Mayans
Timeline
The timeline of the Maya Civilization is often divided up into three major periods: the Pre-classic Period, the Classic Period, and the Post-classic Period.
Pre-classic Period (2000 BC to 250 AD)
The Pre-classic Period covers from the start of the Maya civilization to 250 AD when the Maya civilization began its golden age. A lot of development took place during this period. The major cities during this period were El Mirador and Kaminaljuyu.
2000 BC - Farming villages begin to form across the Maya region.
1500 BC - The Olmec civilization develops, the Maya will take on much of their culture.
1000 BC - The Maya begin to form larger settlements at places like Copan and Chalchuapa.
700 BC - Mayan writing first starts to develop.
600 BC - Large buildings are built in the city of El Mirador.
600 BC - The Maya begin to farm. This enables their society to support larger populations and the cities begin to grow in size.
600 BC - The settlement at Tikal is formed. This will be one of the major cities in the Maya civilization. It will reach its peak in power during the Classic period.
400 BC - The first Mayan calendars are carved into stone.
300 BC - The Maya adopt the idea of a monarchy for their government. They are now ruled by kings.
100 BC - The city-state of Teotihuacan is established in the Valley of Mexico. It influences the Maya culture for many years.
100 BC - The first pyramids are built.
Classic Period (250 AD to 900 AD)
The Classic Period is considered the golden age of the Maya city-states. Most of the artistic and cultural achievements of the Maya civilization took place during this period.
400 AD - The city-state of Teotihuacan becomes the dominant city and rules over the Maya highlands.
560 AD - The city-state of Tikal is defeated by an alliance of other city-states.
600 AD - The powerful city-state of Teotihuacan declines and is no longer a cultural center.
600 AD - The city-state of Caracol becomes a major force in the land.
900 AD - The southern lowland cities collapse and Teotihuacan is abandoned. The reason for the collapse of the Maya Classic period is still a mystery to archeologists. This signals the end of the Classic period.
Post-classic Period (900 AD to 1500 AD)
Although the southern city-states collapsed, the Mayan cities in the northern part of the Yucatan Peninsula continued to thrive for the next several hundred years during the Post-classic period.
925 AD - The city-state of Chichen Itza becomes the most powerful city-state in the region. It will rule for the next two hundred years.
1250 AD - After declining for years, Chichen Itza is abandoned.
1283 AD - The city-state of Mayapan becomes the capital city of the Maya civilization. The League of Mayapan is formed to rule the region.
1441 AD - The people rebel against the rule of Mayapan. The city is abandoned by the late 1400s.
1517 AD - The Post-classic period comes to an end with the arrival of the Spanish and conquistador Hernández de Córdoba.
Colonial Period (1500 AD)
1519 AD - Hernan Cortes arrives and explores the Yucatan Peninsula.
1541 AD - Many of the Maya city-states are conquered by the Spanish.
1542 AD - The Spanish found the city of Merida.
1695 AD - The ruins of Tikal are discovered by a Spanish priest who is lost in the jungle.
Daily Life
Life as a Maya Noble
The Maya king and his nobles lived an easy life. They had their every need provided for by the commoners. They were even carried from place to place in litters by slaves.
Life as a Maya Commoner
Life as a Maya commoner was full of hard work. The typical peasant worked as a farmer. At the start of the day, the wife would get up early and start a fire for cooking. Then the husband would leave to go work at the fields. After a hard day working at the fields, the farmer would come home and bathe. Bathing was an important part of the day for all the Maya people. The men spent evenings working on crafts such as tools, while the women wove cloth to make clothing.
What were their clothes like?
The clothing worn by the Maya depended on the region they lived in and their social status. The wealthy wore colorful clothing made from animal skins. They also wore feather headdresses and fancy jewelry.
Commoners wore simpler clothing. The men often wore loincloths while the women wore long skirts. Both men and women would use a blanket called a manta to wrap around their shoulders when it was cold.
Clothing for a Maya woman
Men and women both wore their hair long. Once they were married, both men and women often got tattoos.
What did the Maya eat?
