Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Mysterious Mayan Decline



Name of Victim: Maya Civilization


Age of Victim: Unknown


Country of Origin: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico


Approx size of population: 12 million


Significant Goegraphical Features: Pyramids, dirt, Palaces, Elaborate Stone Carvings, and Temples


Lanugage spoken: Spanish


Description of Government: The Mayan government was very important to the Maya civilization. The Mayan priests ran the entire government.



Description of Economic Systems: The Mayans were skilled farmers in clearing large sections of tropical rain forest. Groundwater was being used rapidly. To help this to stop from happening they built sizeable underground reservoirs for the storage of rainwater. The Maya were equally skilled as weavers and potters, and cleared routes through jungles and swamps to foster extensive trade networks with distant peoples.

Description of religious beliefs: The Mayan worshiped many gods. They pierced their bodies with sharp needles and offered their blood beliving that this would nourish the gods. They belived that human sacrifice pleased the gods and kept the world in place. The Mayan Indians of Mexico and Central America, practiced a combination of traditional religion and Roman Catholicism.

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