Lesson video

Hello, my name is Ms. Krijnauw.

Welcome to this unit about non-European societies.

In this lesson, we are going to dive into the intriguing world of the Maya civilization, one of the most remarkable and interesting cultures in human history.

The Maya thrived in the dense jungles of Mesoamerica, an area that includes present-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador.

Their society stood out among ancient civilizations for a multitude of reasons; from their extraordinary achievements in various fields, to their unique cultural practises.

So in this lesson, we will find out what made the Maya so distinctive.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to describe the similarities between the Maya and other early civilizations, alongside the things that made them so distinctive, and it is my job to support you with the learning materials and resources.

Before we start this lesson, there are some keywords I would like to introduce you to.

They are distinctive and astronomy.

Let's find out what these words mean.

Distinctive.

Distinctive means something that is special, unique, or different from everything else around it.

Astronomy.

Astronomy is the science that studies everything in space, such as stars, planets, moons, comets, and galaxies.

This lesson about what made the Maya so distinctive has two learning cycles, and the first is entitled Similarities with other civilizations.

Although the Maya civilization was unique and distinctive in many ways, they shared several fundamental characteristics with other early civilizations, such as the ancient Egyptians and the Shang dynasty in China and the Mesopotamians.

Features the early civilizations had in common was that they all farmed and grew crops, they all built great cities and temples with monumental architecture, they all had rulers and strong leaders, they worshipped many gods, and they each developed writing systems. Like many early civilizations, such as the ancient Egyptians, the Mesopotamians, and the Shang, the Maya were farming societies.

The Maya cultivated a variety of crops, with maize being the most significant staple.

Other crops included beans, squash, chilli, peppers, and cacao.

They also grew fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, avocados, and various tropical fruits.

They also developed sophisticated irrigation systems to water their crops and manage their water resources effectively.

Farming was essential for sustaining the Maya population and providing the food necessary to support all the citizens of the city-state.

The farm produce enabled the growth and development of Maya cities.

It supported large populations of artisans, priests, warriors, and rulers who did not engage directly in farming, but relied on the farmed goods.

Like many other early civilizations, the Maya built impressive cities, such as Copan, Yaxchilan, and Chichen Itza.

They were very good at building monumental architecture.

There were temple-pyramids, often dedicated to various gods.

The pyramids also tell us that the Maya had advanced understanding of astronomy and that they were able to construct large-scale structures.

There were palaces used as residences for the elite.

The palaces showcased the wealth and power of the ruling class.

The Maya also had ball courts where they played the Mesoamerican game pok-ta-pok, as well as administrative buildings necessary for managing the city's affairs.

The cities were where the Maya leaders ruled, where they held important religious ceremonies, and where people traded goods like food and tools, and even beautiful stones and textiles.

Like many other early civilizations, the Maya civilization was organised into city-states, each ruled by a king or lord.

The Maya civilization was made up of multiple independent city-states, each with its own ruler.

These city-states were often centred around a major urban area and its surrounding territories.

The ruler of each city-state, typically referred to as a king or lord, or sometimes as a divine ruler, held political and religious authority over their territory.

They were seen as the go-betweens of people and the gods.

Rulers played a central role in religious ceremonies and rituals, serving as high priests and conducting rituals to honour the gods.

Let's check your understanding.

Which of the following definitions describe what a city-state is? Is it A, a large city where lots of people live, B, a city that operates independently and has its own government and laws, or C, a city that is part of a larger national government? The answer is B, a city-state is a city that operates independently and has its own government and laws.

Good work.

Religion played a central role in Maya society and it influenced every aspect of life, from politics to farming.

The Maya worshipped a range of gods and goddesses, each one looking after a different aspect, like the sun, the rain, crops, and even war and death.

The gods often had complex personalities and myths that surrounded them.

The Maya conducted special ceremonies and rituals and sometimes made offerings to their gods.

These rituals were performed by priests and involved offerings, prayers, dances, and other forms of worship.

The purpose of these religious practises was to maintain harmony with the gods and ensure the wellbeing and prosperity of the community.

By keeping the gods happy through rituals and offerings, the Maya asked for protection from natural disasters and from disease and other threats, as well as blessings for successful crops and a plentiful harvest.

The Maya developed a sophisticated writing system.

Instead of using letters like we do, they used images and pictures known as hieroglyphic symbols.

Each hieroglyph represented a word or an idea, a little bit like an emoji.

With these hieroglyphs, the Maya wrote down everything important to them, like stories about their gods and heroes, or records of their history, or details about religious ceremonies, and even observations about the stars and planets.

This special writing helped them share information with each other and to keep records of their knowledge, as well as to pass down stories and traditions to their children and grandchildren.

Say whether the following statement is true or false.

The Egyptians and the Maya used the same hieroglyphic writing system.

And the answer is false.

Let's give a reason why we say that statement is false.

In other words, let's justify our answer.

Is it because A, the Maya did not use a hieroglyphic writing system, or B, the Egyptian and Maya hieroglyphic writing systems were distinctive? The answer is B.

The Egyptian and Maya hieroglyphic writing systems were distinctive, even though they both used a form of hieroglyphs.

Well done.

We have now come to the first learning task of this lesson.