The most important food that the Maya ate was maize, which is a vegetable like corn. They made all types of food from maize including tortillas, porridge, and even drinks. Other staple crops included beans, squash, and chilies. For meat the Maya ate fish, deer, ducks, and turkey.
The Maya introduced the world to a number of new foods. Probably the most interesting was chocolate from the cacao tree. The Maya considered chocolate to be a gift from the gods and used cacao seeds as money. Other new foods included tomatoes, sweet potatoes, black beans, and papaya.
What were their homes like?
The nobles and kings lived inside the city in large palaces made from stone. The commoners lived in huts outside the city near their farms. The huts were usually made from mud, but were sometimes made from stone. They were single room homes with thatched roofs. In many areas the Maya built their huts on top of platforms made from dirt or stone in order to protect them from floods.
Entertainment
Although much of the Maya life was spent doing hard work, they did enjoy entertainment as well. A lot of their entertainment was centered around religious ceremonies. They played music, danced, and played games such as the Maya ball game.
A Maya ball court
Interesting Facts about Maya Daily Life
The Maya considered crossed eyes, flat foreheads, and big noses to be beautiful features. In some areas they would use makeup to try and make their noses appear large.
The Maya loved to wear large hats and headdresses. The more important the person, the taller the hat they wore.
The farmers of the Maya did not have metal tools or beasts of burden to help them farm. They used simple stone tools and did the work by hand.
Sometimes the ball games that the Maya played were part of a religious ceremony. The losers were sacrificed to the gods.
The Maya had hundreds of different dances. Many of these dances are still practiced today. Some examples of the dances include the Snake dance, the Monkey dance, and the Dance of the Stag.
Government
City-states
The Maya civilization consisted of a large number of city-states. Each city-state had its own independent government. A city-state was made up of a major city and the surrounding areas which sometimes included some smaller settlements and cities. Archeologists believe there were hundreds of Maya cities at the peak of the Mayan civilization.
You can visit the ruins of some Maya city-states today such as Chichen Itza and Tikal. Go here to read about some of the more famous and powerful Maya city-states.
A Maya Ruler
King and Nobles
Each city-state was ruled by a king. The Maya believed that their king was given the right to rule by the gods. They believed that the king worked as an intermediary between the people and the gods. The leaders of the Maya were called the "halach uinic" or "ahaw", meaning "lord" or "ruler".
There were also powerful councils of leaders who ran the government. They were chosen from the class of nobles. Lesser lords were called the "batab" and military leaders were called the "nacom".
Priests
Because religion was an important part of the Maya life, the priests were powerful figures in the government as well. In some ways the king was considered a priest, too. The kings of the Maya often came to the priests for advice on what to do in a crisis and to get predictions of the future. As a result, the priests had great influence on how the king ruled.
Laws
The Maya had strict laws. Crimes such as murder, arson, and acts against the gods were often punished with death. The punishment was much reduced, however, if it was determined that the crime was an accident.
If you broke a law you appeared in court where the local leaders or nobles served as judge. In some cases the king would serve as judge. At the trial the judge would review evidence and listen to witnesses. If the person was found guilty, the punishment was carried out immediately.
The Maya did not have prisons. Punishment for crimes included death, slavery, and fines. Sometimes they would shave the person's head as this was considered a sign of shame. If the victim of the crime wanted to pardon or forgive the accused, then the punishment may be reduced.
Interesting Facts about Maya Government and Kings
The position of king was usually inherited by the oldest son. If there wasn't a son then the oldest brother became king. However, there were also many cases of women rulers.
Commoners had to pay taxes in order to support the king and the nobles. Men also had to serve as warriors when the king commanded.
The Maya nobles were also subject to the law. If a noble was found guilty of a crime, they were often punished even more severely than a commoner.
Sometimes when the king appeared in public, his servants would hold a cloth over his face so the commoners could not see him. Commoners were also not supposed to talk to him directly.
Commoners were forbidden from wearing the clothing or symbols of the nobles.
The city-state government of the Maya was similar in many ways to the government of the Ancient Greeks.
Religion and Mythology
The lives of the ancient Maya centered around their religion and gods of nature. Religion touched many aspects of their everyday lives.
