| A | B |
|---|
| Maya | Group of ancient Mesoamericans that settled in the Yucatan Peninsula and in the modern day countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras by crossing the land bridge from Asia and migrating south over time |
| BC | Before Christ |
| AD | Anno Domini (year of the lord) |
| BCE | Before the Common Era |
| CE | Common Era |
| Pre classic Era | 2500 B.C.E to circa 250 C.E. Characterized by the Mayans being hunters and gatherers and also forming ancient fishing settlements along the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea |
| Classic Era | 250 C.E. to circa 900 C.E. Characterized by the building of great cities, great stone structures, stone pyramids, stone temples, the development of a sophisticated writing system, the study of astronomy, the creation of accurate calendars, and a mass development of farming techniques. Historians consider this era to be the most accomplished of the 3 Mayan eras. |
| Post classic Era | 900 C.E. to about 1500 C.E. Characterized by mysterious Mayan civilization beginning to collapse and then almost completing disappearing during the Spanish Conquest of 1500 C.E. |
| Mayan Religion | Important to every part of Mayan daily life; worship of many gods; human sacrifice |
| Itzamna | The head god, lord of the heavens and lord of night and day; his name meant lizard; the Mayans believed he invented books and writing |
| Kinich Ahau | He was the sun god |
| Chac | He was the rain god |
| Ah Puch | He is the god of death |
| Tikal | The largest and perhaps the oldest Mayan city; located in modern day Guatemala |
| Copan | The second largest Mayan city; located in modern day Honduras |
| Chichen Itza | Located in modern day Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula these ruins include several plazas, pyramid temples, ancient ball courts, and a large observatory tower used by the ancient astronomers. Also includes the Well of Sacrifice which the Mayas actually threw many live men into the well as sacrifices to the gods. |
| Ancient Ball Game | Game played by the Mayans; points were scored by shooting a hard rubber ball through a stone hoop located on the walls of the ball court |
| Polytheism | The worship of many gods |
| Monotheism | The worship of one god |
| Glyphs or Hieroglyphs | Great accomplishment of the Maya; System of writing that the Maya created based upon picture writing or pictographs |
| Calendars | Great accomplishment of the Maya; due to their study of the stars and astronomy the Maya were able to create these accurate tools to keep track of days |
| Astronomy | Great accomplishment of the Maya; the study of the sun, moon, stars, planets, constellations |
| Writing System | Great accomplishment of the Maya; the Maya created hieroglyphs/glyphs creating this |
| Gulf of Mexico | Map Question: Number #1 on the map |
| Mexico | Map Question: Number #2 on the map |
| Pacific Ocean | Map Question: Number #3 on the map |
| Atlantic Ocean | Map Question: Number #4 on the map |
| Yucatan Peninsula | Map Question: Number #5 on the map |
| Caribbean Islands | Map Question: Number #6 on the map |
| South America | Map Question: Number #7 on the map |
| North America | Map Question: Number #8 on the map |
| Codex | Ancient Mayan books |
| Shell | Represents the number zero in Mayan math |
| Evil | Spanish missionaries destroyed all written records of the Mayas because they felt that the Maya's religious practices were _______. four letters |
| Dot | In Mayan math one is represented by a _____. |
| Bar | In Mayan math the number 5 is represented by a _____. |
