Group 2

The Pyramid at Chitzen Itza

Math and Architecture of the Ancient Maya Civilization
32-INTR-346H-001  
Spring Quarters 2008

Course Objectives:
The course uses "Project Based Learning" to develop the students' knowledge of the Maya civilization.  Students will develop leadership and group working skills. Students will study and analyse various aspects of Maya life through archeological and written records.

Cognitive Objectives (Knowledge):

- Learning the Use of Mathematics in Historical Construction and Architecture.

- Learning the Application of Mathematics in Developing the Astrological Calendar of the Maya

- Learning Methodologies and Best Practices for Investigating Ancient Civilizations and Open-Ended Questions 

Behavioral Objectives:

- Developing Skills to work in group settings

- Improving Problem Solving Skills

- Improving communication skills: Oral (presentation) and Written (report)

 

Attitudinal Objectives:

- Gaining Appreciation for of the architecture and culture of civilizations in general and the Maya in particular.

- Gaining Appreciation for Work Ethics in working collaboratively

- Gaining Appreciation of Leadership skills required for working in teams

- Gaining Appreciation to the diversity of skills and knowledge that individual team members bring to the team 

 

Assessment_Rubrics_Maya_v2.xls

Syllabus_Maya_Math_and_Architecture_v3.doc

The City of Tulum overlooking the Caribbean Coast

Books (recommended)
Coe, Michael, The Maya (Ancient Peoples and Places).

Web Sites
Maya Exploration Center: http://www.mayaexploration.org/ 

Maya Art and Architecture: http://www.crystalinks.com/mayanarch.html

The Borders of the Maya Civilization

The Maya have their roots in southern Mexico and northern Central America with some 3,000 years of history. The Maya were probably the most well know part of the Mesoamerican Pre-Columbian cultures.  The Maya people never "disappeared" contrary to popular myth.   Millions of Maya still live in the region.  In fact, many of them still speak one of the Maya family of languages which has lead in recent years to breakthroughs in decoding the ancient Maya writings left behind.  

According to archaeological evidence, the Maya started to build ceremonial architecture about 3000 years ago. There is some disagreement as to the borders and difference between the early Maya and the Olmec, a neighboring Pre-Classic Mesoamerican. Some believe the Olmec and early Maya influenced each other, while others believe that the Maya were descendents of the Olmec.  The Olmecs were credited with many firsts, including:  bloodletting and perhaps human sacrifice, writing and epigraphy, the invention of zero and the Mesoamerican calendar.   The Maya built on these and adapted them to their culture.  The Olmec culture eventually faded after spreading their influence into the Yucatan peninsula, present-day Guatemala, and other regions. 

There were three major periods of Maya History.

Palace and Temple of the Inscriptions - Palenque (Artstor.org)

The Maya were noted for elaborate and highly decorated ceremonial architecture, including temple-pyramids, palaces and observatories, all built without metal tools. The Maya’s earliest monuments consist of simple burial mounds which were precursors to pyramids erected in later times.

The Maya developed an agriculturally intensive empire consisting of numerous independent city-states. They developed the famed cities of Tikal, Palenque, Copan and Kalakmul, as well as Dos Pilas, Uaxactun, Altun Ha, and many other sites in the area. The most notable monuments are the pyramids they built in their religious centers and the accompanying palaces of their rulers. Other important archaeological remains include the carved stone slabs usually called stelae (the Maya called them Tetun, or "Tree-stones"), which depict ruler along with hieroglyphic texts describing their genealogy, war victories, and other accomplishments. 

One of the most “Elegant” number systems.

The Maya counting system required only three symbols: a dot representing a value of one, a bar representing five, and a shell representing zero.        

Basic Numbers

The Calendar Round

Importance of Time to the Maya

The Maya were so focused on this that they created 3 calendars:

Haab – the Maya solar calendar made up of eighteen months of twenty days each and a five day month at the end of the year.

Tzolkin - Combines twenty day names with thirteen numbers to produce 260 unique days

The Maya believed that time was cyclical instead of the western conception of linear time. This means that they thought that time repeated itself, so therefore, if they knew the past they could predict the future.

This concept of was embodied by what is termed Najt, or the concept of time and space consisting a single entity represented in a spiral format. By understanding time, the Maya believed they could gain power over their world.

Drawing of relief showing Pakal performing the Snake Dance with a woman (from ArtStor.org)

Ancient Maya art deals mainly with politics, the ancient calendar, and religion.  The incredible amount of religiously themed art occurs in many different mediums, mainly stone inscriptions, jewelry, pottery, wall paintings. 

1.  Discovered in 1839

Spanish American Colonies were largely cut off from the outside world, and the ruins of the great ancient cities were little known except to locals. In 1839 United States traveler and writer John Lloyd Stephens, after hearing reports of lost ruins in the jungle, visited Copán, Palenque, and other sites with English architect and draftsman Frederick Catherwood. Their illustrated accounts of the ruins sparked strong interest in the region and the people, and they have once again regained their position as a vital link in Mesoamerican heritage.

2.  They Maya are not a dead civilization.  Over one million Maya still live in the Yucatan, Guatemala and other areas of Central America

3.  December 21, 2012 A.D