大象传媒

Watch: What was home life like for Maya people?

Back to top

What did the Maya people build?

Animated image of Mayan home with a thatched roof.

The Maya built many temples, palaces, causeways, schools and marketplaces.

They took millions of hours to build, from cutting and moving the stone to finishing the decoration.

The royals and nobles lived in the ceremonial centre and the ordinary people further out.

Animated image of Mayan home with a thatched roof.
Back to top

What were the buildings made from?

The temples and palaces were mainly made of stone. Limestone in particular was available across much of the Maya region. Limestone is soft when first cut and hardens with age.

Fired bricks, volcanic rock and sandstone were used in areas where there was no limestone. The limestone was burned to make cement or plaster.

Mayan house with thatched roof.

Wood was used for beams and poles, and thatch for huts, covered with adobe, which was mud strengthened straw.

The Maya did not use the wheel. They moved stone on logs or with pulleys.

Back to top

How did ordinary people live?

Maya person thatching a roof.

Ordinary Maya homes were not built on platforms like the city temples and palaces but on ground level. They were built in an oval shape, from wooden poles with clay and mud (wattle and daub) or stone walls (which was rare) and a thatch roof, or plants, to keep the rain and snow out.

They had one room which they all shared, including the parents, sometimes with a wall to divide the house. They would sleep in the back part.

Maya person thatching a roof.
Maya woman grinding corn.

There might have been a hearth (fireplace) to cook on and every house had pottery. Beds were made from sapling rods with a mat placed on top.

They often buried family members underneath or near the house.

Back to top

Activities

Activity 1: Quiz 鈥 Maya houses

Back to top

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
Back to top

Bitesize Primary games. game

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

Bitesize Primary games
Back to top

More on Maya Civilisation

Find out more by working through a topic