Maya civilization

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/maya-civilization

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the writing system?A logosyllabic hieroglyphic script capable of recording complex linguistic and historical information
2. What were the Maya city-states like?The Maya had many independent cities such as Tikal, Calakmul, Palenque, and Copán. Each city was its own political and social center, but they all shared similar ideas and art.
3. How did the Maya use numbers and calendars?They used a base‑20 number system that even had the idea of zero. With this, they made calendars like the 260‑day Tzolk'in, the 365‑day Haab', and the Long Count that tracked long periods of time.

Polity: A politically organized community or state, referring to the independent Maya city-states.
Vigesimal System: A number system based on the number 20, utilized by the Maya and other Mesoamerican cultures.
Logosyllabic Script: A writing system that combines logograms (symbols representing words) and syllabograms (symbols representing syllables).