Maya-Economy

Maya -- Economy

​Economy

the way people spend money and the way people make money

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In Ancient times people didn't always use money. The economy was how civilizations got the materials (food, tools, building materials) they needed.​

Multiple Choice

Economy has to do with:

• how a civilization gets what it needs

• the landforms of an area

• the beliefs of a group

• art, inventions, and technology

​Trade - buying and selling of materials and services.

IMport-- INTO the civilization

Imported ---Seashells, Gold, Jade

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EXport -- EXITING the civilization

Exported --- Crops, Salt, Obsidian, Jade, Fabric, Tools, Honey, Cacao

Multiple Choice

Import means

• bringing goods or services into a country

• transferring services

• selling products

• agriculture

Multiple Choice

Export means

• transferring materials

• making fabric

• sending goods or services to another country.

• slash and burn

​Natural Resources

The Yucatan Peninsula had many natural resources that they traded with other civilizations.

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Natural Resources are materials from the Earth that are used to support life and meet people's needs​. Examples - water, gold, gas, diamonds

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Anything found in nature that living things can use is a natural resource

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Multiple Choice

Anything found in nature that living things can use is a ___________.

• conservation

• natural resource

• export

• import

Natural Resources

Crops like maize, beans, and squash, as well as materials like limestone for building, obsidian for tools, and resources for trade such as cacao, jade, and feathers. 

The Maya also gathered tree crops. Fruit trees thrived in the rainforest. The Maya also used many rainforest plants for medicine.

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Natural Resources

Some Maya hunted game in the forests, including deer, rabbits, and other small mammals. They raised turkeys and dogs for food. They raised stingless bees for honey, which they used to sweeten foods and drinks. In coastal communities, the Maya ate fish and turtles as well.

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Domestication

Multiple Choice

Domestication means

• creating new species of animals

• training animals for human use

• eating meat

• preserving plants

Multiple Select

Where did some of the resources from the Yucatan Peninsula come from? (choose 3)

• farming

• the rainforest

• the desert

• the ground

Most Maya people made their living as farmers. Their main crop

was maize (corn). One of their staple (main) foods was something you may have eaten—a flat bread called a tortilla. Farmers also grew beans, squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and pumpkins.

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Farming

Multiple Choice

Maize is:

• farming

• tomatos

• corn

• torillas

In forested areas, the Maya used a technique known as slash and burn. They slashed, or cut down, trees and then burned the area. Then they planted new crops. Ashes left from the fire added nutrients to the soil. After several years, the crops used up the nutrients in the soil. The Maya then repeated the process in another area.

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Farming

Multiple Choice

What type of technique did Maya farmers use to prepare soil?

• Crop rotation
• Hydroponics
• Terracing
• Slash-and-burn farming

The Maya used different methods for trading:

Markets: Each city had a central market where people would gather to buy and sell goods. Markets were lively places where people exchanged not just items but also news and stories.

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Trading

Multiple Choice

In each city-state, trading and conversations happened in the:

• market

• ziggurats

• farms

• rivers

Barter System: Instead of using money like we do today, the Maya practiced bartering. This means they traded goods directly. For example, if someone wanted maize, they might trade it for a piece of pottery.

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Trading

Multiple Choice

Barter means:

• using money to buy goods

• trading goods

• baking breads

• a person who lives somewhere

We have the Maya to thank for chocolate. Maya records are filled with references to cacao. And it all starts with the cacao bean. The Maya would dry, grind, and mix the beans with water to create a drink. Think like hot chocolate but in fact it was quite bitter and frothy, and was often mixed with chili peppers.

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Chocolate

Multiple Choice

Who were the first to realize that cocoa beans could be made into a drink?

• Mayans

• Aztecs

• Incas

• Egyptians

Multiple Choice

What did they add to their chocolate drink?

• Spices

• Honey

• Peppers

• Nuts