Government:
The Mayans were a very powerful region, and made important discoveries that influenced us now. However, they had some struggles against the natural environment, and their background history has failures and successes. The Maya was not a unified civilization, and it was made up of city-states ruled by an independent leader, the king. There were many kings in the Mayan time, but each king preferably ruled a different city-state. All the city-states followed the same culture, systems, etc., but they did not get along. Many city-states went to war with others, and destroyed each other. However, there was peace between all city-states at sometime, and the leaders often met each other to discuss important discussions.
Each city-state was advanced and well educated. The king was highly respected, and thought to be actually half god, half human, or, it was thought that the king was working for the gods. The people also had a strong belief that the king was chosen by the gods to rule, and was given permission. Not just the king ruled, also high officials were chosen among the nobles, (Lords, military leaders, priests, etc.) and also helped the king rule. Religion was very, very important in Mayan life, so priests were powerful figures in the government too, sometimes as powerful as the king. (The king was sometimes thought of as a priest.) Kings of Maya often came to priests for advice for what to do in a conflict, or for predictions of the future. Priests had a lot of influence on how the king ruled, and what the king did.
Mayan life was very strict and hard to follow. Many religious rituals were hosted everyday by the king, and it could last for more than 6 hours. Mayan laws were very strict, and had harsh punishments if the people committed crimes. Murder, arson, acts against the gods, (Acting against the gods had a very severe punishment, often death.) The punishment was reduced if the crime was found to be an accident, but still there was a punishment. If someone broke a law, they appeared in court and local leaders or nobles accompanied the judge in deciding the punishment. Sometimes, but rarely, the king was the judge. Usually, the king just sat and announced the person guilty or not. At the trial, the judge would get the evidence together, and also, witnesses would be there, and the judge would listen and talk to them. If the person was found guilty, then the punishment was announced and given right away.
There was no prisons in the Mayan times, so mostly the punishments were, death sentences, becoming a slave, and fines. Sometimes they would shave the person’s head when the crime was very small and was an accident, the shaved head represented the sign of shame. If the victim wanted to apologize and beg forgiveness, the punishment was reduced. The Mayan government was guessed to be an oligarchy, but it is not absolutely sure. There were 52 Mayan kings, and every single one of them has been powerful and treated like a god.
Social Structure:
The Mayan social structure is like other Mesoamerican civilizations’ structures. Of course, at the top, was the king, and he was the highest authority.
Next, was the nobles and the priests, the only members of the society that could read and write, except for the king. They carried out decisions and ran the city, and they also watched over temples and collected taxes. Military leaders were among the nobles, and they led armies during wars. They also wore fancy clothes, such as gold jewelry and skins of jaguars. The most important job they had was to organize and maintain relationships with the gods.
After the nobles and the priests were, the merchants and the artisans. Merchants traveled by seas, rivers, oceans, and roads to trade goods from other city-states. They were experienced and expert traders. The artisans built all the detailed sculptures in temples and painted murals about important battles. Some artisans were weavers, and made baskets, clothes, etc. A very serious job they had was designing art to express their gratitude to the gods. The art was expected to be perfect and beautiful so the gods would be satisfied. They also made paper, out of bark from fig trees.
Second to last were the peasants, who were mostly farmers. They did most of the farming, and spent most of the day in the field. The only tool they used was wooden hoes. The plow was not used in the Mayan time. When they weren’t farming, they were then helping to build pyramids for the gods. They were allowed to go to royal weddings and events, but they were not treated very respectfully. They also served as soldiers during war times.
Finally, were the slaves. Slaves worked all day long, and usually only had one meal a day. It depended on where the slaves worked for, for a comfortable life. The richer the master, the more comfortable the home. It depended on who they lived with, and where they lived. Also, slaves had different jobs, and some jobs were better than others. Higher rank slaves received the “reward” of being sacrificed to the gods.
It was very easy to become a slave in Maya. Free people had a danger of becoming a slave by not paying bills or not handling their business. Angering the government could also make someone end up as a slave. For a crime punishment, Mayans could become a slave for the rest of their life. Slaves could have end up as a slave in many different ways. They could have been born into slavery, or given a punishment to become a slave, etc.
Surprisingly, slaves were not treated poorly in Mayan times, and most slaves lived a beating free life, unless they did something wrong. However, slaves were not free to go around as they pleased, and they were given no freedom. In the Mayan social structure, wherever place the Mayans were, usually, no one was harmed, even slaves!
