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Exploring the Richness of Maya Civilization

This quiz explores key aspects of the Maya civilization, including their cultural practices, achievements in writing and art, and historical interactions with conquistadores, offering insights into their rich and complex society.

#Maya #Civilization #History #Culture #Archaeology #Quizzes

1 Most of the conquistadores were motivated by the prospects of the great wealth to be had from the seizure of precious metal resources such as ________ or silver; however, the Maya lands themselves were poor in these resources.

2 We have only hints of the advanced painting of the classic Maya; mostly what has survived are ________ pottery and other Maya ceramics, and a building at Bonampak holds ancient murals that survived by chance.

3 Advances such as writing, ________, and the calendar did not originate with the Maya; however, their civilization fully developed them.

4 Published writings of 16th century ________ and writings of 18th century Spanish officials spurred serious investigations of Maya sites by the late 18th century.

5 What does the following picture show?  The ruins of Palenque   Maya numerals   False-color IKONOS image of a bajo (lowland area) in Guatemala. The forest covering sites of Maya ruins appears yellowish, as opposed to the red color of surrounding forest. The more sparsely vegetated bajos appear blue-green.   God K, the god of lightning

6 The latitude of most of their cities being below the ________, these zenial passages would occur twice a year equidistant from the solstice.

7 2000 BC to 250 AD), according to the ________, many Maya cities reached their highest state development during the Classic period (c.

8 Many consider Maya ________ of their Classic Era (c.

9 The modern ________ is even more accurate, accumulating only a day's error in approximately 3257 years.

10 Shortly after the conquest, all of the codices which could be found were ordered to be burnt and destroyed by zealous Spanish ________, notably Bishop Diego de Landa.

đź’ˇ Interesting Facts

  • the Classic Period Maya city of Ixtutz in the Maya Mountains of Guatemala was lost for more than a century after its discovery in 1852.
  • the Classic Period Maya city of Motul de San JosĂ© in Guatemala made tribute payments of high quality ceramics after its military defeat.
  • the Classic Period Maya site of El Zotz, in Guatemala, takes its name from the enormous quantity of bats that live in a cave under the ruins.
  • the Classic period Maya city of Punta de Chimino was one of the last cities to survive the political collapse of the PetexbatĂşn region of Guatemala.
  • the hieroglyphic inscriptions at the Early Classic Maya city of Bejucal in northern Guatemala were all made within a narrow 40 year period.
  • the Mayan ruins in Belize called Nim Li Punit take their name from the "big hat" headdress on an 8th century stela.
  • the Maya archaeological site of Tamarindito was relatively unscathed by looters during the Guatemalan Civil War due to the presence of guerrilla fighters.
  • the Maya archaeological site of Xlapak (pictured) in Mexico features well-preserved examples of the ostentatious Puuc style of architecture.
  • the Maya site of Altar de Sacrificios in Guatemala was one of the first places to be settled in the Maya lowlands.
  • the Classic Maya archaeological site of Yaxchilan, on the Mexican border with Guatemala, is known for its preserved sculpted lintels (example pictured) detailing the dynastic history of the city.
  • the Late Classic Maya archaeological site of La Muerta, in northern Guatemala, is distinguished by its unusual subterranean labyrinth.
  • the origin of the Postclassic K'iche' Maya patron deity Jacawitz has been traced back to a historical event at the city of Seibal.
  • the royal dynasty at the Maya city of Copán (fragment pictured) in Honduras was founded by a warrior sent from the distant city of Tikal.
  • the small Maya city of Itzan in the PetĂ©n region of Guatemala featured an unusually large quantity of sculpted monuments.
  • the monuments of the ancient Maya city of Seibal in Guatemala display an unusual mix of Maya and foreign elements.
  • the history of the ancient Mayan city of Dos Pilas has been reconstructed in more detail than almost any other Mayan site.
  • the Terminal Classic Puuc Maya site of Sayil (pictured) in Mexico is known for its terraced palace that gives the impression of a three-story building.
  • the triadic pyramid complex was an early Maya architectural form based on the Maya creation myth.
  • the ancient city of Tikal (pictured) in Guatemala was one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya civilization.
  • the Maya archaeological site of El Tintal, in the northern PetĂ©n region of Guatemala, includes a triadic-style pyramid estimated to be 30 metres (98 ft) tall.
  • the Mam Maya capital city of Zaculeu (fragment pictured) fell to Spanish conquistador Gonzalo de Alvarado y Chávez after a siege that lasted several months.
  • Jaina Island, a Maya necropolis, contains over 20,000 burials, with every one excavated having one or more ceramic figurines (example pictured).
  • La Amelia, a small Maya archaeological site in Guatemala, features hieroglyphic panels describing the ritual sacrifice of a bound captive who is rolled into a ball and thrown to his death.
  • potbelly sculpture is a crude non-Maya sculptural style distributed along the Pacific slope of southern Mesoamerica and dating to the Preclassic Period.
  • Gumarcaj, in Guatemala, is archaeologically and ethnohistorically the best known of the Late Postclassic highland Maya capitals.
  • Gukumatz (depiction pictured), one of the Feathered Serpent deities of the K'iche' Maya of Guatemala, was said to carry the sun across the sky in his jaws.
  • Calakmul (pictured) was one of the largest and most powerful Maya cities.
  • Chiquibul National Park surrounds the ancient Mayan site of Caracol.
  • Chitinamit in Guatemala was the first capital of the highland K'iche' Maya.
  • Temple I (pictured), in the Maya ruins of Tikal in Guatemala, is a 47-metre (154 ft) high funerary monument dedicated to king Jasaw Chan K'awiil I who died in AD 734.
  • Temple V (pictured) of the Classic Period Maya archaeological site of Tikal, in Guatemala, was the first pyramid discovered at the site.
  • looters at the Maya archaeological site of Holtun in Guatemala uncovered a series of large stucco masks flanking the main stairway of the principal pyramid.
  • the archaeological site of Topoxte (pictured) has the best surviving example of Postclassic Maya architecture in the PetĂ©n region of Guatemala.
  • the Honduran archaeological site El Puente was founded by the people of Copán to control the crossroads of two Maya trade routes.
  • in Maya mythology, wayob were the powerful spirit forms of lords, priests and gods.
  • a Maya ruler of Ixlu, a small ancient city in Guatemala, claimed to be the lord of the major Maya city of Tikal.
  • Toniná in Mexico (pyramid pictured) was one of the last of the Classic Period Maya cities to fall into ruin.
  • Votan, a legendary figure from Mesoamerica, has been erroneously identified with the Norse god Odin and the Mayan ruler Pacal the Great, among others, despite a lack of evidence.
  • Yohl Ik'nal, queen of the Classic Period Maya city of Palenque in Mexico, was the first known female Mayan ruler.
  • human sacrifices to the K'iche' Maya patron deity Tohil had their severed heads placed on a rack in front of the temple.
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