大象传媒

Watch: What beliefs were important?

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What did the Maya people believe?

Ancient Maya character in heaven

The Maya believed in many gods, each representing a different part of life. These gods had to be pleased so Maya communities made regular offerings to them, in the form of animal (and sometimes human) sacrifices.

Ancestor worship was important and similar to the Shang dynasty in China and also the ancient Egyptians, at around the same time (1500 BC).

Maya households buried their dead underneath the floors so they could protect the living.

Ancient Maya character in heaven
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How many gods were there?

A Maya temple.

The dozens of deities (gods) controlled every part of the world. They were closely tied to the calendar and astronomy and their importance changed according to the movement of the stars, moon and sun. This could only be interpreted by the priest.

Itzamna was the creator god. K鈥檌nich Ahau was the sun god. The Night Jaguar represented the sun on its journey to the underworld.

The four Chaacs were storm gods, controlling thunder, lightning and the rains. There was a moon goddess, and a maize god.

Kukulkan was a huge serpent covered in feathers who controlled rain.

A Maya temple.
Chaac is the god of rain. The Maize God created maize. Itzamna created humans. Kinich-Ahau is the Sun God. Kukulkan is the Serpent God.
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What did the priests do?

Three Maya people worshipping,

Priests acted between the human and the supernatural, also known as the 鈥榗丑颈濒补苍鈥. The priesthood became a closed group who performed the rituals, music, dance and sacrifices.

Priests recorded their rituals in hieroglyphic books which included astronomical cycles, calendars and history.

People believed that the kings were chosen to rule by gods (divine right to rule). The Maya kings became the high priests during the Classic period (250-900 AD).

During the post Classic period (950-1539 AD) gods and human sacrifice were even more important.

Three Maya people worshipping,
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What was the cosmos?

The Maya believed the Earth had the form of a giant turtle that floated on an endless ocean and that the sky was held up by four mighty gods called Bacabs.

The sky was made up of 13 levels in the heavens. Those who were sacrificed or who died in battle went to one of the top levels.

Ancient Maya priest giving a thumbs up in the underworld.

Those who died of natural causes went to Xibalba, the shadowy underworld, which had nine levels.

Each level was associated with a colour and a direction; north was white, east was red, south was yellow, and west was black. The mortal (living) world was in between.

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Activities

Activity 1: Maya gods and glyphs

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Activity 2: Quiz 鈥 Maya beliefs

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Activity 3: 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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