www abdopublishing com Published by Abdo Publishing a division of ABDO PO Box 398166 Minneapolis Minnesota 55439 Copyright 2015 by Abdo Consulting Group Inc International copyrights reserved in all countries No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher Essential Library is a trademark and logo of Abdo Publishing Printed in the United States of America North Mankato Minnesota 102014 012015 Cover Photos Oscar Espinosa Shutterstock Images foreground Shutterstock Images background Interior Photos Shutterstock Images 2 65 89 92 Jose Ignacio Soto Shutterstock Images 6 7 62 63 16 17 iStock Thinkstock 9 Serban Bogdan Shutterstock Images 9 inset 34 Don Wiechec Bowers Museum Corbis 11 Frederick Catherwood Gianni Dagli Orti Corbis 13 AP Images Dario Lopez Mills 14 Fletcher Baylis Science Source 19 Glow Images 21 Peter E Spier National Geographic 23 Richard A Cooke Corbis 27 Galyna Andrushko Shutterstock Images 31 Jack Hollingsworth Corbis Glow Images 32 33 Charles Josette Lenars Corbis 36 69 Oscar Espinosa Shutterstock Images 39 Ritterbach F1online Glow Images 40 41 Werner Forman Archive Glow Images 43 78 79 Enrique Perez Huerta Demotix Corbis 46 Gianni Dagli Orti Corbis 49 56 CM Dixon Heritage Images Glow Images 50 51 De Agostini Getty Images 53 Wolfgang Kaehler Corbis 54 55 SuperStock Glow Images 60 Ingrid Deelen Shutterstock Images 70 71 Red Line Editorial 73 Claus Lunau Science Source 76 Richard Schlecht National Geographic Society Corbis 82 84 Moises Castillo AP Images 86 Amanda Koster Corbis 95 Charles Rex Arbogast AP Images 96 Editor Arnold Ringstad Series Designer Jake Nordby Library of Congress Control Number 2014943863 Cataloging-in-Publication Data Edwards Sue Bradford Ancient Maya Sue Bradford Edwards p cm Ancient civilizations ISBN 978-1-62403-540-1 lib bdg Includes bibliographical references and index 1 Maya Juvenile literature 2 Maya History Juvenile literature 3 Maya Social life and customs Juvenile literature 4 Indians of Mexico Juvenile literature I Title 972 dc23 2014943863
CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 Cities of Stone 6 CHAPTER 2 From Simple Farmers to City Builders 16 CHAPTER 3 City-States 32 CHAPTER 4 Maya Society 40 CHAPTER 5 Written Wonders 50 CHAPTER 6 Gods and Sacrifices 62 CHAPTER 7 Mathematical Marvels 70 CHAPTER 8 At War 78 CHAPTER 9 Here and Gone 86 TIMELINE 98 ANCIENT HISTORY 100 GLOSSARY 102 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 104 SOURCE NOTES 106 INDEX 110 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 112
CITIES OF STONE As King Chak Tok Ich’aak strained forward the green feathers in his headdress caught the sunlight Jade plugs stretched his earlobes The crowd surrounding him and the other players roared Their instructions and encouragement echoed off the stone temples and palaces surrounding the ball court in the city of Tikal The ruins of Maya ball courts can still be seen in Central America today CHAPTER 1 7
