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Why were there two Maya calendars?

Maya person holds up a calendar used for farming.
Image caption,
Maya farming was successful because of the accurate and detailed calendars people used.

The Tzolkin calendar was also known as the Sacred calendar.

  • It was 260 days long and it was used to keep track of religious ceremonies.
  • Each day has its own unique name.
  • It is still observed by some Maya people today.

The Haab calendar had 365 days. It could be used alongside the Tzolkin calendar to form a calendar wheel.

The Maya followed the movements of the sun, moon, stars and planets to create their calendars.

Calendars could include Wayeb days which were days of reflection where people liked to stay at home and prepare to receive good fortune.

Maya person holds up a calendar used for farming.
Image caption,
Maya farming was successful because of the accurate and detailed calendars people used.
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How did the Maya travel?

Maya roads.

Raised roads called sacbeob were built in the rainforest to make travelling easier.
When it rained it could be difficult to travel through the wet and muddy jungle floor.

  • Sacbeob were paved and built a few inches above the ground so the Maya could travel whatever the weather and conditions.
  • These roadways could be used for religious pilgrimages, to transport goods and connect cities.
  • The longest known sacbeob is called 驰补虫耻苍补-颁辞产谩. It runs 62 miles (100km) from Maya cities Cob谩 to Yaxuna.
Maya roads.
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How did the Maya carry goods?

Bottle in the shape of a person carrying a load using a tumpline.
Image caption,
This bottle is in the shape of a person carrying a load using a tumpline. You can see the strap round the person's forehead.

Maya people did not use vehicles with wheels to move things. Instead they carried loads on their backs.

  • A tumpline was a carrying device used to carry heavy loads on someone鈥檚 back.
  • It allowed people to carry up to 125 pounds (around 57kg).
  • The tumpline had a strap which went round the forehead.
Bottle in the shape of a person carrying a load using a tumpline.
Image caption,
This bottle is in the shape of a person carrying a load using a tumpline. You can see the strap round the person's forehead.
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What was a metate?

A metate is a stone tool that would have been used for grinding maize to make tortillas.

The maize would have been placed on the flat or concave surfaced metate and ground using the a stone called a mano. Women would have been responsible for doing this.

This tool is still used by some Maya today, as can be seen in the photograph below.

A Maya woman grinding corn
Image caption,
Here a Maya woman is grinding corn on a 鈥渕etate鈥, while her daughter helps in the process.
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Activities

Activity 1: Quiz 鈥 Maya inventions

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Activity 2: History Explorer game

Play this game to test your knowledge and learn even more facts about the ancient Maya.

History Explorer: Secrets through time

History Explorer: Secrets through time: KS2 History

History Explorer: Secrets through time
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Bitesize Primary games. game

Play fun and educational primary games in science, maths, English, history, geography, art, computing and modern languages.

Bitesize Primary games
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