The Mayans were a very powerful region, and made important discoveries that influenced us now. However, they had some struggles against the natural environment, and their background history has failures and successes. The Maya was not a unified civilization, and it was made up of city-states ruled by an independent leader, the king. There were many kings in the Mayan time, but each king preferably ruled a different city-state. All the city-states followed the same culture, systems, etc., but they did not get along. Many city-states went to war with others, and destroyed each other. However, there was peace between all city-states at sometime, and the leaders often met each other to discuss important discussions.
Each city-state was advanced and well educated. The king was highly respected, and thought to be actually half god, half human, or, it was thought that the king was working for the gods. The people also had a strong belief that the king was chosen by the gods to rule, and was given permission. Not just the king ruled, also high officials were chosen among the nobles, (Lords, military leaders, priests, etc.) and also helped the king rule. Religion was very, very important in Mayan life, so priests were powerful figures in the government too, sometimes as powerful as the king. (The king was sometimes thought of as a priest.) Kings of Maya often came to priests for advice for what to do in a conflict, or for predictions of the future. Priests had a lot of influence on how the king ruled, and what the king did.
Mayan life was very strict and hard to follow. Many religious rituals were hosted everyday by the king, and it could last for more than 6 hours. Mayan laws were very strict, and had harsh punishments if the people committed crimes. Murder, arson, acts against the gods, (Acting against the gods had a very severe punishment, often death.) The punishment was reduced if the crime was found to be an accident, but still there was a punishment. If someone broke a law, they appeared in court and local leaders or nobles accompanied the judge in deciding the punishment. Sometimes, but rarely, the king was the judge. Usually, the king just sat and announced the person guilty or not. At the trial, the judge would get the evidence together, and also, witnesses would be there, and the judge would listen and talk to them. If the person was found guilty, then the punishment was announced and given right away.
There was no prisons in the Mayan times, so mostly the punishments were, death sentences, becoming a slave, and fines. Sometimes they would shave the person’s head when the crime was very small and was an accident, the shaved head represented the sign of shame. If the victim wanted to apologize and beg forgiveness, the punishment was reduced. The Mayan government was guessed to be an oligarchy, but it is not absolutely sure. There were 52 Mayan kings, and every single one of them has been powerful and treated like a god.
Social Structure:
The Mayan social structure is like other Mesoamerican civilizations’ structures. Of course, at the top, was the king, and he was the highest authority.
Next, was the nobles and the priests, the only members of the society that could read and write, except for the king. They carried out decisions and ran the city, and they also watched over temples and collected taxes. Military leaders were among the nobles, and they led armies during wars. They also wore fancy clothes, such as gold jewelry and skins of jaguars. The most important job they had was to organize and maintain relationships with the gods.
After the nobles and the priests were, the merchants and the artisans. Merchants traveled by seas, rivers, oceans, and roads to trade goods from other city-states. They were experienced and expert traders. The artisans built all the detailed sculptures in temples and painted murals about important battles. Some artisans were weavers, and made baskets, clothes, etc. A very serious job they had was designing art to express their gratitude to the gods. The art was expected to be perfect and beautiful so the gods would be satisfied. They also made paper, out of bark from fig trees.
Second to last were the peasants, who were mostly farmers. They did most of the farming, and spent most of the day in the field. The only tool they used was wooden hoes. The plow was not used in the Mayan time. When they weren’t farming, they were then helping to build pyramids for the gods. They were allowed to go to royal weddings and events, but they were not treated very respectfully. They also served as soldiers during war times.
Finally, were the slaves. Slaves worked all day long, and usually only had one meal a day. It depended on where the slaves worked for, for a comfortable life. The richer the master, the more comfortable the home. It depended on who they lived with, and where they lived. Also, slaves had different jobs, and some jobs were better than others. Higher rank slaves received the “reward” of being sacrificed to the gods.
It was very easy to become a slave in Maya. Free people had a danger of becoming a slave by not paying bills or not handling their business. Angering the government could also make someone end up as a slave. For a crime punishment, Mayans could become a slave for the rest of their life. Slaves could have end up as a slave in many different ways. They could have been born into slavery, or given a punishment to become a slave, etc.
Surprisingly, slaves were not treated poorly in Mayan times, and most slaves lived a beating free life, unless they did something wrong. However, slaves were not free to go around as they pleased, and they were given no freedom. In the Mayan social structure, wherever place the Mayans were, usually, no one was harmed, even slaves!