The rain god Chaac
Maya Gods
The Maya believed in a large number of nature gods. Some gods were considered more important and powerful than others.
Itzamna - The most important Maya god was Itzamna. Itzamna was the god of fire who created the Earth. He was ruler of heaven as well as day and night. The Maya believed that he gave them the calendar and writing. It is thought that his name means "lizard house".
Kukulcan - Kukulkan was a powerful snake god whose name means "feathered serpent". He was the primary god of the Itza people in the latter part of the Maya civilization. He is often drawn to look like a dragon.
Bolon Tzacab - Also known by the name Huracan (similar to our word for hurricane), Bolon Tzacab was the god of storms, wind, and fire. Maya mythology said that he caused a great flood to come when the Maya angered the gods. His name means "one leg".
Chaac - Chaac was the god of rain and lightning. He had a lighting axe that he used to strike the clouds and produce rain and storms.
Divine Kings
The kings of the Maya served as intermediaries between the people and the gods. In some ways the kings were thought to be gods themselves.
Priests
The priests were responsible for performing rituals to keep the people in the favor of the gods. They were very powerful. In the Book of the Jaguar Priest, the duties of the priests are described in detail. Some of the duties included:
To impersonate the gods
To predict the future
To work miracles
To build tables of eclipses
To avert famine, drought, plagues, and earthquakes
To insure adequate rainfall
Afterlife
The Maya believed in a scary afterlife where most people had to travel through a dark underworld where mean gods would torment them. The only people who started out the afterlife in heaven were women who died in childbirth and people who had been sacrificed to the gods.
Maya Calendar
A big part of the Maya religion included the stars and the Maya calendar. Some days were considered lucky days, while other days were considered unlucky. They set their religious ceremonies and festivals according to the position of the stars and the days of their calendar.
Pyramids
The Maya built large pyramids as monuments to their gods. At the top of the pyramid was a flat area where a temple was built. The priests would get to the top of the pyramids using staircases built into the sides. They would perform rituals and sacrifices at the temple on the top.
How do we know about the Maya religion?
The main way archeologists know about the Maya religion is through Mayan texts which describe the religious ceremonies and beliefs of the Maya. These books are called codices. The primary surviving books are the Madrid Codex, the Paris Codex, and Dresden Codex as well as a writing called the Popol Vuh.
Interesting Facts about Maya Religion and Mythology
They believed that the world was created in 3114 BC. This was the zero date in their calendar.
Some aspects of the Maya religion are still practiced today.
Maya mythology tells the story of how man was created from maize.
One popular tale told how the gods opened Maize Mountain where the first seeds to plant maize were found.
Two popular figures in Maya mythology were the Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque. They fought demons as well as the lords of the underworld.
The Maya predicted that the world would come to an end on December 21, 2012.
Writing, Numbers, and Calendar
Of all the ancient American civilizations, the Maya developed one of the most advanced systems of writing and numbers. They also used a complex system of calendars to track both time and religious ceremonies.
Writing
The Maya used an advanced form of writing called hieroglyphics. Their writing looks similar to the ancient Egyptians, but is actually quite different. In Mayan hieroglyphics, they used symbols (also called glyphs) to represent words, sounds, or objects. By putting several glyphs together the Maya wrote sentences and told stories.
Only the wealthy Maya became priests and learned to read and write. They wrote on long sheets of paper made from bark or leather. These sheets were folded up like an accordion to make books. A Maya book is called a codex (or codices for more than one).
Numbers
The Maya used a number system with the base number of 20 (we use a base-10 number system). They wrote numbers using a system of bars and dots. A bar represented the number 5. Every 5 numbers they added another bar. The number zero was written with a symbol that looked like a shell. See below for an example of how the Maya wrote the numbers 0 to 19.
Calendar
The Maya had two kinds of calendars, a religious calendar called the Tzolk'in and a solar calendar called the Haab'. Every 52 years the two calendars would start on the same day. They would celebrate the New Fire Festival on this day (El Fuego Nuevo). All the fires throughout their households would be put out and they would throw away all their clay utensils. It was a time of renewal and new beginnings.
