# data[].attributes.body
Click the photo to learn about cities in Mayan civilization.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Kids learn about the sites and cities of the Maya civilization including Tikal, Caracol, and Chichen Itza.

# data[].attributes.body
Click the photo to learn more about the Mayan government.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Maya Empire was not one unified nation. There was no central government. The Maya Empire was a collection of independent cities (city-states). The Maya built hundreds of cities. One noble family controlled each city. Some cities were very large. Each family had a great deal of power because each family had a large army.

When the ruling noble died in a city, his job passed to his son.No one else got a shot at it. The noble families' right to rule originated with the Hero Twins. Each noble family was supposedly a direct descendant of one of the Hero Twins. That gave them the justification they needed to keep their job. They were directly related to the gods.

The ruling noble did not do his job alone. The head of the noble family in each city-state had government officials to help him rule his city. He chose the officials. His officials could be a mix of retired warriors, elders, and members of his family. Some of these officials acted as judges, others were in law enforcement. In the Maya Empire, a woman could be the ruler of a city-state. Women could be active in government as well as economics and religion.

There was no reason to send officials to other cities to collect taxes, because each city-state ruled only itself. But officials did visit other cities on government business. Cities might team up to fight other cities. They might team up to repair the roads. The Maya knew people in other cities. They might rule individually, but they were an empire, one civilization. What united them was their common culture.

Like the ancient Greeks, the Maya city-states were both independent and intertwined. The Mayas considered themselves to be Maya Indians. They all spoke the same language. Their written language was the same. They worshiped the same gods. They told the same myths. They had the same laws. They wore the same style clothing. They thought of themselves as one people. Unlike the ancient Greeks, Maya cities were interconnected with marvelous roads.Each Maya city had a palace, some temples, some pyramids, a central marketplace, and a ball court.

Maya law was very strict. If you stole something and you were caught, you became the captive of your victim. If you committed a lesser crime, your hair would be cut short. Short hair was a sign of disgrace. It was possible that, as a punishment, all of your possessions might be sold at auction. Punishments varied, but the laws were pretty fair and applied to everyone equally. The Mayas held trials. Evidence was presented against you or for you. This evidence was presented before a judge. It did not matter who you were. If you committed a crime, and you were found guilty after a judge had heard your case, you would be punished. This was rigidly enforced.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Maya Empire was not one unified nation. There was no central government. The Maya Empire was a collection of independent cities (city-states). The Maya built hundreds of cities. One noble family controlled each city. Some cities were very large. Each family had a great deal of power because each family had a large army.

# data[].attributes.body
Click the photo to learn more about religion in Mayan society.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Follow Jade Skirt as she explains some of the things the ancient Maya believed, in this Bitesize Primary History year 3/4 guide.

# data[].attributes.body
Click the photo to learn more about Mayan social structure.

# data[].attributes.body
Click the photo to learn more about writing in Mayan civilization.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Maya created a written language. Maya hieroglyphics are often referred to as "glyphs" for short. The Maya had about 800 symbols. Archaeologists have figured out what many of the symbols mean, but not all of them. Some glyphs were used as numbers. Some were used as sounds. Some were phrases or words. To read Maya glyphs, you read downward, left to right, in pairs.

The Maya used glyphs to create books about their gods, leaders, major happenings, and daily life. These books were made of soft bark and folded like a fan. A Maya book is called a codex. (The plural of codex is codices.) The Maya used both drawings and hieroglypic symbols to write in their books.

About 600 years after the Maya deserted their cities, the Spanish arrived in the area. The Spanish found many Maya books. The Spanish priests believed they were drawings of devils and hideous monsters. The Spanish burned every codex they found. Fortunately, they missed some.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A System of Writing, Maya Glyphs - The Maya Empire for Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Maya created a written language. Maya hieroglyphics are often referred to as "glyphs" for short. The Maya had about 800 symbols. Archaeologists have figured out what many of the symbols mean, but not all of them. Some glyphs were used as numbers. Some were used as sounds.

# data[].attributes.body
Click the photo to learn more about Mayan art.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Maya are famous for their textiles, pottery, carvings, stone sculptures, weaving, feather work, use of dyes, palaces and temples, wall murals, baskets, and their creatively scary pictures of their gods, both drawn and sculpted.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Maya are famous for their textiles, pottery, carvings, stone sculptures, weaving, feather work, use of dyes, palaces and temples, wall murals, baskets, and their creatively scary pictures of their gods, both drawn and sculpted.