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Watch: Maya farming techniques

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What food did Maya farmers make?

A Maya market.
  • Farming was really important to the Maya.

  • Most people grew their own crops in small fields.

  • Farmers grew many kinds of crops at the same time, such as maize, beans and squash.

  • If farmers grew more than they could eat, they traded the leftovers in markets.

A Maya market.
Maya person sowing seeds in a field.
  • Food such as chillies and tomatoes were gathered from the forest or grown in gardens.

  • The Maya made a lot of cotton, which was spun, dyed and woven into textiles.

  • Cotton seeds were ground to make cooking oil.

Maya market from above.
  • Cocoa and vanilla were also produced.

  • Cocoa was made into chocolate drinks for the royal family.

  • Archaeologists have found the remains of a Maya market at Chunchucmil, in modern day Mexico.

Maya market from above.
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Why did they do so well?

A Maya person farming in a field.
  • The Maya were so successful at farming was because they studied the stars and the weather.

  • This meant they were able to create very detailed calendars which told them what time of year to plant crops and when they should harvest them.

  • Maya calendars were more accurate than the European calendars at that time.

A Maya person farming in a field.
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Activities

Activity 1: Quiz 鈥 Maya farming

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Activity 2: History Explorer game

Play this game to test your knowledge and learn even more facts about the ancient Maya.

History Explorer: Secrets through time

History Explorer: Secrets through time: KS2 History

History Explorer: Secrets through time
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Bitesize Primary games. game

Play fun and educational primary games in science, maths, English, history, geography, art, computing and modern languages.

Bitesize Primary games
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