The solar calendar, or Haab', had 18 months of 20 days each. There were five extra "unlucky" days in the 19th month to get to total of 365 days in a year. They numbered the days in the month from 0 to 19. Here is a list of the 19 Maya months in the Haab' calendar:
Pop
Wo
Sip
Sotz'
Sek
Xul
Yaxk'in'
Mol
Ch'en
Yax
Sak'
Keh
Mak
K'ank'in
Muwan
Pax
K'ayab
Kumk'u
Wayeb (month with only 5 unlucky days)
The religious calendar, or Tzolk'in, was a 260-day calendar. This calendar has two cycles, a 20 day cycle and a 13 day cycle. Each day has a name and a number. The name comes from the 20 day cycle and the number from the 13 day cycle. Here is a list of the 20-day cycle names:
Imix
Ik
Ak'b'al
K'an
Chikchan
Kimi
Manik
Lamat
Muluk
Ok
Chuwen
Eb
B'en
Ix
Men
K'ib
Kab'an
Etz'nab
Kawak
Ajaw
Beginning and End of the World
The Maya also had a third calendar they used for historical purposes. It was called the Long Count Calendar. The Long Count calendar started on August 11, 3114 BC. This was the day on which the Maya believed the world was created. Some people think that the Maya also predicted the end of the world to be on December 21, 2012.
Interesting Facts about Maya Writing, Numbers, and Calendar
Unfortunately, when the Spanish found the Maya codices (books), they thought they were evil and burned them. Only a few survived.
The Maya wrote using black ink made from coal and quills made from turkey feathers.
Each Maya month had a glyph that represented the month. Some of the glyphs also represented animals. For example, the glyph for the month of Sotz also meant bat, Xul meant dog, Muwan meant owl, and K'ayab meant turtle.
The word "Kin" was used to represent a day. It also meant "sun".
The base-20 number system is called the vigesimal system. The Maya wrote large numbers in powers of 20.
Pyramids and Architecture
The Maya civilization is famous for its architecture. Many city-states built large palaces, pyramids, and other public buildings that are still standing today. The buildings were covered with carvings and statues to honor their gods as well as to commemorate their kings.
Pyramids
The Maya are perhaps most known for their many majestic pyramids. They built two kinds of pyramids. Both types of pyramids were similar in many ways. They each had the familiar pyramid shape. They each had steep steps up the side that would allow someone to climb to the top. They each were built for religious purposes and for the gods. However, they had their differences as well.
The first type of pyramid had a temple on the top and was meant to be climbed by the priests to make sacrifices to the gods. The stairs going up the sides of these pyramids were steep, but not too steep for the priests to climb. The most important religious ceremonies were held at the top of these pyramids.
The second type of pyramid was a sacred pyramid built to a god. These pyramids were not to be climbed or touched by humans. There were still steps going up the sides of these pyramids, but they were often too steep to climb without a lot of effort. These pyramids were sometimes built with secret doors, tunnels, and traps.
Famous Pyramids
El Castillo - This pyramid was built as a temple to the god Kukulcan in the city of Chichen Itza. The total height of the pyramid is just under 100 feet. Each side of El Castillo has 91 steps. When you add up the steps on all four sides and then add in the top platform as a step, you get 365 steps, one for each day of the year.
El Castillo
Temple IV at Tikal - Temple IV at Tikal is part of a number of very tall pyramids in the city of Tikal. It is 230 feet tall and was built to mark the reign of King Yik'in Chan K'awiil.
La Danta - This pyramid is thought to be one of the largest pyramids in the world by total volume. It is 250 feet tall and has a volume of 2.8 million cubic meters.
Nohoch Mul - A temple pyramid in the city of Coba, Nohoch Mul is one of the tallest pyramids on the Yucatan Peninsula at 138 feet high.
Nohoch Mul Pyramid
Palaces for the Kings
Each Maya city-state would have a large palace inside the city for their king and the royal family. These palaces were sometimes large monuments to powerful kings. One of the most famous palaces is the palace at Palenque built by King Pakal. It was a large complex of many buildings and courtyards including a tall tower that looked over the city. It was covered with colorful hieroglyphics and carvings of the king and his family.
