The Maya Civilisation - KS2

The ancient Maya was a civilisation that ruled Mesoamerica between 2000BC and 1600AD.

Today, this huge area is made up of Mexico and part of Central America.

Explore the ancient Maya over thousands of years with the slideshow below.

The Maya people invented calendars that helped them to know when to plant crops throughout the year.

Create a calendar for your year and mark the dates that are important to you. You could write them down or draw pictures to represent each entry.

You could include:

• Birthdays
• Festivals and events
• The four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter

Explore the ancient Maya civilisation as well as other eras in history.

• Make delicious tamales - a traditional Maya food
• Build ancient Maya structures
• Navigate through a corn maze
• Play the traditional ball game Pitz

The Ancient Maya were a civilisation that lived hundreds of years ago in a place called Mesoamerica.

They broke up the land into several regions that represented maps of the stars in the sky, including Palenque, Calakmul, Tikal, Copán, Cobá and Chichen Itza. Each city had different kings and queens.

Draw a map of your own Maya city. Create a key to show where important places are on your map.

Think about:

• What would you call your city?
• Where would you live as the noble person?
• What would be in the rest of your city?
• Where would your family live?
• Where would farmland go?
• Where would local farmers hunt? What would they hunt for?

The Ancient Maya had an artistic culture and created amazing artwork.

They made many types of art such as sculptures, masks, and buildings. Much of their art showed their religious beliefs, way of life or illustrated battle scenes.

Mayan masks were made from a variety of natural materials such as wood, volcanic rock, gold and shell.

They were decorated in gold, burnt red, black, green and a famous turquoise known as Maya Blue. All of these colours were made from natural materials found around the Maya people.

Masks were worn for many reasons including ceremonies or important events, to show strength during battle or to put on the faces of the dead.

Some masks even hung in Maya homes. They were often tall, with detailed hair or head details, making the wearer taller and showing how important the character was.

• Use the template of a mask to create your own Maya mask. You could draw or colour on your design, or stick beads and other items to the template.
• Will your mask show a strong animal such as a jaguar? An important Ancient Maya god or creature? Will it represent the king or queen of your Maya city or show that you’re ready for battle?
• Think about the colours that you use – remember that Mayans used gold, burnt red, black, green and Maya Blue (turquoise).
• Remember to give your mask height to show how important a character it represents.

From food, sport, beliefs to great rulers and gods, learn more about the rich variety of the Maya civilisation!