Maya Pottery: Maya pottery has given us quite a look at their daily life. The Mayas made little pottery figures. These figures were probably used in religious ceremonies. Many were made to rattle or whistle. Although very small, figures were detailed, brightly painted, and offer a look at Maya life. Some of the figures include a bearded man on a throne, a person in a wide hat, a ballplayer wearing heavily padded clothing, and a musician shaking a rattle.

Class Society: The Maya had a class society. There were slaves, peasants, craftsmen, nobility, priests, and leaders. There were also warriors. At the top were the nobles and priests. The middle class had the craftsmen, traders, and warriors. At the bottom were farmers, other workers, and slaves.

Priests: Religion was at the heart of nearly all Maya activities. The Mayas believed in a great many gods and goddesses. They believed their priests could talk to the gods. That gave the priests incredible power. The priests, along with the leaders in each city-state, were the most powerful people in the Maya civilization.  Priests decided nearly everything in the Maya daily life. They decided when to plant, when people could marry, marry, and whom to sacrifice.

Leaders: A different noble family ruled each city. The Mayas were governed by city-state. The same family ruled forever. The crown was handed from father to son forever. Their right to rule came from the fact that they were direct descendants of the Hero Twins. They were the kids of the kids of the kids of the original Hero Twins.

Nobles: The nobles were all the people who were not actually the rulers, but were of royal blood - the brothers and sisters and cousins and aunts and uncles of the ruling family. Nobles believed they were so important that, when they appeared in public, their attendants would hold a cloth in front of their face. That way, no one could talk to them directly. They bathed often. All of the men and none of the women used mirrors. 

High Fashion: Maya nobles spent a great deal of time on their personal appearance. They pierced their ears. They covered their bodies with tattoos. They painted their bodies. They loved fancy colorful embroidery added to their clothing. They loved straight black hair and high cheekbones. They loved jewelry. Hats were important. The Mayas believed that the bigger the hat, the more important the wearer. Some of the headdresses worn by nobles were taller than they were. As in most ancient cultures, their life was one of leisure. They had the time to spend on what they believed made them look beautiful. Be Attractive the Classic Mayan Way

Craftsmen: The Mayas wove beautiful fabrics. They made musical instruments like drums, shell horns, and castanets. Their statues were incredible and huge. The art they created honored their gods or their leaders.

Warriors: The Mayas were often at war. Some scholars say they were always at war. So, well-trained warriors were important to the Maya way of life. The job of warrior was highly respected.

Slaves: Slaves were people who were captured from warring tribes. Slaves worked in the homes of noble families. Some slaves cared for the children. Some cleaned the house. Still others worked in the fields.

Farmers: Many of the Maya peasants were farmers. Farmers worked very hard. The Mayas did not have metal tools. Fathers and sons worked their land mostly by hand, helped a little with stone axes. Wives and daughters cooked and cleaned and sewed. Girls babysat their youngest siblings. Women carried goods in baskets on their heads from the fields and to market. Women helped in the fields as necessary.

Food: They ate very well on the farms. Food included hot corn porridge for breakfast, tortillas filled with cooked vegetables enjoyed for lunch and dinner. Families lived in thatched roofed houses - one family per house. Farmers grew so much food that they produced surplus crops. When the growing season ended, farmers worked alongside slaves (captured people from other tribes) to build the magnificent cities. They were the labor.

Maize: The most important crop was corn (maize.) Corn was everything. They made corn flour, all kinds of food and drinks from corn. Some of the nobles even wove their hair to resemble tassels of corn. Other crops were sweet potatoes, beans, chilies, and squash. They hunted wild turkey, monkeys, deer, and ducks. They caught fish. They ate well. Some say the Mayas made the first chocolate drink.

Dance: The Maya loved dance. Some scholars believe the Maya might have known a thousand different dances. Their dances included the Monkey, the Grandfather, the Shadow of the Trees, and the Centipede. Dance costumes were colorful, and headdresses were huge!

Music: The Maya played drums. They rattled turtle shells and played pottery flutes. They loved games. The time you had to spend on these activities depended upon your place in society.   

Festivals: The most important activity in the cities was religious festivals. People who lived near a major city would travel there to attend religious festivals, and of course to see the famed ball games and go to the market. Every 20th day, there was a religious festival. Priests would climb the pyramid steps, dressed in fierce masks, to please the gods. Wearing huge headdresses, Maya dancers performed in front of the Pyramid or the Temple or both. The Mayas are famous for their dances and their headdresses. The movement of the dance would make their headdresses jingle and rattle. It was quite a site.

K'atun: K'atun is a ceremony that was conducted every 20 years. Stelas were created to share what had happened for the past 20 years. The rulers were an important part of the story told through the stelas. A different royal family ruled each Maya city. So each Maya city erected its own stela to honor its own ruling family.

Gods of Nature: The Mayas worshipped the gods of nature every day. Worshiping their gods was a huge part of their daily life. Some of their gods included the God of Rain, Lady Rainbow, the God of Maize (corn), and of course, the God of Sun. Without the help of these important gods, there would be no crops and everyone would starve.

The Underworld: Maya religion was far more complicated than the simple worship of gods of nature. The Maya world was composed of 3 layers - the Heavens, the Earth, and the Underworld, sometimes called the Otherworld or the Place of Awe. The Mayas conducted many ceremonies to keep the demons, creatures and gods in the Underworld.

Masks: During certain religious ceremonies, priests dressed up like jaguars. Priests wore scary masks as they faced the inhabitants of the Underworld. Priests wanted to present themselves as equally scary and powerful.

Afterlife: The Mayas believed in an afterlife. Commoners buried their dead inside their homes, under the floor. That way, they could live with their ancestors and keep their ancestors easily posted on their daily life. The Mayas believed they would be compensated. If they had a rough time or a rough life, this would be made up to them in their afterlife. Nobles were buried in tombs.

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