Modern Day Maya

R E S O U R C E L I B R A R Y V I D E O Modern Day Maya

This segment blends the faces of modern day Maya in the Yucatan with recreation actors in ancient Maya costumes, and teaches a final lesson about Mayan "collapse". The Maya are still in the Yucatan. It's just that their existence has changed.

G R A D E S 6 - 12+

S U B J E C T S Anthropology, Biology, Earth Science, Geography, Human Geography, Physical Geography, Social Studies, World History

C O N T E N T S 1 Video

For the complete videos with media resources, visit: http://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/modern-day-maya/ The Maya thrived in Central America thousands of years ago. Anthropologists and archaeologists thought Maya culture originated in the northern reaches of what is now Guatemala about 600 BCE, and migrated north to the Yucatan Peninsula of present-day Mexico beginning around 700 CE.

Throughout the film Quest for the Lost Maya, a team of anthropologists discovers the Maya may have been in the Yucatan as far back as 500 BCE. This new evidence indicates the Maya had a very complex social structure, distinctive religious practices, and unique technological innovations that made civilization possible in the harsh jungle of the Yucatan.

This segment of Quest for the Lost Maya explores the so-called collapse of Mayan civilization. Despite popular belief, the Maya remain an important part of the human geography of the Yucatan.

/ Questions

Did the Maya disappear? Explain.

No, there are millions of Mayans and Mayan speakers still inhabiting Central America today.

What are some of the challenges Maya peoples have had to overcome?

The Mayan people have endured environmental catastrophe, political decline, and later, European conquest. Vocabulary

Part of Term Definition Speech ancient adjectivevery old. person who studies cultures and characteristics of communities and anthropologistnoun civilizations. archaeologist noun person who studies artifacts and lifestyles of ancient cultures. complex way of life that developed as humans began to develop civilization noun urban settlements. learned behavior of people, including their languages, belief systems, culture noun social structures, institutions, and material goods. data that can be measured, observed, examined, and analyzed to evidence noun support a conclusion. human the study of the way human communities and systems interact with noun geography their environment. jungle noun tropical ecosystem filled with trees and underbrush. people and culture native to southeastern Mexico and Central Maya noun America. Articles & Profiles PBS: Quest for the Lost Maya National Geographic Magazine: Maya Special Issue

Partner