The Mayans: An Advanced Tribe

Research Paper: Mayan Culture There are many great tribes that existed as early as 2,000BC. One of those great tribes were the Mayans. The Maya were a part of Mesoamerica and existed during the classic period. The Maya were decicated to calculating time. They lived in city states and they were highly advanced in mathematical calculations. They also were responsible for creating the most accurate calendar in the Americas. This civilization was one of the most advanced of its time. Furthermore, I will discuss the Mayan Culture; agriculture, language, the mayan calendar, and many other things. The Mayans had many great achievements. One of the most important achievements was the establishment of a calendar with astonishing accuracy. They based their calendar off of one of their pyramids; the Pyramid of Kukulkan located in Chichén Itzá. It was built in the late Mayan period and was used as the basis for the calendar. The pyramid had four stairways, with 91 steps each as well as a platform on the top. All of this came together to a total of 365 days, which was equivalent to the number of days in a year based on the recent calendar. An article from TimeandDate.com states: “The Mayan Calendar consists of three separate corresponding calendars, the Long Count, the Tzolkin(divine calendar) and the Haab (civil calendar). Time is cyclical in the calendars and a set number of days must occur before a new cycle can begin”.
Agriculture was the source of the economy for the Mayans. Corn was their main crop whoever, they also grew squash, beans, chili, chocolate, vanilla, pineapple,tomato, peanut, avocado, potato, and jicama. “The Mayans supported themselves by using slash- and-burn agriculture. The vegetation was cut down and burned to clear the land and provide nutriments for the soil, which was then planted with crops. The Mayans also developed advance systems of irrigation and terracing. Terracing involves the construction of horizontal ridges in a hillside as a means

Cited: • http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/mayan.html • "Maya." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. Ed. Thomas Carson and Mary Bonk. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2000. 611. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. • Gonzales, Manuel G. Mexicanos: A History of Mexicans in the United States. Indiana University Press 1999.