Maya+-+CA+-+SP12

__Alex Hess and Gavin Mayne__  __Language__ : As far as languages in Maya, there are many modern day languages in the country. However, modern day Mayan languages came from a language called, Proto-Mayan. Proto-Mayan was has been spoken about 5,000 years ago, but it was reconstructed with the comparative method. It is written in a hieroglyphic writing style called Mesoamerican Script. Mesoamerican Script is deciphered to date and use logograms with syllabary. These are known as hieroglyphic scripts.

__Beliefs:__  The Mayans believes that there were gods of nature, such as the sun, the moon, rain, and corn. Mayan priests would conduct special rituals and ceremonies, which sometimes included sacrifices. The sacrifices would include turkeys, deer, dog, and on special occasions human sacrifices. The Mayan religions were based on a universal heaven, the world, and an unseen underworld named Xibalba. When the Spanish came and introduced Catholism to the Mayans, they sort of merged it with their current religion. The nature gods began to represent Christian saints. Their rituals were morphed into ones that were approved by the Catholic church.

__Values:__  The Mayans valued many different things. One of these is their holy book named Popol Vuh. The Popol Vuh was the Mayans’ book they followed for their religion and life style It set their morals and told them what to believe. Another item the Mayans valued was corn. Corn was so special to them because they believed it was one of their nature gods. Everything they did was to represent and respect their nature gods. They also valued their calender they had. It meant so much to them because it showed them when to plant their corn, and also told them when the next eclipse and other things were to come.

__Behavior:__  When it comes to Mayan behavior, they preformed rituals. These rituals included sacrifices and offerings. Excavators discovered ritual masks in what appeared to be a ritual room. The mask had snake fangs and was surrounded by corn husks, which was the center of Mayan life. The sacrifices included dogs, deer, quail, turkey, and on special occasions human sacrifices. Death sacrifices were very important to the Mayans. They believed that those who died in certain ways (suicide, sacrifice, complications in child birth, and in battle) got transported directly to heaven.

__Cultural Change__

When the Spanish came into their territory, a lot of things began to change. Their language, their religion, their whole way of life. Today, there are about 7 million Mayans living in Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador, and Belize. Most of them speak Spanish today, and their religion is a hybrid of Catholicism and their ancient religion. Very devout Mayans still pray in cave and mountain shrines with offerings.

__Technology:__  The Mayans today aren’t much different from us. They still keep most of their culture, but they also blend in with the rest of society. Most homes have radios and electricity. You will find them driving cars or trucks. Some towns even have movie theaters and gas stations.

__Commercialization:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The Mayans are the people who predicted that the world will end sometime in December during 2012. This idea became so international and popular that people all around the world were convinced that they were actually right. They even made a movie out of it.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Travel__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">: The Mayans today aren’t much different from us. They use very familiar transportation that we use. Some forms of transportation they use are cars and trucks that they drive on the roads. Transportation made things easier for the mayans since they can get their crops quicker than how they did back then.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Sources__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Primary Sources:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Popol Vuh." Early Civilizations in the Americas Reference Library. Ed. Sonia G. Benson, Sarah Hermsen, and Deborah J. Baker. Vol. 3: Biographies and Primary Sources. Detroit: UXL, 2005. 137-150. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Escape and Arrival." Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America: Primary Documents. Ed. Jeffrey Lehman. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.


 * __Works Cited__**

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Print Source:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Maya." Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life. Ed. Timothy L. Galland Jeneen Hobby. 2nd ed. Vol. 2: Americas. Detroit: Gale, 2009. 355-359. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 24 Jan. 2012.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Secondary Sources:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Criscenzo, Jeeni. "The Maya Today." Who Is Jeeni Criscenzo? Web. 25 Jan. 2012. <http://www.criscenzo.com/jaguarsun/mayanow.html>.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Mayan Technology." ThinkQuest : Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2012. <http://library.thinkquest.org/5891/mayan_technology.htm>.