Discussion # 6, 1.1 MW: The Maya in Decline

Topic: The Maya

The Maya civilization reached tremendous heights of technological and scientific achievement, but by the 8th century the Maya city-states turned on each other and their warfare was transformed. Their written records indicate that the war became territorial and for control of resources, perhaps reflecting a strain on resources due to drought or rapid rise in population. The violent wars involved the taking of captives for slaves and human sacrifice. 

Directions: Two Points of View

Read your textbook and notes, do some careful research, and watch the videos. This involves some role-playing: Pretend you are a Mayan elder and you are advising your king. As your city state is in decline, many of the citizens are very anxious and are looking to abandon the city. Your king turns to you and asks for your opinion. How do you propose to make your Maya city-state great again? Through peace and adaptation (give examples, you can be creative but stick with the basic historical realities)? Through war? Keep in mind that yours is a stone-age society, no strong metals for tools or weapons.

This post is your opinion and there is no right or wrong answer. Your points will be based on completion of the assignment (based on the rubric) and whether you use support from the text, lecture, or internet. 6 points total, 3 for your initial post and 3 for replying to someone's post. Your post should be about a paragraph long and your reply to someone's post should be a paragraph as well.

I recommend that you create your initial post by Mar 9, at 11:59 pm so that others may have an opportunity to reply.

You must also contribute a Response to 1 classmate's post: Read another student's post and pretend you are another Mayan elder and you believe that the collapse of your city is inevitable and that it is time to abandon the city and return to a more basic system. Perhaps you think you should become basic farmers and focus on survival? Perhaps you want to move away and establish another city? How do you respond to the advice of the other elder? 

Posts can have more than one reply. Follow the netiquette guidelines below and use evidence to support or disagree with the original post. This is not a place for insults or arguments so use proper language.

Your Response is due by Mar 10, at 11:59 pm

• Turning this assignment in late will result in loss of 1 point per day, up to 3 points.
• Click on the reply button, below to get started.

Purpose:

To evaluate student's critical analysis of historical events.

Rubric:

To view the rubric attached to this discussion, click on the gear box in the upper right and select Show Rubric. 

Netiquette:

• Be kind and respectful to others
• Use full sentences
• Avoid jargon and acronyms
• Use language that supports others