Mayan Society
Social Structure
The lowest level of Mayan society were slaves. The slaves were made up of orphans, criminals, prisoners of war and other enemies, and the children of slaves. Slaves were not necessarily mistreated, but they had no privileges, provided almost all manual labor in Mayan society, and were the most common victims of human sacrifice.
The next level was made up of the peasants. They also became human sacrifices occasionally, and were not allowed to own any quetzal ( ket-zal) feathers, jade, or anything else that showed status. The peasants worked extremely hard and gave the governing priests large tributes and taxes.
The next level was the nobility. Nobles were chosen for all the positions of importance, such as craftsman, merchant, civil servant, military officer, etc. Also, the nobility was not required to pay taxes or tributes.
Warriors were a special group of nobles that fought in battles. The warriors would fight the enemy warriors all day, and a temporary treaty was called at nightfall that lasted until morning. Warriors fought with such weapons as flint knives, spears, clubs, and hornet nests, which were thrown into enemy ranks. If the leader of one army was wounded or killed, the battle ended and the army without a leader would retreat.
The highest level in Mayan society was made up of priests. Priests were supported entirely by peasants, who paid them large tributes and provided them with free manual labor. Priests controlled government, religion, warfare, and trade. While priests and nobles tended to live in the large Mayan cities and peasants lived in the surrounding country and villages, ruler-priests did live in the villages, and lived a luxurious lifestyle with several servants and assistants and kept themselves distanced from their subjects.
While it may not have been impossible to move up the ranks, it was incredibly difficult and status was usually hereditary.