Download The Early Americas

World History
The Early Americas
Chapter 14, Section 2
“___________________________”
Lecture Notes
Lesson Objective:
Main Ideas
1. _______________ affected early Maya civilization.
2. The Maya Classic Age was characterized by _______________, trade, and warfare.
3. Maya civilization declined, and historians have several _______________ as to why.
GEOGRAPHY AFFECTS EARLY MAYA
•The Maya (MY-uh) civilization developed in the lowlands of Mesoamerica around
___________________.
•Thick forests covered the area, so the Maya had to cut down trees to _____.
•The forest was also a source of many _______________, including animals for food and
wood for building materials.
•The Maya lived in _______________.
•The Maya began trading such items as woven cloth and _______________, a sharp,
glasslike volcanic rock.
•By AD 200 THE Maya were building the first large _________ in the Americas.
Describe How did the Maya adapt to and change their environment?
Identify Cause and Effect Explain why trade led to Maya population growth.
MAYA CLASSIC AGE
•Maya civilization reached its height between AD 250 and 900, a period called the
___________________.
•During this time there were more than ____ Maya cities.
•Each city had populations of 5,000 to _______________people.
•The Maya _______________ for things that could not be found in their own part of
Mesoamerica.
•The _______________ had many crops and wood products.
•The _______________ had valuable stones like jade and obsidian.
•The Maya built large stone _______________, temples, and palaces.
•Some of these buildings honored local _______________.
•A temple built in the city of Palenque (pah-LENG-kay) honored the king
_______________ (puh-KAHL).
World History
Lecture Notes
•Artists decorated the temple with paintings and carvings celebrating his ______ as ruler.
•The Maya built canals to bring _______________ to the cities.
•The shaped hillsides into flat _______________ so they could grow crops on them.
•The Maya also paved the cities’ central _______________.
•Most cities had a ____________to watch a game the Maya had learned from the Olmec.
•The Maya did not have a central _______________.
•Kings _______________ each city separately.
•Cities often _______________ each other over territories and resources.
•This warfare was violent and _______________.
•Some historians believe warfare led to the ____________ of the Maya civilization.
Recall When did the Maya Classic Age occur, and what defined it?
Make Inferences Why do you think the Maya expanded into the highlands?
Describe List some nouns and adjectives that describe Maya cities.
Summarize How did the Maya change their environment to improve city life?
MAYA CIVILIZATION DECLINES
•Maya civilization began to _______________ in the 900s.
•They stopped building large buildings and left the cities for the _______________.
•Historians are not sure why this happened, but there are several _______________.
•Some historians believe that Maya farmers kept planting the same _______________ over
and over, which weakened the soil and caused drought.
•This may have caused more _______________ and war between the cities.
•Others think that the Maya _______________ made their people build huge temples or
farm for them.
•People got tired of working for the kings so they _______________.
•There were probably many _______________ that led to the decline of the Maya
civilization.
Recall When did the Maya civilization decline, and what resulted?
Evaluate Which theory do you think best explains why the Maya civilization collapsed, and why?