Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Economics The Mayas Lifestyle The Mayas Lifestyle The Life of the Ancient Maya’s The Maya’s were an ancient civilization that faced many difficult tasks in their everyday lives that needed to be completed in order for survival. The Mayan tribes existed from about 400 BC until around 1524 when they were taken over by the Spanish conquistadors (Sharer p.3). They occupied three separate areas of land. The Southern area covers present day Guatemala. The central area stretched from what is now Tabasco to northern Guatemala. Finally the central region makes up a lot of the southern portion of Mexico (Coe p.31). The Maya’s believed that the universe was not the first, but the 7th. Floods destroyed all the other worlds. This one began on 4 Ahaw 8 Kumk’u 13.0.0.0.0 or August 13, 3,114. They predicted that the great flood would come on December 23rd, 2012 (Coe p.201) The roles in the families were pretty simple. Son’s were expected to follow in their father’s footsteps, but did not have to. The only exception was priests. If your father was a priest you had to be a priest. Girls were taught and educated by their mothers. They were all raised to take care of the house and the children (Coe p.209). The men and boys lived in one house while girls and women lived in another. Boys were taught the arts of war and learned about jobs while the women taught the girls to sew and cook (Coe p.195). The weather was humid and dry. The men usually wore a cloth around their waist. More elite men dressed in robes tying from their shoulders down to their kneecaps (Laughton p.37). These robes also contained elaborate designs. The women dressed in dresses that wrapped around their shoulders almost like a toga (Sharer p.103). Until women were married they continued to live with their parents. They were not permitted to talk to men unless men spoke to them first. Also if a man was walking down the road the women had to step aside out of his way and turn their backs (Sharer p.119). The men continued to live in the group houses until they were appointed or found a bride (Sharer p.120). Before the men were married though they were only allowed to paint themselves in black paint but, once they were married they were allowed to paint themselves in every color and were expected to tattoo their bodies (Thompson p.118). The bride’s father was expected to pay for the entire ceremony. Most times marriages were arranged while the children were still young (Sharer p.120). The Birth of children was one of the most looked upon ceremonies amongst the Maya’s. When a baby was born his mother would wash him right away and then fasten him to a cradle. This served as a baptism (Laughton p.98). The “Shaman” who conducted the ceremony determined each child’s “paal kaba” given name (Sharer p.118). When male babies were about 4 months old and 3 months for girls, the “Hetzmek” was performed. This was a ceremony celebrating the first time that the baby is carried at the mother’s hip (Sharer p.118). At age 4 girls were given a red shell to tie around their waist. Boys wore a white bead. These accessories were worn until the child reached puberty (Sharer pgs.118-119). When the Maya went through puberty he was considered an adult. At this time he was given 2 names, one from the mother and one from the father. Only the father’s were allowed to pass there names on, the mother’s had to think of a new one (Coe p.196). The Maya’s were never politically unified; they were always divided into numerous parties (Sharer p.137). There were small community governments. In some cases these were ruled over by larger independent policies. Then there were also certain area’s governed by King’s accompanied by an advisory council. The more elite your class the more power you had (Sharer p.135). The supreme ruler in each of the lands was know as the “K’ul Ahaw” (Sharer p.103). The Maya’s kept all their records carved in stone (Sharer p.1). It his hard to decipher a lot of their records because together the Maya’s have over 28 different forms of their language (Laughton p.57). Some major achievements of the Maya’s are that they are the ones who domesticated such plants as corn (maize), chili peppers and cacao (Sharer p.213). Also they are know for their ability to predict eclipses (Coe p.199). Their calendar was based on a 260-day cycle (Sharer p.117). Besides growing corn and peppers the Maya’s also grew several varieties of beans squashes and pumpkin’s (Sharer p.213). Their most significant innovation was that of pottery. It was invented around 1800 BC. Pottery was used to make everything, with the invention of pottery life became much easier (Coe p.15). The most abundant resource was yellow metal. It along with limestone was used in the construction of almost every major structure in the villages. It was used because these two both hardened after lengthened periods of use (Coe pgs.29-30). Trading was mostly done between the villages through the use of water routes, since most cities were located near large rivers or bodies of water (Sharer p.136). The Maya’s also built roads called “sache’s” that connected nearby towns. The longest sache built was 60 miles long stretching from Coba to Yaxuna (Sharer p.137). The Maya’s were polytheistic, meaning they believed in many god’s (Thompson p.202). Religion was based on that of a body of beliefs about supernatural power’s that helped to define life and the surrounding universe (Sharer p.157). The myth of the ancient Maya’s came to this world through the book of the “Popol Vuh.” This was the sacred book of the Maya’s. It also contained many of the law’s that the Maya’s lived by (Laughton p.57). Over times the Maya’s turned towards idolatry. Massacre’s broke out from this. In one city all the priests were killed, because they were all assumed to be agents of the devil (Thompson p.201). The Maya’s believed that each person had a spiritual companion who helps to determine their destiny (Sharer p.155). Death was a very sacred ceremony amongst the people (Thompson p.208). Ordinary people were buried below their houses (Coe p.196). Before men were buried their mouths were stuffed with all sorts of food, so they could have plenty in the afterlife. Also a jade bead was placed inside so they would have some jewelry to wear in the afterlife (Laughton p.108). Higher society men were treated much differently then the rest of the people. They were cremated then their ashes were put in a clay pot then they built temples over their urns (Coe p.196). Women were not treated the same as men. They sometimes were just buried as is with a small stone to mark their death (Coe p.197). The Maya’s were a very educated and intelligent tribe. They managed to live their lives with as little amount as trouble as possible. There was always a way for the Maya’s to find a new way to make life easier to survive. Bibliography: Coe, Michael The Maya. New York: Miller & Steven’s, 1999 Laughton, Timothy The Maya Life, Myth & Art. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1998 Sharer, Robert J. Daily Life in Maya Civilization. New York: Robertson,1996 Thompson, Michael P. The Rise & Fall of the Maya’s. California: Weinstien & Co., 1993 Word Count: 1180
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