Ball Courts
The Maya also built giant ball courts where they would play their game with a rubber ball. Some major cities had multiple courts. Sometimes ball courts were attached to temples. The courts had two long stone walls, sometimes built with sloped sides.
Interesting Facts about Maya Pyramids and Architecture
Maya pyramids had a flat top.
The pyramids of the Aztecs were very similar to those of the Maya. The main difference was that the Aztec would sometimes build more than one temple on the top of a pyramid.
Many times new pyramids were built on top of old pyramids. Archeologists have found several more pyramids inside and under existing pyramids.
Some pyramids served as burial chambers for kings similar to the ancient Egyptians.
Many Maya buildings and temples were aligned with celestial events such as the path of the sun.
Sites and Cities
The Maya people built many cities throughout the history of their civilization. The cities acted as city-states where each single large city ruled over the surrounding areas. Maya cities were not planned out in detail like the cities of the Aztecs. They tended to grow out from the center over time. The center complexes, however, do appear to be planned with buildings often built in alignment to the sun.
Each city was home to the local king who lived in a palace within the city. It was also home to large pyramids that served as temples to their gods. Typically cities were located near trade routes and good farmland.
El Mirador
El Mirador was one of the first large city-states of the Maya civilization. It is thought that, at its peak, over 100,000 people lived in the city. The central center of the city covered ten square miles and had over a thousand buildings. Archeologists have found three large temple pyramids: El Tigre (180 feet tall), Los Monos (157 feet tall), and La Danta (250 feet tall). The La Danta temple is considered one of the largest pyramids in the world by total volume.
El Mirador thrived from 6th century BC up to the 1st century AD. It was at its peak around the 3rd century BC. Archeologists think that the city was abandoned around 150 AD and then people moved back in several hundred years later around 700 AD.
Kaminaljuyu
Kaminaljuyu was a major city-state located in the Southern Mayan Area in the Guatemala highlands. The city was occupied for around 2000 years from 1200 BC to 900 AD. The city was a major trade location for products such as cacao, fruits, pottery, and obsidian.
Tikal
Tikal became one of the most powerful city-states in the history of the Maya civilization during the Classic period of Maya history. The city was large and had thousands of structures including six large pyramids. The tallest pyramid is called Temple IV at over 230 feet high. The city likely had between 60,000 and 70,000 inhabitants during its peak years.
The Acropolis at Tikal
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan wasn't necessarily a Maya city-state, but was a major city-state located in the Valley of Mexico during the time of the Maya civilization. It was so powerful that it influenced Maya culture, trade, and politics during the Classic period.
Caracol
Caracol began as a client state to the powerful city-state of Tikal. It was located in what is now the Cayo District of the country of Belize. At around the year 600 AD, Caracol broke away from Tikal and became a power city-state of its own. The city at its peak was much larger than the capital city of Belize is today. It covered around 200 square kilometers and may have had a population as large as 180,000.
Observatory and Caracol
Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza was the dominant Maya city-state during the end of the Classic period and the Post-classic period. It is the home of many famous structures including:
El Castillo - A pyramid and temple built to the Maya god Kukulkan. It is around 98 feet tall.
Great Ball Court - The largest of several ball courts in Chichen Itza, the Great Ball Court is 551 feet long by 230 feet wide. The walls on each side of the court are 26 feet tall. Temples of the Jaguar are built into the side of the court.
Temple of the Warriors - This temple is a large pyramid with four platforms and an impressive temple on the top. Two sides of the temple are covered with around 200 columns which were covered with a roof system during the time of the Maya.
Interesting Facts about Maya Sites and Cities
Many of these cities can be visited today. Some of them, such as Chichen Itza and Tikal, are considered UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Around 1.2 million people visit the Chichen Itza site each year.
Archeologists have found at least thirteen different ball courts built in the city of Chichen Itza.
Other important Maya city-states include Coba, Uxmal, Mayapan, Tulum, Palenque, and Kabah.
Palenque was once known as the "Red City" because its buildings were all painted red.
Much is known about the kings of Tikal including some of their interesting names such as Jaguar Paw, Curl Head, Shield Skull, and Double Bird. The city was also ruled by women several times.
