Classic Maya · 250-900

Tikal and Calakmul: rival Maya city-states

The Classic Maya never formed one empire. Dozens of city-states, each with its own holy king, competed, allied and fought. Students follow the great rivalry of Tikal and Calakmul and ask why the southern cities emptied after 800.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 800 to AD 1000
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

The Classic Maya never formed one empire. Dozens of city-states, each with its own holy king, competed, allied and fought. Students follow the great rivalry of Tikal and Calakmul and ask why the southern cities emptied after 800.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain what a city-state is and why the Classic Maya were not one empire.
  • Locate Tikal, Calakmul and Palenque on the map.
  • Describe at least two explanations historians give for the decline of the southern Maya cities.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 800

The Maya world

Open Stories (top left) and play Empires of the Americas. Pause at the first step, the Maya in 800. Why does the map call them city-states rather than an empire?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 695

Two giants

Open the map in 695 and zoom in between Tikal and Calakmul. They are only about 100 km apart. In 695 Tikal's king defeated Calakmul. Why might two neighbours become such fierce rivals?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1000

Power moves north

Jump to 1000 and zoom north to the Yucatán peninsula. After about 900 most southern cities were empty, while northern cities such as Chichen Itza grew. Find Chichen Itza: how far is it from Tikal?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Maya kings were called k'uhul ajaw, "holy lord". Why would a king claim to be holy?
  2. Tikal and Calakmul each built networks of allies. How is that similar to alliances in other times and places?
  3. Maya cities had no metal tools and no pack animals, yet built pyramids over 60 m tall. How was that possible?
  4. Historians point to drought, war and overused land to explain the decline after 800. Which do you find most convincing, and why?
  5. Millions of Maya people live in Mexico and Central America today. Why is "the Maya disappeared" the wrong way to tell this story?
4

Game round

10 min

Play one round of Rule History as Wu Zetian, who ruled China in the same years that Tikal's king defeated Calakmul. Afterwards, compare: Wu Zetian ruled one huge empire, while a Maya king ruled one city and its allies. Which kind of power is easier to keep?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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