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Location - The Mayan culture spread through southern mexico and Central America. It included the Yucatan Peninsula to the north as well as today's countries of Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, and Guatemala to the south. It stretched from the Gulf of Mexico in the west to the Caribbean Sean in the east. This area included rugged mountains as well as dense swamps.
Characteristics - The Mayan people were short. The average height of the men was just over five feet. The women were about four feet eight inches tall. Mayans had straight black hair, and many painted their bodies black, red, or blue. They also often had tattoos. They valued crossed eyes and tied objects from their infants' foreheads to encourage their eyes to cross. Some Mayans also tied boards to the heads of their children to flatten their foreheads.
History - The Mayan history is divided into three eras: the pre-classic (from about 2,500 B.C. to 250 A.D. During this time, the Mayas came in contact with and borrowed from Olmed Indians. The early Mayan settlements were fishing villages along the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Seas; they moved inland when they learned to plant crops.
The Mayan classic era continued from 250 A.D. to 900 A.D. They built many great cities, most of which had majestic pyramid temples. Tikal, the largest Mayan city, may have had a population of 100,000 or more. During the classic era, the Mayas improved methods of agriculture. They also developed advanced mathematics and astronomy as well as a system of writing.
The post-classic era began with the collapse of the Mayan empire. It lasted until the Spanish Conquest in the 1500's. The Mayas continued to farm and trade in the region after the great cities fell. Christopher Columbus met some Mayan traders in 1502. Mayan descendants still live in the region of their ancestors.
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Average Score: 3
Votes: 2
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