Art
The Maya civilization existed for over 1500 years. During that time the Maya created many works of art. The art of the Maya was heavily influenced by their religion as well as other cultures such as the Olmecs and the Toltecs. The subject for much of their artwork was the Maya kings who wanted to make sure they were remembered throughout history.
Sculpture
The Maya are perhaps most famous for their work in stone. They built many monumental structures including tall pyramids and palaces. They also made a lot of sculptures out of stone. One popular type of Maya sculpture was the stela. A stela was a large tall stone slab covered with carvings and writing. The stela was popular during the Classic Maya period when most major cities had stela built in honor of their kings. Stela were often located near altars.
A Maya Stela
Some stelae were very large. The largest Maya stela discovered to date is the Stela E from the city of Quirigua. It weighs 65 tons and is around 34 feet tall.
Carving
The Maya also created detailed carvings in other materials such as wood and jade. Although only a few wood carvings have survived, archeologists believe that wood carvings were very popular pieces of art for the Maya.
Painting
The Maya painted murals on the walls of their buildings including their houses, temples, and public buildings. The subjects of the murals varied widely including scenes from daily life, mythology, battles, and religious ceremonies. Unfortunately, due to the high humidity of the region, few of the murals have survived.
Ceramics
Maya ceramics are an important art form. The Maya created their pottery without the use of a potter's wheel. They decorated their pottery with elaborate designs and scenes. Archeologists are able to learn a lot about different periods and cities of the Maya through the scenes painted or carved into their pottery.
Writing
Maya art can also be viewed in their books or codices. These books are made from long folded sheets of leather or bark paper. The writing uses a number of symbols and pictures and the books can be considered delicate works of art.
Weaving and Feather-working
Although none of the materials from the Maya age have survived to this time, archeologists can tell through the paintings, writings, and carvings the type of clothes that the Maya created. Clothing for the nobles was truly an art form. The nobles wore decorated clothing and huge headdresses made from feathers. Some of the most respected craftsmen were those that wove the detailed feathered clothing for the nobility.
Interesting Facts about Maya Art
Unlike many ancient civilizations, Maya artists sometimes signed their work.
Other arts included the performing arts of dance and music. The Maya had a variety of musical instruments including wind instruments, drums, and rattles. Some of the more complex instruments were reserved for the elite.
The Maya used stucco plaster to create large masks and portraits of both the gods and the kings.
The kings would often commission a work of art to commemorate events in their lives.
The city of Palenque is often considered the artistic capital of the Maya civilization. It wasn't a big or powerful city, but some of the finest Maya art has been found within this city.
The Hero Twins Myth
The Hero Twins are two of the most famous characters from Maya mythology. Their story is told in one of the few surviving Maya texts called the Popol Vuh.
Here is an outline of the story of the Maya Hero Twins:
The Story
Father and Uncle
The story of the Hero Twins begins with two twin boys. Their names are One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu. These two boys loved to play the Maya ball game. They were very talented, but they were also very noisy when they played. The gods of the underworld, the Lords of Death, became agitated with the boys and summoned them to the underworld. The Maya underworld was called Xibalba.
When the boys visited the underworld the Lords of Death put them through a number of tests. First they had to make it over rivers of spikes and blood. Then they were to greet the gods by name. However, the gods they greeted were only wooden carvings. By not recognizing the gods they had failed a test. Then the gods asked them to sit down. When they sat down they were burned by a fiery bench. They had failed another test. Because they failed the tests, the gods put them to death.
The Hero Twins are Born
Despite being dead, according to the myth, One Hunahpu had a child with one of the Maya goddesses. This goddess had twins who were to become known as the Hero Twins. Their names were Hunahpu and Xbalanque.
Just like their father and uncle, the Hero Twins were great ballplayers. They were also loud and annoyed the gods of the underworld. Soon the Lords of Death summoned them to come play a game of ball in the underworld.
Visit to the Underworld
The Hero Twins went to the underworld to meet the Lords of Death. However, the Hero Twins had learned from their father's mistakes. They didn't fall for any of the gods' tricks. Each time the gods put them to the test, they passed the test.
