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Foreign Correspondent: Mayan heritage

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People stand beside small water pool in wooded area
Foreign Correspondent: Mayan heritage

SUBJECTS:  Geography

YEARS:  7–8


Discover ruins of a lost civilisation of the Maya at Tulum, on the Yucatán Peninsula in south-eastern Mexico.

See what has become of the civilisation's cenotes, its ancient water resources, as a Maya descendant speaks of his sadness at what has happened to the land of his forebears.


Things to think about

  1. 1.Have you heard of the ancient Maya civilisation that flourished on the Yucatán Peninsula around the 13th century? Its stone ruins still remain, but mystery surrounds the reasons for its decline. What resources would the civilisation have needed to flourish in the first place, and how would these resources need to have been managed?
  2. 2.Cenotes were a source of freshwater for the ancient Maya civilisation. In what condition are some cenotes? About how many Maya descendants live in Mexico today? How does Gabriel Mason describe his and his people's connection to cenote? Why does Gabriel feel his heritage is under threat?
  3. 3.Governments often talk about the economic benefits of development. In Mexico, what points do you think descendants of the Maya might make about such development and its impact? When making decisions about development, what and who should governments consider in the process?
  4. 4.Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are culturally and linguistically diverse, but have a strong connection to country. Water and 'water places' have spiritual and cultural importance for these peoples. Explore how the beliefs, cultures and spirituality of the Maya peoples of today are similar to and different from Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Date of broadcast: 12 Mar 2013


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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