The Mayans worshipped nature gods: the moon, the rain, and corn. In their creation story, first came they sky, water, and land, and then the plants animals, and finally humans were created and given speech. so that they might worship the gods. First came the people of earth, but they crumbled to dirt; then came those of wood; they were strong but did not honour the gods, and so the gods destroyed them with a flood; finally humans were made of white and yellow corn and they worshipped the gods. Corn, beans, squash, and chilli peppers had been cultivated in the region dating back 4 000 years ago. They also would have hunted deer, rabbits, iguanas, and even monkeys. Their elite drank chocolate with corn, honey, and chilli peppers. Cacao beans were so valuable they were often used as currency.

The Mayans worshipped nature gods: the moon, the rain, and corn. In their creation story, first came they sky, water, and land, and then the plants animals, and finally humans were created and given speech. so that they might worship the gods. First came the people of earth, but they crumbled to dirt; then came those of wood; they were strong but did not honour the gods, and so the gods destroyed them with a flood; finally humans were made of white and yellow corn and they worshipped the gods. Corn, beans, squash, and chilli peppers had been cultivated in the region dating back 4 000 years ago. They also would have hunted deer, rabbits, iguanas, and even monkeys. Their elite drank chocolate with corn, honey, and chilli peppers. Cacao beans were so valuable they were often used as currency.

Farms developed into permanent settlements, and then into villages and towns, and finally cites by 750 BCE that were home to as many as 100 000 residents. The everyday people lived in huts made of poles and vines and plastered with mud. The elites lived in huge stone palaces. Their cities were the centre of their culture. They had paved roads and raised causeways.

Their cites also had large outdoor fields and stands for the ‘ball game’. It was not a soccer game. A heavy, rubber ball was kept in the air with elbows, hips, and knees. The goal was to get the ball through a raised hoop. A game could go on for weeks. It symbolized a battle between the gods above and those of the Underworld. Members of the losing team were sometimes sacrificed. The ball game was at the centre of their culture and a show of wealth and power for a city and its elites.

Sacrifice was important to the Mayans belief. An offering of blood was seen as feeding the gods. They sacrificed both animals and humans. With no central leadership, there was a lot of war among the Mayans. They would sacrifice prisoners of war.

There were also scholars and astronomers among the Mayans. They made advances in math, writing, and art. They had a system of numbers based on 20. They also understood the concept of zero. Their number system lead to an ingenious calendar. Around 300 BCE, the Mayans began to write. They wrote books on the inner bark of trees called codex. Mayan artists were skilled in carving, murals, and pottery.

Around 900 CE, the Mayan civilization began to decline. It did not fall all at once by individual city states. Cities were reclaimed by the jungle. Historians are not sure why. Maybe a too large population and not enough food or maybe constant warring. When the Spanish arrived in the 1500’s, most Mayans were living in farming villages.

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