No one can say for certain why Maya city life came to a sudden end. That’s what makes this Maya civilisation KS2 lesson plan so intriguing…
The Maya of Central America were, according to many historians, the most successful Mesoamerican (Stone Age) society, much more prolific than the Aztecs or Incas.
Their society developed in what is today Mexico, Honduras, Belize and Guatemala. It began to advance around the birth of Christ and reached its highpoint around 900AD in the lowlands, perhaps 1200AD in the highlands, before, mysteriously, cities were abandoned and reclaimed by the jungle and the surviving Maya people returned to a subsistence farming life in the rainforests.
Many traces of the Maya were destroyed by the Spanish Conquistadores who reused building materials in their own churches and monasteries, and it was only in the C19th and C20th that archaeologists began to excavate sites and try to interpret how the Maya lived.
Some Maya cities are now World Heritage Sites. New discoveries are forcing historians to re-assess their views on the Maya all the time.
The only written history of the Maya comes from Spanish times and these sources are hardly fair or balanced! Their written language, known as hieroglyphs, is particularly hard to translate into modern English, hence the uncertainty about many facets of Maya life. Here is a real history mystery to explore.
Maya civilisation KS2 learning objectives
- Explore evidence about the Maya
- Try to reach some conclusions about Maya life
- Attempt to decide why the Maya civilisation ended so suddenly
Starter activity
Many societies use myths and legends to explain things that are hard to fathom. According to one Maya myth, Jaguar Sun rose each day in the east and strode through the sky to the west, until descending below the horizon.
Jaguar Sun then fought the lords of darkness all night until he defeated them and rose again in the East at the start of a new day.
Another Maya myth has Kulkulan, a god who spends most of his time on Earth and who loves the Maya, bringing maize seeds to the people and showing them how to sow the seeds, how to grow them, harvest them and cook them.
If you have already studied the Ancient Greeks, you might have come across the story of Helios the Sun God, who drove his chariot across the sky from east to west each day, much as Jaguar Sun does in Maya times.
What do these myths tell us about Maya life? What other myths can you discover?
Alf Wilkinson is CPD manager for the Historical Association. He is a former head of history and ICT co-ordinator. Browse more Mayans KS2 resources.
