Chiapas is Mexico’s southeasternmost state, bordering on Guatemala. A century ago, it was covered mostly with tropical rainforest in the lowlands and coniferous forests in the highlands. The Lacandón Maya were peoples of the rainforest, tracing their tenancy back thousands of years. Within their lands lie some of the world’s most intriguing and best-preserved Maya archaeological sites. One group of Lacandón has dwelt since time immemorial along the shores of a lake they view as sacred. Working with archaeologists, they have become intimately familiar with the works around the lake of their ancestors of millennia ago.

Learning Objective

Students will learn how the geography of Chiapas shaped the lives of the Lacandón Maya and how their connection to the rainforest and sacred lands helps preserve Maya history and archaeology.

Social Studies Standards

People, Places, & Environments: E, F, K

Discussion Prompts

• The Mayans built massive aqueducts underneath their plazas to whisk away floodwater. Talk about what led them to such ingenuity and their expertise.
• The Mayans believe that every tree and river has a guardian spirit. Discuss how we would treat our own parks or backyards differently if we believed they were ‘watching’ us.
• If today’s Lacandón students use a cell phone in the morning and go on a traditional jungle hunt in the afternoon, what would be the hardest part—and the coolest part—of living in two different ‘times’ at once?”
• The Mayan use the rotating crops system while modern farming often wears out the soil in decades. Who is more advanced when it comes to the future of our planet? Why?

Lesson Activities

• If you were a jaguar moving through the Lacandón jungle at night, describe the sounds you would follow to find a nice dinner and write a personal narrative about those animals that were able to hide away from you.
• Create a diagram comparing the similarities and differences between the Egyptian and Mayan pyramids and write a conclusion about your findings and rank them according to your opinion.
• Give students a pile of dirt, some flat stones, and a pitcher of water. Tell them they must build a “temple” on a hill of dirt. Students will test the resistance of their structure by pouring water (the “hurricane”) on it and not getting the inside of the temple wet.
• Many Lacandón men wear the traditional white long tunic, but they might also wear Nike sneakers. If your clothes had to tell a story about where your great-grandparents came from, what would your outfit look like? Draw the outfit and provide a detailed description so that someone can recreate it.

Vocabulary

• aqueduct
• biodiversity
• duality
• encroachment
• excavation
• hydraulic
• hieroglyph
• indigenous
• resistance
• symbiosis

Download

In the Americas Season 12 Lesson Episode 2