LEGEND

        Before the Mayas they believed that there was only the sea and an empty sky.  There were no animals or plants of any kind.  There were not even people.  They believed that there were two creators in green and blue feathers.  They lived in the sea.  They looked out of the water and cried "Let the earth appear and let the light come!"  Then all of a sudden mountains, trees, and valleys all sprang up from the water.  Seeds were planted and roots began to grow.  It was as if one day everything was water and the next everything had grown overnight.  Still the creators thought that there was something missing.  They decided to create human beings.  After they created people they had their fullest glory.  But when they had finished, the humans had no minds so they went and questioned Grandmother Dawn about what they should do.  She said that they should make them out of wood.  So off they went to make wooden human beings.  It was a great idea but the only problem was they did not have flesh and bones.  They  had dry faces and no heart or blood.  So finally they cried out "Let human beings appear who will praise us."  Then people started  to raise up through the seas through white and yellow corn ears.  They were very smart and had lots of knowledge.  The creators thought that lots of knowledge could be bad but they could be wrong.  And that is how the Mayas came to be!
    There are a lot more legends about the Mayas.  They lived from 500 B.C.. to 900 A.D.

RELIGION

    The Mayas believed in the Catholic religion after they  settled in a country named Tikal (which is now known as Guatamala).
    There they built pyramids and temples (some of them are still there today).  They soon developed a writing system called hieroglyphics.  Hieroglyphics is writing using symbols and small pictures.  Later on they developed a calender.
    The calenders they had are not made of paper with the days of the week, pictures, and the name of the month.  These calenders were made out of stone and that is how they kept track of time.  They wrote about their leaders and cities.  Sometimes they even wrote about events that happened.  The Mayas were the first to develop a system of writing.

MAYA FARMERS

    Even though the Mayas faught wars and built pyramids and temples, and wrote heiroglyphics they still were farmers.  Most of the food they grew is what they lived on.  They made
tortillas, flat cakes, corn portrage, and more.  They grew
vegetables and fruits along with many other foods.
HOUSING
    The Mayas lived in thatch-roofed houses.  They made their
own houses.  They were very simple houses.  That is where they
ate, slept and prepared meals.  The children helped their parents. The boys helped their fathers out in the field and the girls helped their mothers prepare meals.  The parents were very hard on disciplining them but all they wanted was to teach their children the basics of life.

UNSOLVED MYSTERY

   There are many unsolved mysteries about the Mayas.   By
900 A.D. there were signs of weakening.  They began to leave
the city.  Gradually thriving powers came down and crumbled
up all of the temples and pyramids and turned them all into ruins. Why this happened nobody knows.  Not even archaeologists and historians.  It still remains an unsolved mystery.  That is when the Maya culture ends.  There are still Mayas today.  But the true Mayas ended at 900 A.D.