Fun Facts
Amazing Mayan Inventions You Can Build Yourself

The ancient Maya believed that people were initially made out of corn by the gods.

According to the ancient Mayan "Long Count" calendar, the world will end on June 5, 2012.

The calendar and timekeeping was very important to the early Maya. Both gods and men were identified by the day they were born.

Ancient Maya women strapped boards to their baby’s heads and hung beads in front of their eyes. They did this because the Maya considered long, flat foreheads and crossed eyes attractive.

The ancient Maya filed their teeth into a “T” shape and sometimes to a point. They also inlaid their teeth with small, round pieces of jade or pyrite.

The ancient Maya used chewing gum to clean their teeth.

The popularity of chewing gum in modern times has advanced the development of ancient Maya studies. Workers collecting the sap of the sapodilla tree, from which chewing gum is made, have discovered numerous ruins.

The ancient Maya were excellent road builders. Some of their roads still exist today.

When the Spanish invaded the ancient Maya civilization, the Maya thought that the Spanish soldiers and the horses they rode on were one animal.

The wives of ancient Maya warriors traveled with their husbands and made them dinner at night.

The ancient Maya enjoyed chocolate drinks and called chocolate “The Drink of The Gods.” They made chocolate drinks by mixing crushed cacao beans with water.

Cacao beans were so valuable they were used as currency.

Ancient Maya slaves considered it an honor to be killed in a blood sacrifice ceremony.