Classic Mayan Culture

            
             The Mayas are one of the many things that I learned about during our study of the discoveries of the Americas. The Mayans are also what I have chosen to do my report on. It fascinated me that they were the first people to enter the Americas so many years ago. My report focuses on the culture during their classic period. The early classic period was from 292 until 593 A.D. and the late classic period was from 593 until 889 A.D. .
             The cities that the Maya built were mainly ceremonial centers, for the most part Maya population lived in small farming villages, their homes were high-pitched thatched-roof houses. Then around 900 A.D., the Maya priestly class disappeared and the Mayan stopped working on their cities and abandoned them, possibly because of an outside invasion or because of economical difficulties, no one knows for sure.
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             The Mayan religion however grew primarily out of the Milpas agriculture, which was a burning of dry brush and planting of seeds in shallow holes (also known as the slash-and-burn method). It required an accurate prediction of time and adjustments. The Mayan religion was based on adjusting humanity to the cycles of the universe. Their religious ceremonies included several aspects. They were dancing, competition, dramatic performances, prayer, and sacrifice. They believed their gods required nourishment in order to work. In this case someone, usually a priest, would volunteer to give blood or sometimes even their heart. .
             Classic Mayan culture developed in three regions. There were the Highlands, the "Central Region", and the Yucatan Peninsula. In the Guatemala Highlands to the North, Mayan culture did not develop as well as the other regions. The Highlands were more temperate and seemed to be the main suppliers of raw material to the central urban cities. The major region was the Yucatan Peninsula, which made up the South and the East parts of Mexico.