When the gods tried to trick them with wooden gods, they used a mosquito to bite the gods. This way they knew which god was real and which was wood by the way they reacted. They also refused to sit on the fiery bench.
Playing a Game of Ball
After passing the tests, the boys were to play a game of ball against the gods. Again, the gods tried to trick the boys by using a ball with sharp blades on it. The boys were having none of this, however. They saw the blades and told the gods they weren't going to play ball if the gods wouldn't play fair.
The gods agreed to play fair. However, the boys knew that the gods intended to kill them if they won. So they let the gods win. After each game, the gods continued to test the boys with rooms of blades, ice, and fire.
The Hero Twins are Killed
The boys finally beat the Lords of Death at the game of ball. The lords were furious. They told the boys to jump into an oven, the boys agreed. The boys were killed and the gods threw their ashes into the river. This was all part of the Hero Twins secret plan. When their ashes became part of the river the boys came back to life as catfish. Then later they were fully restored as the Hero Twins.
They Win in the End
The Hero Twins now had many powers of the gods. They could kill things and then make them come back from the dead. The Lords of Death were impressed with the boys' powers. They asked the boys to perform the trick on them. With their best trick of all, they killed the Lords of Death and then didn't bring them back to life. The Hero Twins had won!
Interesting Facts about the Maya Hero Twins
Characters very similar to the Hero Twins are found in the mythology of several other Native American cultures.
The Hero Twins were made rulers of the Earth by the gods of the sky. One twin was turned into the Moon and the other into the Sun.
The Hero Twins brought their father back to life and turned him into the Maize god.
It was said that the rulers of the Maya were the descendents of the Hero Twins. This gave them the right to rule.
Many Maya vases are painted and carved with scenes from the stories of the Hero Twins.
Glossary and Terms
Ahau or Ahaw - The main king or lord of a Maya city-state.
Batab - A lesser lord, usually ruling over a small town.
Cacao - Seeds that the Maya used to make chocolate.
Cenote - A sinkhole or pit filled with water, cenotes were sources of water for the Maya and were also used as places of sacrifice.
Chac Mool - A type of statue of a human figure in a reclining position usually holding a tray over the stomach.
Chichen Itza - The most powerful city-state during the start of the Post-classic period, Chichen Itza is a very popular tourist attraction today.
City-state - An independent government where a large city rules the surrounding area.
Classic Period - The golden age of the Maya civilization running from 250 AD to 900 AD.
Codex - A type of book written by the Maya that was created by one long sheet of paper that was then folded like an accordion.
Glyph - A symbol used in writing.
Haab' - The Maya solar calendar that was used to measure time and had 365 days.
Hero Twins - A major story in Maya mythology, the Hero Twins were said to be the ancestors of the Maya rulers.
Huipil - A traditional garment worn by Maya women.
Itzamna - The main god of the Maya, Itzamna was the god of fire who created the Earth.
Kin - Word representing a day in the Maya calendar.
Kukulcan - The serpent god of the Maya. One of the primary gods, especially to the Itza peoples of Chichen Itza.
Lintel - An architectural element often found over doorways in Maya architecture.
Nacom - A high ranking military leader in the Maya army.
Obsidian - A hard rock that was used to make sharp edges and tools.
Popol Vuh - A book or codex that described Maya religion and mythology.
Pre-classic Period - The period of Maya history running from the start of the Maya civilization around 2000 BC to the start of the Classic Period in 250 AD.
Post-classic Period - The period of Maya history running from the end of the Classic Period in 900 AD to the end of the Maya civilization in 1500 AD.
Pyramid - A large monument with four sides that tapers at the top. The Maya build step pyramids with flat tops. At the top they built a temple to their gods.
Quetzal - A type of jungle bird with feathers that the Maya used in their feathered clothing and headdresses.
Stela - A tall monumental sculpture made from stone with relief carvings made by the Maya.
Tikal - One of the most powerful city-states during the Classic Period.
Tzolk'in - The Maya religious calendar used to track religious days and ceremonies. It had 260 days.
Uinal - Word for a month in the Maya calendar. It was 20 days long.
Yucatan Peninsula - An area in southeastern Mexico where some of the Maya civilization developed.