Discuss the History of the Mayans:
The earliest heirs of the Olmecs were the Maya, a society known for their math, astronomy and sophisticated written language. The Maya were the first to create a society in regions we know today as Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. According to our textbook,
Traditions and Encounters, " The Maya organized themselves politically into scores of small city-kingdoms. Tikal was probably the largest, but Palenque and Chicken Itza
also were sizable states. The smaller kingdoms had populations between ten thousand and thirty thousand" ( Bentley, 139 ). The Maya society included a large class of priests, as well as kings and ruling families. The Maya created both a sophisticated calendar and an elaborate system of writing as
a result of their studies in astronomy and mathematics. The Maya calendar is known today as the most elaborate calendar of the ancient Americas. By about 800 C.E., most Maya populations has begun to desert their cities. Within a century, Maya society was almost in full decline.
Discuss the role human/ blood sacrifice had in their society:
Religion was very important to the Maya, which is why human and blood sacrifice played such a huge role in their society. "The Popol Vuh, a Maya creation myth, taught that the gods had created human beings out of maze and water, the ingredients the became human flesh and blood" ( Bentley, 142 ). Maya priests taught that the gods kept the world going and maintained the agricultural cycle in exchange for honors and sacrifices performed for them by human beings. One of the most important sacrifices was the shedding of human blood. The Maya believed that the shedding of human blood
would prompt the gods to send rain to water their crops of maize. Many were sacrificed as victims of war, but occasionally the royal would voluntarily shed their blood, as in the case of the royal Chan Bahlum's self sacrifice.