The accession ceremony of a Mayan king was also very important. These rituals were made to concede with certain lunar or planetary cycles. A human sacrifice would also be made at this ceremony. Typically, this victim was captured by the heir himself, and then sacrificed in his honor.
Evidently, religion had a major impact on the Mayan political system. As a result, bloodletting and human sacrifice were traditional parts of this society. The king himself was expected to draw blood from his own body after an heir was born, as a sacrifice to his ancestors. The religion also sustained the power of the empire, as the continuation of the universe itself was supposedly reliant on these rulers.
The economy of the Mayan civilization was based largely on agriculture and local minerals, as well as other natural resources. It was also very much reliant on their extensive trade network, which involved both the city-states and other Mesoamerican civilizations.
Agriculturally, the Mayans grew a variety of crops, including cacao beans, maize (corn), beans, squash, vanilla, avocado, chili peppers, cotton, tomatoes, fruit trees and potatoes. However, they had few domesticated animals, limited to turkeys, ducks, edible dogs and bees, which they used to produce honey. They also hunted wild game, such as deer and boars, and fished.
The Mayans also had access to many mineral deposits. The more common of these, such as obsidian, chert and limestone, were used for tools and construction. Other more valuable stones, including jadeite, pyrite and turquoise, became symbols of wealth and power within Mayan society. One vital commodity for the Mayans was salt, which they used not only in cooking but also to preserve meat and other foods.
Several other resources were used in Mayan society, and traded regularly. These included various cloths and textiles, ceramics and pottery pieces, Quetzal feathers, and marine shells (such as nacre). Art was also highly sought after by the Mayans. Often one particular artist would gain popularity, his works becoming desired by all of the elite class. These resources, often purely aesthetic in function, made up a great deal of the Mayan peoples’ trade.
