We have learned that daily life for the Maya revolved around family, farming, and service to the gods. No person or group took any important action without consulting the gods. Priests decided which days were best for planting a field, starting a war, or building a hut. The Maya believed the gods were much wiser than humans.

According to Maya legend, the first people could see everything. The creator gods decided that this gave people too much power. So the gods decided to limit human sight and power. The Maya sacred book, the Popol Vuh, explains that the gods purposely clouded human understanding. As a result, a human’s view of the world is unclear. The Popol Vuh explains that human understanding is “like breath on a mirror.”