The Maya carved stone portraits of their rulers as memorials. There is an especially strong tradition of painting and sculpture in Mayan culture . Often sculpture was painted with distinctive dyes and techniques characteristic of the Maya. Much Mayan art was commissioned by rulers to accompany them to the Underworld.

Mayan Art is characterized by stone sculptures, architecture, ceramics, wood carving, and wall painting which are some of its most celebrated forms. Mayan artists were exceptionally skilled at stone sculpture and stonework.

The Maya painted murals on the walls of their buildings including their houses, temples, and public buildings. The subjects of the murals varied widely including scenes from daily life, mythology, battles, and religious ceremonies.

glyphic cartouche

The Olmec

Some of the most well-known Mesoamerican cultures are the Olmec, Maya, Zapotec, Teotihuacan, Mixtec, and Mexica (or Aztec). The geography of Mesoamerica is incredibly diverse—it includes humid tropical areas, dry deserts, high mountainous terrain, and low coastal plains.

the Olmec

In Meso-America the Maya civilization made the greatest progress in science and technology. Among its innovations were the position-value number system with zero, the development of the most accurate known calendar,the invention of rubber and the corbelled arch.

Lesson Summary For the Aztecs, Maya, and Inca, the three greatest civilizations of Central and South America, education was very important because their societies were sustained by engineers and philosophers. The two most important areas of study, however, were architecture and astronomy.

The Olmecs

the Olmec civilization

What technologies did the Mayans develop? The Ancient Maya developed the science of astronomy, calendar systems and hieroglyphic writing. They were also known for creating elaborate ceremonial architecture, such as pyramids, temples, palaces and observatories. These structures were all built without metal tools.

Do The Maya Still Exist? Descendants of the Maya still live in Central America in modern-day Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and parts of Mexico. The majority of them live in Guatemala, which is home to Tikal National Park, the site of the ruins of the ancient city of Tikal.

“The main finding was that a prolonged drought contributed to the collapse of Classic Mayan civilization,” environmental archaeologist Douglas Kennett told LiveScience two years ago. Droxler and his colleagues published their findings in Scientific Reports.

The history of chocolate can be traced to the ancient Mayans, and even earlier to the ancient Olmecs of southern Mexico. The word chocolate may conjure up images of sweet candy bars and luscious truffles, but the chocolate of today is little like the chocolate of the past.

Ancient Egyptians were the first candy makers recorded by history. They mixed fruits, nuts and honey. In ancient India, candy makers used sugar cane. Chocolate is made from the seeds of the cacao, a tropical tree cultivated by the Mayans of Central America and the Aztecs of Mexico.

Chocolate’s 4,000-year history began in ancient Mesoamerica, present day Mexico. It’s here that the first cacao plants were found. The Olmec, one of the earliest civilizations in Latin America, were the first to turn the cacao plant into chocolate. They drank their chocolate during rituals and used it as medicine.

Chocolate in Ecuador Unlike the Aztecs and Mayans, the Incas did not cultivate cacao. Cacao production continued it’s explosive growth right up through the beginning of the 20th century when it was hit hard by two crises.

The Mayans and the Aztecs believed (and perhaps some people still do) that chocolate was a gift from the gods. The Aztecs in particular revered the drink – they gave it to victorious warriors after battle, would use it during religious rituals, and even used cacao beans as currency.

The history of chocolate began in Mesoamerica. Fermented beverages made from chocolate date back to 450 BC. The Mexica believed that cacao seeds were the gift of Quetzalcoatl, the god of wisdom, and the seeds once had so much value that they were used as a form of currency.

Mayan chocolate was very different than the chocolate we know today. It was a liquid made from crushed cocoa beans, chili peppers, and water. (There was no sugar in Central America.) They poured the liquid from one cup to another until a frothy foam appeared on top.

Bloodletting. Blood served a very important purpose in Maya culture. It was believed to contain a “life-force” or chu ‘lel that was required by supernatural forces.

Since cocoa trees are famous as a fruit plant, and the pods as a leguminous fruit, we can conclude that Chocolate comes from a fruit.

Pulque is an alcoholic drink which was first drunk by the Maya, Aztecs, Huastecs and other cultures in ancient Mesoamerica. Similar to beer, it is made from the fermented juice or sap of the maguey plant (Agave americana). The drink had its own personified goddess and was featured in episodes of Mesoamerican mythology.

Mayans worshipped xocolatl (or bitter water) made with crushed cocoa, cornmeal and chilli pepper. Their drinking chocolate cup of choice? Large vessels with spouts, coveted, yet not so practical. To create a foam they would pour liquid back and forth between bowls from a height – like ancient baristas.

Fruits eaten included guava, papaya, avocado, custard apple, and sweetsop. A frothy chocolate drink and honey were also popular desserts. Another very popular drink was pulque beer, known to the Maya as chih and made from fermented agave juice.

The liquor with which the Aztecs were acquainted was called octli (sometimes identified as pulque), and it was obtained by fermenting the sap of the maguey.

Color. milky-white. Pulque (Spanish: [‘pulke] ( listen); Classical Nahuatl: metoctli), or octli, is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant.