The Mayan Civilization - 1023 Words

The Preclassic Maya The founding years of the Mayan civilisation are known as the Preclassic era, stretching from 2000 B.C.E to roughly 250 C.E lasting about 2250 years. The Preclassic era is subdivided into three subperiods, each focused on one or two necessities required for the empire s growth. The Early period consisted of mainly refining agricultural methods and building foundations, the middle period was a time of rapid population growth as well as the later period, a time for social and religious refining with the underlying necessity of the growth of the empire. The Preclassic Period of the Mayan civilisation is split into three sub periods. These periods are differentiated through the necessities that arose during these times.†¦show more content†¦From the sediments found on the lake bed of Peten of Guatemala, evidence that these early agriculturalists grew maize, fruits, cacao and a selection of roots, though they continued to be dependent on hunting bounty from the available from the land and water. Skeletal evidence has provided evidence for the consumption of maize as a significant part of their diet. They hunted the surrounding areas and fished the rivers whilst also foraging for berries and roots to supplement their meagre diet. The middle period of the Preclassic Maya civilisation was a time of rapid population growth. Using the agricultural foundations developed in the previous period, the ancient Mayans constructed villages and cities that resembled chiefdoms. These chiefdoms were ruled by chiefs who built and retained their power through family connects and divine rulings. Divine rulings refer to the chief’s perceived right to rule, which was presented as a supernatural support from the divine. Due to the chiefs ruling over the chiefdoms, they were able to control the economy, ensuring the public support of his ruling. There is evidence for these chiefdoms are found in the sites like: Tikal; Cahal Pech; and Santa Rita. These chiefdoms, ruled by the family and divine backed chiefs, were a direct cause of the rapid populationShow MoreRelatedThe Mayan Civilization2031 Words   |  9 PagesThe Mayan Civilization at its height was one of the greatest civilization to ever reign on the planet. Their adv ances in astronomy and mathematics well in advance has helped present civilizations to prosper. But one of the great questions is what happened to the Mayans? Why did they collapse? What caused them to collapse? 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