Circle the correct word in either column A or B to say what the Maya had in common with other civilizations around the world.

So firstly, is it farming or exploring? Is it built impressive vehicles or built impressive cities? Is it that they had rulers that were in charge of their own city-states or they were not ruled by anyone? Is it that they did not practise religion or that they worshipped many gods? Is it that they had a writing system consisting of hieroglyphic symbols or they used cave paintings? Pause the video here, and when you have chosen the correct word from each column, press play to check your answers.

Let's find out what the correct answers are.

What did the Maya have in common with other civilizations? Farming, not exploring.

They built impressive cities.

They didn't build vehicles.

They had rulers that were in charge of their own city-states.

They worshipped many gods, and they also had writing systems consisting of hieroglyphic symbols.

Well done if you managed to circle all the correct words.

The second learning cycle of this lesson is entitled Distinctive features of the Maya civilization.

Even though the Maya had a lot in common with other early civilizations, they were also very distinctive.

Explain to your learning partner what distinctive means in the following sentence: the Maya were very distinctive compared with other early civilizations of that time.

Pause the video here, and when you are ready for the answer, press play.

In this sentence, distinctive means that the Maya civilization had unique characteristics and features that made it different from other ancient civilizations of the time.

Well done if your answer was similar to this one.

But what made the Maya so distinctive from other early civilizations? Firstly, the Maya were a Stone Age society.

Even though the Maya were an ancient civilization that lived long ago after what we call the Stone Age, they primarily used tools and materials made from stone, like flint and obsidian, for their daily needs, such as hunting, farming, and building.

Unlike other civilizations like the Shang or the ancient Egyptians which had advanced metalworking skills, the Maya relied on stone tools for much of their technology.

Furthermore, the Maya had an excellent understanding of maths and astronomy.

Although other early civilizations developed number systems and observed the skies, the Maya's achievements in mathematics and astronomy are indeed remarkable and stand out even when compared to other early civilizations.

They developed complex numerical systems. For example, one of the most notable contributions of Maya mathematics is the early use of the concept of zero.

The Maya were among the first to develop a symbol for zero, which was crucial for advanced calculations and their calendar system.

In addition, they tracked celestial movements.

The Maya were keen observers of the night sky.

They meticulously recorded the movements of the sun and the moon, of Venus, and other celestial bodies.

This knowledge allowed them to create precise calendars and predict important astronomical events, like eclipses.

In addition, bloodletting was a very important part of the Maya religion.

Unlike other early civilizations that you might have studied, it involved cutting parts of the body to release blood, often from the tongue.

And they even used specialised tools for this purpose, such as obsidian blades or stingray spines or sharpened bones.

Offering blood to the gods was seen as a way of communicating directly with the gods and ancestors, and it ensured the wellbeing of the community and it kept the gods happy.

Although ordinary people sometimes practised bloodletting, it was mainly done by the elite, such as kings and queens and high-ranking priests.

When these leaders performed bloodletting, it showed the people that they had the special right to rule and that they cared about keeping their people safe and happy.

So overall, these distinctive features show how unique the Maya were.

The Maya excelled in areas such as mathematics, astronomy, and religious symbolism, leaving a lasting legacy in Mesoamerican history.

Let's consolidate our learning.

Change one word in each sentence to make it correct.

Number one, the Maya were a Bronze Age society, which means that they primarily used tools and materials made of stone.

Number two, prayer was very important in the Maya religion, which involved the cutting of parts of the body to release blood.

Pause the video here.

When you are ready for the answers, press play.

Let's check the answers.

The Maya were at Stone Age society, not a Bronze Age society, and bloodletting was important in the Maya religion and not prayer.

Well done if you got those two correct.

We have now come to the second learning task of this lesson.

It says, sort the words and phrases about the Maya civilization according to the headings below: similarities with other civilizations, distinctive features.

The words and phrases are: farming, bloodletting, sophisticated writing system consisting of hieroglyphic symbols, advanced understanding of maths and astronomy, built impressive cities, a Stone Age society, rulers in charge of their own city-states, and worshipped a range of gods and goddesses.

Pause the video here, and when you are ready to reflect on the answer, press play.

The words and phrases can be sorted as follows.

The similarities with other civilizations are farming, built impressive cities, rulers in charge of their own city-states, worshipped a range of gods and goddesses, sophisticated writing system consisting of hieroglyphic symbols.

And the distinctive features are a Stone Age society, advanced understanding of maths and astronomy, bloodletting.

Well done if you got all of those correct.

We have now come to the end of this lesson about what made the Maya so distinctive.

Before we go, let's summarise what we have learnt.

The Maya civilization had a lot in common with other early civilizations such as the ancient Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and the Shang.

Like these civilizations, they farmed, they built great cities and temples, they had rulers, they worshipped gods, and they had a sophisticated writing system consisting of hieroglyphic symbols.

What made them distinctive was that they were a Stone Age society; they had an advanced understanding of maths and astronomy compared with other early civilizations, which they used to create calendars; and they practised bloodletting as part of their religion.

Well done for all your hard work today, and I have really enjoyed travelling back in time to Mesoamerica to learn what made the Maya so distinctive with you, and I hope to see you again soon.