The MayaThe ancient Maya civilization settled on the Yucatan Peninsula around 900 AD. This civilization was one of the most advanced of its time. They created their own religion, language, mathematical structure, a very precise calendar and many other things. The Mayan lifestyle revolved around their religion. They had a polytheistic religion that praised many gods. Each god had a certain thing that he would rule over or take care of. Chac was the god of rain, Kinich Ahau was the god of the sun, and Yum Cimil was the god of the underworld. There were many gods and goddesses for almost every reason you can think of, there is even a goddess of suicide. They performed human sacrifices, bloody rituals and dances to praise and please the gods and goddess. They also believe that there were two levels to life. The first is the current state of life. The second would be a spiritual life with gods, the souls of ancestors, and other supernatural creatures. There were many ceremonies. One was the Pok-a-tok. This happened when they took a rubber ball, about the size of a basketball, and hit it back and forth on a fenced-in court. Every structure they built had something to do with praising their gods. They built squares, temples and pyramids. The pyramids symbolized the sacred mountains; they were used to gather people for ceremonies and parties. These structures were engulfed by images based on the beliefs and practices they had. They were built of limestone and covered with lime stucco. They developed the corbel arch, stacked each block on opposite sides, closer to the center, and then peaked at the top. Since the kings, called Ah Kin Mia meaning "the highest of the Sun", were mostly.... .. middle of paper ...... is very unconventional compared to what other civilizations knew. As a matter of fact, the calendar they produced was more accurate than the one we use today. Bibliography:1. Farah, Molinir & Karls, Andrea. "World History the Human Experience". New York: Glencoe, 19992. “Mayan Indians.” November 5, 2001. http://www.crystalinks.com/mayan.html3. "Maya". November 5, 2001. http://home.echo-on.net/~smithda/mayans.html4. "Inca, Maya and Aztec". November 10, 2001. http://www.thinkquest.org/library/lib/site_sum_outside.html?tname=C006206F&url=C006206F/Mayas_i.htm5. Hooker, Richard. “Civilization in America: The Maya” November 10, 2001. http://ask.com/main/askjeeves.asp?ask=Where+can+I+find+out+information+about+Mayan+art%2C+architecture % 2C+e+culture%3F&o=06. Sharer, Robert J. "Daily Life of the Mayan Civilization." London: Greenwood Press, 1996.