The Mayan Civilization
The Mayan Civilization
University of San Carlos
University of San Carlos
Group 5
Group 5
Location:
Mayan civilization occupied much of the northwestern part of the isthmus
of Central America, from Chiapas and Yucatán, now part of southern
Mexico, through Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, and El Salvador and into
Nicaragua.
Started:
The Preclassic or Formative Period, which began around 1800 B.C., is
when the earliest Maya settlements were established.
Culture:
The gods of the sun, moon, rain, and corn were among the many deities of
nature that the highly devoted Maya people worshipped. The Maya kings,
known as "kuhul ajaw" (holy lords), held a hereditary succession and
professed to be descended from gods.
Mayan cultural practices included rituals and feasts known as costumbre,
which often involved blood, obtained through human bloodletting or
sacrifices of animals or humans. Funerals were also ritualistic affairs
involving cremation or burial, with traditions aimed at releasing the k'uh,
or spiritual essence, of the deceased.
