The Mya

Question 1

Before 4000 BP

Answer 1

Small groups of hunter-gatherers

Question 2

~4000 BP

Answer 2

Maize horticulture arrived

Question 3

2900-2300 BP

“Middle Preclassic Period”

Answer 3

• Population growth
• Immigration
• Trade network
• Sedentary slash-and-burn horticulture with hunting
• Ancestor worship–kin claiming right to territory
• Resulted in small chiefdoms

Question 4

2300-1750 BP

“Late Preclassic Period”

Answer 4

• Towns of several thousands but no single control centre
• Trade in exotic goods
• Population grew by 350% and aggregation into larger settlements
• Now organized into large chiefdoms

Question 5

1750-1300 BP

“Classic Period”

Answer 5

• Now have state formation
• Maya leaders wrestled for control over centres
  • See evidence for warfare, defensive fortifications and alliances
• Hieroglyphics became standardized and common across region
  • Political interaction and coordination