What made the Maya so distinctive? | History | Quizalize & Oak National Academy

Starter quiz

Which of the following were considered early civilisations?
- Sumer ✓
- Great Britain
- Mesopotamia ✓
- United States of America
- ancient Egypt ✓
What is meant by 'bloodletting'?
- the practice of amputating a limb
- the practice of cutting part of the body to release blood ✓
- the practice of donating blood
- the practice of settling feuds with combat
Match the word to its meaning.
- Maya
  
  ⇔
  
  an ancient civilisation that lived in Central America ✓
- Mesoamerica
  
  ⇔
  
  modern-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador ✓
- Copan
  
  ⇔
  
  an ancient city complex in Honduras ✓
Why did the Maya believe that maize was sacred?
- Eating maize made people strong and healthy.
- The yellow kernels were gifts from the sun god.
- Eating maize gave people the gift of prophecy.
- The gods created humans from maize. ✓
Match the word to its meaning.
- calendar
  
  ⇔
  
  a chart that's used to keep track of days, weeks, months and years ✓
- celestial body
  
  ⇔
  
  an object in space, like a star, planet, moon, or comet ✓
- cacao
  
  ⇔
  
  the seeds from which cocoa and chocolate products are made ✓
The period in history where people created and used tools made from stone is known as the ______ Age.
- Stone ✓
- Bronze
- Iron
- Ice

Exit quiz

What does 'distinctive' mean?
- something that is common and ordinary
- something that is special, unique or different from everything else around it ✓
- something that is difficult and challenging
- something that is new and innovative
The science that studies everything in space, such as stars, planets, moons, comets, and galaxies is called ______.
- astrology
- quantum physics
- astronomy
- stargazing
What did the Maya have in common with other early civilisations from around the world?
- farming
- used electricity
- worshipped gods
- had mobile phones
- built great cities
Like the Egyptians, the Maya used ______ as their writing system.
- hieroglyphs ✓
- calligraphy
- the alphabet
- runes
Match the feature of the Maya to the reason it made them distinctive.
- Stone Age society
  
  ⇔
  
  they primarily used tools and objects made from stone ✓
- skilled mathematicians and astronomers
  
  ⇔
  
  they created precise calendars and predicted astronomical events ✓
- bloodletting
  
  ⇔
  
  a religious act that connected them to the divine world ✓
What is a city-state?
- a large country with many cities
- a small country with only one city
- a country ruled by a king or queen
- an independent city with its own laws and ruler ✓

Worksheet

Loading worksheet ...

Presentation

Loading presentation ...

Lesson Details

Key learning points

The Maya have a lot in common with other early civilisations from around the world.
They farmed, built great cities and temples, had rulers, worshipped gods and wrote things down.
However, they were also distinctive compared with other early civilisations e.g. they were a stone age society.
The Maya's advanced understanding of maths and astronomy and bloodletting was very important in their religion.
A good description of what made the Maya both similar and different will use knowledge from across this unit

Common misconception

The Maya were a single, unified empire.

They were organised into independent city-states with their own rulers, languages, and alliances. While they shared cultural traits and religious beliefs, they were politically fragmented entities that sometimes engaged in conflicts with each other.

Keywords

Distinctive - distinctive means something that is special, unique or different from everything else around it
Astronomy - astronomy is the science that studies everything in space, such as stars, planets, moons, comets, and galaxies