Watch: How did Maya civilisation change?
Jade Skirt in AD732: Look at our beautiful city of Yax Mutul. I imagine our people will live here for hundreds of years. But who knows what the future holds?
Jade Skirt in 1150: We now live further North than my ancestors, in new cities like Chichén Itzá.I’m not exactly sure why we had to move. Some say it was a change in weather.
Or that we farmed the land too much. Terrible diseases. Or because our cities fought so much!
Jade Skirt in 1750: So much has changed. The Spanish arrived and destroyed our cities and built their churches – sometimes on top of our pyramids!
They made us work on huge farms and even burnt our books.
But we still try hard to keep our traditions alive.
Present Jade Skirt: And that’s the story of my people. Over the years people moved from villages to modern cities, making it difficult to continue some of our traditions. Which is why I’m telling you our story.
Hopefully you will now tell it too.
What happened to the ancient Maya?
From around 1517 - 1697 Spanish invaders (conquistadores) started to destroy the Maya cities and people.
The Spanish were armed with artillery, steel swords and muskets (guns) the Maya had only spears, bows and arrows.
The invaders brought diseases which were new to the Maya. They also tried hard to remove all traces of Maya culture over the following centuries.
Did Maya culture and society survive?
The Spanish conquest resulted in centuries of cruelty towards the Maya people, causing their population to get smaller. In spite of this, many Maya people kept some of their traditions.
The remote villages continued the Mayan beliefs and language. In the late 19th and early 20th century, people began to study the Maya culture. So Mayan people tried to keep their way of life.
Watch: Maya remains
Jade Skirt: Many hundreds of years from now, I hope people will still be able to admire the things we Maya create.
(SHOUTS) Like our incredible temples.
Oh look… the scribe is writing a book.
The books are sacred and reading them brings the spirits of our ancestors to life.
Our books are made from tree bark, with the covers made from the skin of a powerful animal.
Scribe: Shhh!
Jade Skirt: These books may not last forever, so we also carve our writing into stone.
We also have other types of art too…our pottery, our jewellery, our amazing mosaic masks.
Surely though, our roads will survive the longest.
They run through the forests - connecting our cities.
Our warriors use these roads… Arrggghhh! But we also use them to send important messages and trade our goods.
Jade’s Brother: [GROWLS]
Jade Skirt: Ooo, that’s my brother. I should be at home.
Deer: [SPLAT]
[FLY BUZZING]
Buildings
The Maya people built many cities, temples, pyramids, palaces and gateways in stone which have been uncovered and excavated.
Each region and city had different building materials, limestone or volcanic materials. There were complex networks of defensive walls and ditches, brightly coloured with paint.
What do they look like now?
Image caption, Take a look at some of the fascinating ancient ruins from around the Maya world.
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Weapons
Stone blade points used as weapons have been found.
Images show kings and warriors in body armour with swords and shields and tell us about what they wore in battle.
Writing
Mayan writing was the most sophisticated system in Mesoamerica, dating back to 300 BC.
Mayan script survived on stone inscriptions (‘stelae’), frescoes, ceramic vessels, wooden lintels and cave walls.
The Spanish conquistadors tried hard to destroy all evidence of Maya writing in the 16th century and only three books survive, a tiny fraction of all their writing.
What about the Maya today?
Today there are over seven million Maya people, most of whom live in Central America and southern Mexico.
There are 250 museums around the world with Maya items in their collections.
Image caption, Explore modern Maya life by clicking through the images.
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There are currently 31 different Mayan languages being spoken today.
However, these languages are becoming endangered because of discrimination. Sometimes people won’t even be offered jobs if they speak a Mayan language!
To keep these languages alive, some people write literature in Mayan languages as well as Spanish, so that their culture will not die out forever.
Activities
Activity 1: Quiz – Remains of the Maya
Activity 2: History Explorer game
Play this game to test your knowledge and learn even more facts about the ancient Maya.
History Explorer: Secrets through time
History Explorer: Secrets through time: KS2 History
SAT’s preparation resources. activity
Get ready for the SATs papers with videos, activities, quizzes and games to refresh your knowledge and practise your skills.
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