CITIES

- Maya cities had grand buildings that included large stone pyramids, temples, and palaces.
- In addition to temples and palaces, builders paved large plazas for public gatherings
- Canals were built to control the flow of water throughout the cities
- Farmers learned to shape hillsides into flat terraces so that crops could grow on them
- Most Maya cities also had a ball court where people either played a type of ball game in which players were only allowed to use their hips, shoulders, or heads to get a heavy, hard rubber ball into a stone ring above their heads
- This ball game was influenced into the Maya culture by the Olmec traditions