Reading Comprehension

Almost a thousand years ago, the people of the Mayan civilization disappeared abruptly. Archaeologists are still puzzled how an entire race of highly sophisticated people could have vanished without a trace, and what the cause of their disappearance was.

The Mayans occupied the area which is now Mexico and parts of Central America. They were an extremely cultured and advanced group of people in many ways. They built cities in which the houses looked very similar to the ones we live today. Although they lived in an area with very little rainfall, they were able to farm using advanced irrigation methods that existed nowhere else at the time.

The Mayans could read and write using a complex system of writing that was the most advanced to come out of the region. The kings and priests, who were leaders in the community, were well-educated.

The Mayans are also famous for their calendars. They used three different calendars. One was a solar calendar comprising 365 days. The second was a lunar calendar with 28-day cycles. Today, even with modern computers and scientific discoveries, our calendars are still roughly the same as these. The third calendar indicated when religious and agricultural ceremonies would take place.

The Mayans had a peculiar sense of beauty. Their teeth were filed to a sharpened point, and tattoos and body

painting were very fashionable. They even played a game similar to baseball where players wore padded clothing and used wooden bats made of leather and bark.

To this day, the exact reasons for the collapse of the Mayan civilization remain unknown, but its influence lives on.