Background on Mayan Empire:
-Centered in tropical lowlands of what is now Guatemala
-Excelled at argriculture, pottery, heiroglyph writing, calendar-making, and mathematics, and left behind an astonishing amount of impressive architecture and symbolic artwork.
-Was one of the most dominant indigeneous societies of Mesoamerica
-Were centered in one geographical block covering all of the Yucatan Peninsula and modern day Guatemala, Belize, and parts of the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas, and the western part of Honduras and El Salvador.
-Remained relatively secue from invasion by other Mesoamerican peoples.
-Lived in 3 seperate sub-areas with distinct environmental and cultural differences: the northern Maya lowlands on the Yucatan Peninsula, the Southern lowlands in the Peten district of northern Guatamala and adjacent portions of Mexico, Belize, and western Honduras; and the Southern Maya highlands, in the mountainious region of southern Guatemala.
-Excelled at argriculture, pottery, heiroglyph writing, calendar-making, and mathematics, and left behind an astonishing amount of impressive architecture and symbolic artwork.
-Was one of the most dominant indigeneous societies of Mesoamerica
-Were centered in one geographical block covering all of the Yucatan Peninsula and modern day Guatemala, Belize, and parts of the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas, and the western part of Honduras and El Salvador.
-Remained relatively secue from invasion by other Mesoamerican peoples.
-Lived in 3 seperate sub-areas with distinct environmental and cultural differences: the northern Maya lowlands on the Yucatan Peninsula, the Southern lowlands in the Peten district of northern Guatamala and adjacent portions of Mexico, Belize, and western Honduras; and the Southern Maya highlands, in the mountainious region of southern Guatemala.
Rise of the Mayan Empire:
-Earliest settlements date to around 1800 B.C., or beginning of what is called the Preclassic or Formative Period.
-Earliest Maya were agricultural, growing crops such as corn (maize), beans, squash, and cassava (manioc).
-During the Middle Preclassic Period, which lasted until about 300 B.C., Maya farmers began to expand their presence both in the highlands and lowland regions.
-Derived a number or religious and cultural traits --as well as their number system and their famous calendar--from the Olmec
-Displayed more advanced cultural traits like pyramid-building, city construction and the inscribing of stone monuments.
-Maya flourished centuries before the Classical Period.
-Earliest Maya were agricultural, growing crops such as corn (maize), beans, squash, and cassava (manioc).
-During the Middle Preclassic Period, which lasted until about 300 B.C., Maya farmers began to expand their presence both in the highlands and lowland regions.
-Derived a number or religious and cultural traits --as well as their number system and their famous calendar--from the Olmec
-Displayed more advanced cultural traits like pyramid-building, city construction and the inscribing of stone monuments.
-Maya flourished centuries before the Classical Period.
Height of the Mayan Empire:
-Reached peak of its power and influence around the 6th Century A.D.
-The classical period was the golden age of the Maya Empire.
-Classical Maya civilization grew to some 40 cities
-Each city held a population between 5,000 and 50,000 people
-At peak, population reached 2,000,000
-The classical period was the golden age of the Maya Empire.
-Classical Maya civilization grew to some 40 cities
-Each city held a population between 5,000 and 50,000 people
-At peak, population reached 2,000,000
Decline of the Mayan:
-From the late 8th Century through the end of the 9th century, something unknown happened to shake the Maya civilizations to its foundation.
-One by one, the classic cities in the Southern lowlands were abandoned.
-By A.D. 900 Maya Civilization in the southern lowlands region had collapsed.
(Reason for this mysterious decline is unknown)
-Some believe that by the 9th century the Maya had exhausted the environment around them to the point that it could no longer sustain a very large population.
-All 3 of these factors-over population and overuse of the land, endemic warfare and drought-may have played a part in the downfall of the Maya in the southern lowlands.
-One by one, the classic cities in the Southern lowlands were abandoned.
-By A.D. 900 Maya Civilization in the southern lowlands region had collapsed.
(Reason for this mysterious decline is unknown)
-Some believe that by the 9th century the Maya had exhausted the environment around them to the point that it could no longer sustain a very large population.
-All 3 of these factors-over population and overuse of the land, endemic warfare and drought-may have played a part in the downfall of the Maya in the southern lowlands.