| The Classic Period is the Mayan Golden Age. Mesoamerica became adorned with massive, ornate and brightly colored architecture. Exquisite works of art and advances in astronomy and mathematics are hallmarks of this Period. This was the age of the development of one of the most sophisticated systems of writing ever devised in the Western Hemisphere. |
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Mayan Calendar
Interlocking Wheels of time
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The Classic period began with the carving of the first hieroglyphic dates on Mayan stelae in 250 A.D. and ended six and a half centuries later with the last dates carved into half finished monuments, as if the artisans walked away in mid hammer stroke. Most of the greatest ceremonial centers in Mesoamerica - Tikal, Caracol, Palenque - came to their greatest glory during the Classic period. And for some yet unknown reason, all were abandoned or far into decline within a span of a few years near the end of the ninth century.
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Much of what Archaeologists know of the Mayan Civilization comes from archeological work done on Classic Period sites. Scientists orginally constructed a model of Mayan society as a ceremonial center supported by widely space subsistence communities. But intense study on the agricultural practices revealed that the Maya used highly sophisticated techniques to feed a dense and growing population surrounding the ceremonial centers.
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| The Classic Maya augmented their starch diet of vegetables and nuts with animal protien. The main source of meat came from hunting the abundant white tailed deer, along with the small brocket deer and two species of wild pig. The Classic Maya also collected turtles and large numbers of freshwater snails.
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Mayan Milpa System, Belize
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Emphasis traditionally has been on the large ceremonial centers of the time. But recently, archaeologists have taken a close look at the entire social structure, and have concentrated on the small Mayan settlements and the rural farmers which supported the Mayan Civilization through the production of food. These subsistence farmers lived in dwellings very similar to the Maya of today. Most homes were constructed of perishable material harvested from the forests.
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The structure of Mayan society centered around a major ceremonial site. A regional trading system would integrate the products of outlying areas with minor ceremonial sites and eventually with the major ceremonial center. Well developed causeways, called sacbeobs ("white roads" from the plastered surfaces) radiated out from the major sites in all directions toward the minor sites.
The Classic Period chronology has been developed
based on the rise, flourishing and the beginning of the decline of the Mayan Civilization. Some archaeologists also base these divisions of the period on the influences of major ceremonial centers on all of Mesoamerica and the Mayan Civilization as a whole. Following is a breakdown of the Mayan Classic Period chronology:
- Early Classic A.D. 250-400
- Middle Classic A.D. 400-700
- Late Classic A.D. 700-900
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