Mayan Environment

The Mayans are indigenous people of Mexico and Central America who have continuously inhabited the lands in modern day Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Campeche, Tabasco, and Chiapas in Mexico and southward through Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras. Within that expanse, the Maya lived in three separate sub-areas with distinct environmental and cultural differences: the northern Maya lowlands on the Yucatan Peninsula; the southern lowlands in the Peten district of northern Guatemala and adjacent portions of Mexico, Belize and western Honduras; and the southern Maya highlands, in the mountainous region of southern Guatemala.

Resources vary for every location in the world, but the area that the Mayans are located in has many natural resources

For instance, mining became a very effcient way to achieve resources. The Mayas soon discovered that a variety of useful minerals were available beneath the surface of the hilly, sometimes mountainous terrain that they inhabited. Discovery of stones and minerals like flint, jade, obsidian, iron pyrite, cinnabar and hematite encouraged the development and refinement of mining techniques. Some of the minerals were used for dyes and colors in ceremonies but others, like flint, were put to use constructing tools and weapons. With the use of the new found minigng techniques, this also helped the Mayans come across clay. The Mayans used the clays to create decorative as well as utilitarian bowls and drinking cups. In addition to clay, the Mayas also learned how to cut the abundant stone from their natural environment to construct homes and temples. Another natural resource the Mayans used to their advantage was the warm and tropical climate which help with the growth of crops for food. The Mayans turned

The Maya believed deeply in a cycle of life, nothing really ever died, or was born. This belief strongly impacted their view of their world. This view also affected the ways Mayan people developed their theories of astology, mathematics etc. Mayan culture is known for its spectacular art, impressive architecture, and sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systems which were all way ahead of their time. The Maya excelled at agriculture, pottery, hieroglyph writing, calendar-making and mathematics, and left behind an astonishing amount of impressive architecture and symbolic artwork. Overrall the Mayan culture was very intricate and the people had a copious amount of beliefs that shaped their