cities such as wars and competitions of architecture and art between rival cities. The pol
Some topics in this essay:
Mesoamerica Mayan,
Spanish Mayans,
Belize Maya,
Bering Strait,
Central America,
Conquest Maya,
,
detailed histories,
mayan people,
architecture art,
religion based,
blood sacrifice,
political power,
maya civilization,
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Approximate Word count = 763
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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