The Mysterious Mayas for Kids
Come meet the mysterious Maya Indians. Read the clever short story of The Hero Twins. Learn about the importance of feathers. Discover what the Maya believed you had to do to become an attractive person. Make a confidence-building shield. Explore Maya myths. Find out what it meant to have your hair cut short. Write your name in Maya glyphs. Play interactive games! For aa quick look at this amazing culture, scroll down. Or see the menu below to find just what you need.
Welcome to the Maya Empire!
A Quick Look:
Skilled Builders: Nobody knows where they came from, but about 2,400 years ago, a new tribe of people appeared in Central America. They settled in the rainforests of the Yucatan Peninsula. They were called the Maya Indians. They were very clever people. They built cities deep in the rainforest. They were skilled builders. They built palaces, temples, pyramids, walls, homes. They built hundreds of beautiful cities. But they never made metal weapons or tools. They built with stone, wood, and shells. They built vast underground reservoirs that held fresh water safely in times of drought. The Maya built the most accurate calendar in the ancient world.
The Maya created a written language. Maya hieroglyphics are often referred to as "glyphs" for short. The Maya had about 800 symbols. Archaeologists have figured out what many of the symbols mean, but not all of them. Some glyphs were used as numbers. Some were used as sounds. Some were phrases or words. To read Maya glyphs, you read downward, left to right, in pairs.
Maya Government: The Maya Empire was not one unified nation. There was no central government. The Maya Empire was a collection of independent cities (city-states). The Maya built hundreds of cities. Some cities were very large. A different noble family controlled each city, whether it was big or small. Each family had a great deal of power because each family had an army under their control.
Maya City-States: The cities were connected with well built roads that ran through the rainforests and jungles on the Yucatan Peninsula. Cities were built very much alike. Every city had a ball court, at least one temple, homes, buildings, a palace, and a central plaza. Each city was a center of learning and religion. Each city had its own ruling family. The Maya city-states never unified. People could move freely from one city to another, and trade was active. But the Maya never used the wheel. Everything was dragged or carried on animals or carried on people's backs or heads.
Maya Ball Games: The Maya played the earliest team sport in the world - a ball game, a game using a rubber ball and two opposing teams on a ball court. Ball courts were usually placed at the base of a temple because all games were held to honor the Maya gods. Festivals were held every twenty (20) days. Every festival had a ball game scheduled. Everyone who possibly could came to the ball games. The courts had a hoop at one end. The game played was very rough. It was a mix of modern soccer, basketball, and kick ball. Players could not touch the ball. They could not use their hands, feet, or head. They had to use their hips, arms, and shoulders. They did wear protective clothing. The object of the game was to put a rubber ball through the hoop. When teams from various Maya cities, or various parts of the same city, were playing each other, the winning team got to keep the jewelry of the losing team. The games were played for fun, during festivals, and during special events like the installing of a new king.
Wars: Similar to the ancient Greek city-states, the Maya city-states often went to war with each other. Some historians believe they were almost always at war with someone. Rather than fight with armies, two warring Maya city-states might agree to play a ball game. The winning team won for their city-state. The losing team captain was killed unless his city or he personally or his teammates pitched in to supply the other team with precious jade or obsidian or other special goods. That is what usually happened. Then the war was over.
Maya Beauty: Have you ever heard the expression "beauty is in the eye of the beholder"? To become an attractive person in the ancient Maya world, you would want your forehead to slant backwards, your eyes to be slightly crossed, your nose appear broken, your ears and nose and lips pierced, your teeth filed into patterns, and your body tattooed and painted. To achieve this perfect look, you could not wait until you were an adult. You had to start your beauty process as an infant. To get that slanted forehead look, when you were a baby and your head was still soft, a board would be fastened flat to your forehead. This forced your head to deform with a slant towards the back of your head. Within a few days, the job was done and your forehead would be slanted back for the rest of your life. To achieve a cross-eyed look, soft tiny balls were attached to your hair and allowed to fall on your face between your eyes. In time, your eyes would become slightly cross-eyed from glancing at or staring at the tiny soft balls bouncing between your eyes, right above your nose. As for your nose, it was important to wear a removable nose bridge that squeezed your nose into a more attractive shape. Of course you would want to pierce your ears, lips, and nose so that you could wear colorful jewelry made of whatever material you were allowed to use, based on your social status. Naturally, everyone wanted to tattoo and paint their body for extra beauty. Warriors especially painted and tattooed to achieve that especially fierce look so popular in Maya times. Although many of these various beauty treatments were painful, if you wanted to be attractive in Maya eyes, these steps absolutely had to be done.
Justice: In the Maya Empire, in each city, the laws were the same. Laws were fair. Nearly everyone was subject to the same laws, even the lesser nobles. If you broke a law, a judge would hear your case. Evidence was provided for you and against you. You could help collect evidence that proved you were innocent, just as the other side could collect evidence to prove you were guilty. Should you be found guilty, you were punished. Punishments varied with the crime. If you were found guilty of stealing from someone, you became a captive of your victim. Sometimes the punishment was to have your hair cut very short. Until your hair grew out again, everyone who saw you knew you had committed a crime. It was very embarrassing.
A History Mystery: By 900 CE, the Maya cities were mostly deserted. Some people did remain behind, but without enough people to take care of them, the great Maya cities fell into ruin. That's why the Maya are called "the mysterious Maya" - nobody knows where they came from, and nobody knows where they went, leaving their cities nearly deserted. Why did they leave? Where did they go? Historians make guesses, like years of drought or war, but these are only guesses. Their disappearance remains a history mystery.
Descendants: Just as the fall of Rome did not mean the end of Romans, there are many descendants of the ancient Maya living in Central America today. About 40% of Guatemala's modern population, along with hundreds of thousands of people outside Guatemala, trace their ancestry back to the ancient Maya. These descendants would love to know more about their ancient ancestors, but it's difficult. Since the Maya built their cities deep in the jungle, it's hard to find the ruins of these cities, although some have been found. As archaeologists and other scientists continue to decipher this ancient language and discover other ruins of ancient Maya cities, they and we hope to learn more about these fascinating, clever people.
To learn more about what we do know about the mysterious Maya Indians, see the menu above.
Mr. Donn and
Maxie's Ancient History PowerPoints Series
Written by Lin & Don Donn,
illustrated by Phillip Martin, Published by Good Year Books
Mr. Donn and
Maxie's Always Something You Can Use Series
Written by Lin & Don Donn, Published by Good Year Books