The Mayan Indians:
The Largest Indigenous Indian Group in North America
Dating back as far as 50,000 B.C. and originally coming from Asia across the Bering Sea and Alaska to the Americas and the Yucatan peninsula during the last ice age, the Mayan Indians are an indigenous group of culturally diverse people. The ancient Mayans lived in present-day southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and western El Salvador having a population of eight million at the Pre-Columbian period, and at the Twenty-first century, it has been estimated to be over six million making the Mayans the largest indigenous group in North America. Mayans are compared to the Greeks, because they made advances in agriculture and architecture inventing chocolate, herbal medicine, and a form of basketball using their creative ball courts at multiple cities especially their capital, Tikal. At Tikal they built schools, libraries, sports arenas (ball courts), and hospitals. By 1000 in the Post-Classic period, they abandoned many of their buildings when the Spanish came: they migrated and scattered to small villages. The height of Mayan culture occurred during the Classic period, in which they built pyramids, temples, and palaces …show more content…
Mayan hunters had tools such as bows and arrows, spears, blowguns, nets, and traps that they skillfully used to hunt and capture game. Similar to farming, when hunting, the Mayan had to perform proper rituals such as prayers and offerings to the food in order for success. When a deer was captured the hunter would kneel and apologize for his actions and offer the animal’s spirit as an explanation for killing it. After returning from the hunting trip, the meat was shared, and the skins were cured. Rabbits, wild pigs, squirrels, turkeys, birds, fish, shellfish, and turtles were hunted and caught in villages, forests, and along the coasts. Not only was the Mayan’s culture influenced by agriculture but also religious
The Largest Indigenous Indian Group in North America
Dating back as far as 50,000 B.C. and originally coming from Asia across the Bering Sea and Alaska to the Americas and the Yucatan peninsula during the last ice age, the Mayan Indians are an indigenous group of culturally diverse people. The ancient Mayans lived in present-day southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and western El Salvador having a population of eight million at the Pre-Columbian period, and at the Twenty-first century, it has been estimated to be over six million making the Mayans the largest indigenous group in North America. Mayans are compared to the Greeks, because they made advances in agriculture and architecture inventing chocolate, herbal medicine, and a form of basketball using their creative ball courts at multiple cities especially their capital, Tikal. At Tikal they built schools, libraries, sports arenas (ball courts), and hospitals. By 1000 in the Post-Classic period, they abandoned many of their buildings when the Spanish came: they migrated and scattered to small villages. The height of Mayan culture occurred during the Classic period, in which they built pyramids, temples, and palaces …show more content…
Mayan hunters had tools such as bows and arrows, spears, blowguns, nets, and traps that they skillfully used to hunt and capture game. Similar to farming, when hunting, the Mayan had to perform proper rituals such as prayers and offerings to the food in order for success. When a deer was captured the hunter would kneel and apologize for his actions and offer the animal’s spirit as an explanation for killing it. After returning from the hunting trip, the meat was shared, and the skins were cured. Rabbits, wild pigs, squirrels, turkeys, birds, fish, shellfish, and turtles were hunted and caught in villages, forests, and along the coasts. Not only was the Mayan’s culture influenced by agriculture but also religious