Ancient Maya Essay - 868 Words

Ancient Maya Essay Matthew Pitcher Mrs Meligrana Ancient Civilizations June 8th, 2011 Pitcher1 The Ancient Mayan civilization stands out from other ancient civilizations and is great because of its outstanding achievements and developments. The Mayans are still known to this day for their exceptional architecture, medical discoveries, astronomy, and military tactics which were very successful. In this essay I will explain what the Mayans have achieved to make themselves considered great, why they are great, and why they overcome many of the other ancient civilizations. Mayan astronomy has been considered one of the most complex of mankind. Of all the worlds ancient calendar systems, the Maya and other†¦show more content†¦By far one of the most fascinating achievements of the Mayans was there methods and development of their beautiful architectural buildings and designs. Whether their temples, complexes, buildings, homes, sidewalks or causeways (which were built by hand cut lime-stone), and the first civilization to construct sidewalks for pedestrians. A Maya city fr om the Classic Period usually consisted of a series of platforms topped by masonry structures, ranging from great temple-pyramids and palaces to individual house mounds. These structures were in turn arranged around open plazas or courtyards. Maya architecture is characterized by a sophisticated sense of decoration and art, expressed in beautiful carvings and wall paintings, unlike any others. Throughout the Mayans 2000 year history, their unique warfare tactics turned out to be very successful for their civilization. Unlike most other civilizations, instead of a head to head close range battle, the Mayans built an army of spearmen and arrow shooters to kill the enemy. Long range war tactic was there specialty and it worked. They killed their enemy before their enemy could reach them, using the land and surroundings they built trenches and barricades to Pitcher3 fool and surprise the enemy, along with bells and whistles to distract the enemy to let fellow soldiersShow MoreRelatedAnc ient Maya Essay763 Words   |  4 PagesAncient Maya The ancient Maya were a group of American Indian peoples who lived in Southern Mexico. Their descendants, the modern Maya,live in the same regions today. Agriculture was the basis of the economy of the Mayan and corn was the principal food.(Voorhies 324) Other crops included avocados, tomatoes, and chili peppers. 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