THE 5 TRAITS

the Mayan civilization

The ancient Mayan civilization is one of the most
advanced and complex ancient civilizations, also
because it has all of the 5 traits.
During the classical period, between A.D. 250 and 900,
the Mayan civilization reached it's peak. The numerous
Mayan cities, such as Copn, Tikal and Palenque,
displayed magnificent architecture, each contained
plazas, palaces, and pyramids topped by temples. Many
cities also had large stone monuments called steles. On
these steles, the Maya carved glyphs that represented
important dates and great events.
These are some examples of specialized workers:
Nobles, Scholars, Warriors, Merchants, Slaves, Hunters,
Scribe, Artists, Architects (they built the Mayan houses
and designed complex systems)
Mathematicians, Astronomers (discovered how to use
the planets to figure out the time of the year) , Poets,
Gatherers, Political leaders (they controlled the
government and influenced the civilization).
The Mayan government was a government that was
ruled by the Mayan kings and priests. This means that it
was a hierarchical government. The Mayans lived in
independent, city states that usually consisted of both
large urban communities and rural communities.
The ancient Maya were keen astronomers, recording and
interpreting every aspect of the sky. As they believed


that the will and actions of the Gods could be read in the
stars, moon and planets, they dedicated much time to
doing so and many of their most important buildings
were constructed with astronomy in mind. The Sun,
Moon and planets (Venus in particular) were studied by
the Mayans. The Mayans also based their calendars
around astronomy.
The Mayan calendar was linked to astronomy. The
Mayans basically used two calendars: the Calendar
Round and the Long Count. The Mayan Long Count
calendar was divided into different units of time that
used the Haab, or solar year (365 days) as a base. The
Calendar Round consisted of two separate calendars: the
first was the 365-day solar year, the second was the 260
day Tzolkin cycle. These cycles align every 52 years.
Since scientists have been to many Mayan ruins they
have learned a lot from the Mayan stone. The stones
express much information, especially about the
technology. The ancient Mayans shaped their world with
stone tools. Lithic artifacts helped create the cityscape,
were central to warfare and hunting, were keys to craft
activities, were used to process food, and were employed
in ritual performance. This volume expands our
understanding of the past by considering Mayan lithic
artifacts made of chers, obsidian, silicified limestone,
and jade. Using these as sources of data, lithic specialists
examine the relationship between ancient people and
natural resources, and ask questions regarding social
organization and political economy.


As it's easy to see from my essay the Maya were a really
advanced civilization that created many important tools
that nowadays we use.