There were farmers and relied heavily on the land for their one basic need of food. Maize, which we know as corn was an important staple in their diet. They also relied on hunting as a means of survival. Some of the animals they hunted were deer, wild turkeys, rabbit, monkeys and iguanas.

The ruling class lived in stone palaces but a majority of the people lived in huts. They would used cane poles and put them together by vines and plaster over with mud. The roof had to be especially steep so that the waters from the rain would run off.

The hut had an earth floor and only had the bare necessities needed like earthen pots and a hammock.

They spent their days in the cornfield weeding eating. Cacao beans also grew on the trees in Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize and were considered valuable to them.

The Maya farmed cacao trees just so the kings could have their favorite frothy chocolate drinks whenever they wanted.

The Maya carried goods in a sling called tumpline or on their backs as they didn’t have horses.

That corn was a very important crop to the Maya. Corn symbolized birth and death and the Maya even worshipped the Yum-Kaax, the god of corn.

The Maya were polytheists, meaning they worshipped many gods. Maya experts know the Maya had names for at least 166 gods.

The rubber tree was used by the Maya for more than making rubber balls. They sealed bags to carry water and it was used to treat lip and ear wounds.

Pacal II, is also known as Pacal the Great or K’inich Janahb’ Pakal. Pacal II may be the most famous Maya king.

Shield Jaguar the Great and Lady Xok of Yaxchilan. The powerful family of his important wife, Lady Xok helped to keep Shield Jaguar the Great on the throne. In the picture on the mini book she is shown pulling a thorn studded rope through her tongue for a blood sacrifice as Shield Jaguar holds a torch over head.

Charles V. King of Spain. Approved the Spanish conquest of the Americas.

John Lloyd Stephens. He was an American traveler who teamed up with Frederick Catherwood to locate Maya ruins.

{Pacal II}

{Shield Jaguar the Great & Lady Xok of Yaxchilan.}

According to legend, on this spot an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its talons. This was a sign that the Aztecs had found their new home.

The site the Aztecs lived on when they first arrived in the Valley of Mexico was a small island in Lake Texcoco. They began to build a great city which they named Tenochtitlan. From its start on a swampy island Tenochtitlan grew into a magnificent city of 250,000 people. The Aztecs named their capital city after the chieftain who led them there, Tenoch and the word for cactus, nochtli.