Who were the Maya gods?

• The Maya believed in many gods, each representing a different part of life.

• These gods had to be pleased so Maya communities made regular offerings to them, in the form of animal (and sometimes human) sacrifices.

• The Maya worshipped family members who had died. Similar to the Shang dynasty in China and also the ancient Egyptians, at around the same time (1500 BC).

• Maya households buried their dead underneath the floors so they could protect the living.

• The Maya believed the Earth had the form of a giant turtle that floated on an endless ocean and that the sky was held up by four mighty gods called Bacabs.

• The sky was made up of 13 levels in the heavens.

• Those who were sacrificed or who died in battle went to one of the top levels.

• Those who died of natural causes went to Xibalba, the shadowy underworld, which had nine levels.

• Each level was associated with a colour and a direction; north was white, east was red, south was yellow, and west was black. The mortal (living) world was in between.

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