MAYA

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does Maya mean? 

• MAYA (noun)
  The noun MAYA has 3 senses:

1. a member of an American Indian people of Yucatan and Belize and Guatemala who had a culture (which reached its peak between AD 300 and 900) characterized by outstanding architecture and pottery and astronomy

2. an ethnic minority speaking Mayan languages and living in Yucatan and adjacent areas

3. a family of American Indian languages spoken by Mayas

  Familiarity information: MAYA used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MAYA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A member of an American Indian people of Yucatan and Belize and Guatemala who had a culture (which reached its peak between AD 300 and 900) characterized by outstanding architecture and pottery and astronomy

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

Maya; Mayan

Context example:

Mayans had a system of writing and an accurate calendar

Hypernyms ("Maya" is a kind of...):

Amerindian; Native American (any member of the peoples living in North or South America before the Europeans arrived)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Maya"):

Cakchiquel (a member of the Mayan people living in south central Guatemala)

Kekchi (a member of a Mayan people of north central Guatemala)

Mam (a member of a Mayan people of southwestern Guatemala)

Quiche (a member of the Mayan people of south central Guatemala)

Yucatec; Yucateco (a member of the Mayan people of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico)

Holonyms ("Maya" is a member of...):

federation of tribes; tribe (a federation (as of American Indians))

Sense 2

Meaning:

An ethnic minority speaking Mayan languages and living in Yucatan and adjacent areas

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("Maya" is a kind of...):

ethnic minority (a group that has different national or cultural traditions from the majority of the population)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A family of American Indian languages spoken by Mayas

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

Maya; Mayan; Mayan language

Hypernyms ("Maya" is a kind of...):

American-Indian language; American Indian; Amerind; Amerindian language; Indian (any of the languages spoken by Amerindians)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Maya"):

Kekchi (a Mayan language spoken by the Kekchi)

Mam (a Mayan language spoken by the Mam)

Yucatec; Yucateco (a Mayan language spoken by the Yucatec)

Quiche (the Mayan language spoken by the Quiche)

Cakchiquel (the Mayan language spoken by the Cakchiquel)

 Context examples 

And while the Maya people survived beyond this period, their political and economic power was depleted.

(Scientists measure severity of drought during the Maya collapse, University of Cambridge)

Marcello Canuto, a Tulane University archaeologist and one of the project's top investigators, said the discoveries are a "revolution in Maya archeology."

(Hidden Mayan Civilization Revealed in Guatemala Jungle, VOA)

Collapse of the Maya civilization that occurred between 800 and 900 A.D.. Symptoms of the collapse included abandonment of the countryside and ceremonial centers as well as a cessation of cultural activities.

(Classic Collapse, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)

There are multiple theories as to what caused the collapse of the Maya civilisation, such as invasion, war, environmental degradation and collapsing trade routes.

(Scientists measure severity of drought during the Maya collapse, University of Cambridge)

In the 1990s, however, researchers were able to piece together climate records for the period of the Maya collapse and found that it correlated with an extended period of extreme drought.

(Scientists measure severity of drought during the Maya collapse, University of Cambridge)

Now, the researchers analysed the different isotopes of water trapped within the crystal structure of the gypsum to determine changes in rainfall and relative humidity during the Maya downfall.

(Scientists measure severity of drought during the Maya collapse, University of Cambridge)

During the 9th century however, there was a major political collapse in the central Maya region: their famous limestone cities were abandoned and dynasties ended.

(Scientists measure severity of drought during the Maya collapse, University of Cambridge)

The role of climate change in the collapse of Classic Maya civilisation is somewhat controversial, partly because previous records are limited to qualitative reconstructions, for example whether conditions were wetter or drier.

(Scientists measure severity of drought during the Maya collapse, University of Cambridge)

Maya civilisation is divided into four main periods: the Preclassic (2000 BCE – 250 CE), Classic (250 CE – 800 CE), terminal Classic (800 - 1000 CE) and Postclassic (1000 CE – 1539 CE).

(Scientists measure severity of drought during the Maya collapse, University of Cambridge)

By mapping the proportion of the different isotopes contained within each layer of gypsum, the researchers were able to build a model to estimate past changes in rainfall and relative humidity over the period of the Maya collapse.

(Scientists measure severity of drought during the Maya collapse, University of Cambridge)