Classical Maya Flashcards
Tikal
The largest ancient Mayan city-state in the northern part of Guatemala
Blood Letting
Ancient Mayan practice to drain blood and let it sink back into the earth as tribute to the gods.
Yucatan Peninsula
An area of land in Central America where the Mayan civilization settled
Maya Codex
Bark-paper books that held glyphs that told of important historical events.
Slash and Burn
A farming method involving the cutting of trees, then burning them to provide ash-enriched soil of the planting of crops.
Olmec
The first Mesoamerical civilization. between ca. 1200
and 400 B.C.E., these people of central Mexico created a vibrant civilization that included intensive agriculture,
wide-ranging trade, ceremonial centers, and monumental
construction.
Popol Vuh
The most famous of the Maya books that recounts the Highlands Maya’s version of the story creation.
Cocao
Chocolate producing plant. The word can be used to describe the whole plant, its seeds, or its leaves.
Classic period
Scholars originally divided Ancient Maya history into three eras. This era is from ca. 250- 900 CE, was seen as the principal of their civilization.
Stelae
A stone monument that is often carved to commemorate great actions of Maya leaders or mark ceremonial occasions.
Trumpline
A strap that is passed over the forehead or the chest to facilitate the transportation of a heavy load carried on the back.
City-state
a city that with its surrounding territory forms an independent state.
Polytheism
The belief in or warship of more than one God.
Mesoamerica
“Middle America” the region extending form modern-day Mexico through Central America.
Chichen Itza
An ancient Mayan city located on the Yucatan Peninsula
