Materials

Start by thinking about the types of materials the Maya might have had available to make objects out of. Make predictions about which materials would be used for certain types of objects. Think about which materials would rot and which would survive. Plan an experiment to test what rots and what doesn't.

Teaching Outcomes:

• To deduce what materials the Maya had available to make things out of.
• To plan and carry out an experiment to test the properties of materials.

Children will:

• Make deductions about Maya material culture based on historical knowledge.
• Use their knowledge about the properties of materials to decide what they were used for.
• Devise experiments to test hypotheses.

• What material would you use to make these Maya objects?
• An experiment to test what rots and what doesn't

• Samples of materials, e.g. wood, bone, stone, leather, feathers, shell, cotton, wool, metal, plastic, clay, bark, rubber
• An area of the school grounds to bury materials in

Walking to the Maya village of Tikal in Guatemala from youtube.com
Children's guide to the art of the Ancient Maya from ducksters.com
Maya art from the British Museum from britishmuseum.org
More Maya art from maa.cam.ac.uk