Maya and Olmec Civilizations

They built their civilization along the Yucatan Peninsula in the steamy rain forests of present-day Mexico to Belize.

• The Maya

• The Olmec

What are observatories?

• A governmental construct.

• Large stone monuments. 

• Buildings used to study astronomy.

• Maya Civilizations

A complex way of life characterized by shared methods of communication, a government, and a social class system. This is called a C...  

Symbols from rocks viewable only from the sky that historians have theorized have something to do with water.

• Geoglyphs

• Hieroglyphs

A type of writing where a picture represents a word, syllable, or sound. The Maya for example carved their language on wood or stone.

• Geoglyphs

• Hieroglyphs

Large stone monuments that were used to write hieroglyphs

• Olmec

• Stone Heads

• Aqueduct

• Steles

A governmental construct where one state dominates over another state or series of states.

This word means “a city and its surrounding territory so large that it forms its own independent state or government.”

• Civilization

• City-State

• Empire

• Country

A Mayan form of agriculture used to clear land by burning and cutting trees.

• Slash and Burn

• Terraces

• Irrigation Canals

• Aqueduct

This cultural region spans from Southern Mexico to northern Central America.