Mayan Culture
Writing and Language
- The Mayans are known for creating an advanced writing system of mathematics and were the first to use the number "0".
- To the left you will find their system of counting. A shell symbolized "0", a dot was "1" and a bar was "5"
Play a Mayan math game here!
Maya Math
3 Digits Math Game
The Mayans used a base-20 system, so numbers after 19 are written vertically.
As an example, check out the number 65 in the image below. The three dots on the second tier represent 60 (3 x 20 = 60), and the single bar on the bottom tier represents 5.
As an example, check out the number 65 in the image below. The three dots on the second tier represent 60 (3 x 20 = 60), and the single bar on the bottom tier represents 5.
Mayan Hieroglyphs
The Mayans are also known for creating an advanced writing system called hieroglyphs for communication. Hieroglyphs are pictures that represent letters, words, or stories.
Click on the button below to watch a "Breaking The Code" video about Mayan Hieroglyphs
Click on the button below to watch a "Breaking The Code" video about Mayan Hieroglyphs
Jewelry
- They wore many different pieces of jewelry and adornments. Body tattoos, jade in their teeth, and magnificent headdresses symbolized beauty and power.
- They Mayans are also known for elongating the heads of their children and purposely crossing their eyes
Religion
- The Mayans believed they were children of the corn in that their Gods mixed their blood with the flour from corn.
- The Popol Vuh, the book of the Mayan people, explains the creation myth
Food
- Corn was a main staple of the Mayan diet.
- Other foods included squash, beans, chili peppers, tomatoes, avocado, and cacao.
Human Sacrifice
- They worshipped many Gods, they regularly engaged in bloodletting ceremonies and human sacrificing ceremonies.
- Human sacrifice was considered a holy ritual to show dedication to their Gods.