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Watch: What was home life like for Maya people?

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What did the Maya build?

Animated image of Mayan home with a thatched roof.
  • The Maya built huge amounts of temples, palaces, causeways, schools and marketplaces.

  • The royals and nobles lived in the centre and the ordinary people further out.

Animated image of Mayan home with a thatched roof.
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How were the buildings made?

  • The temples and palaces were mainly made of stone.

  • Wood was used for beams and poles, and thatch for huts, covered with adobe, which was mud strengthened straw.

  • The Maya did not use the wheel.

  • They moved stone on logs or with pulleys.

Mayan house with thatched roof.
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What were ordinary homes like?

Maya person thatching a roof.
  • Ordinary Maya homes were not built on platforms like the city temples and palaces but on ground level.
  • They were built in an oval shape, from wooden poles with clay and mud (wattle and daub).
  • They had a thatched roof, or plants, to keep the rain and snow out.
  • Stone walls were rare.
  • They had one room which they all shared, including the parents, sometimes with a wall to divide the house.
  • They would sleep in the back part.
Maya person thatching a roof.
Maya woman grinding corn.
  • There might have been a fireplace to cook on and every house had pottery.
  • Beds were made from young tree (sapling) branches with a mat placed on top.
  • They often buried family members underneath or near the house.
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Activities

Activity 1: Quiz 鈥 Maya houses

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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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