Civilization · c. 2000 BCE – 1697 CE
Maya Civilization
Mesoamerica's most literary civilization — writing, mathematics, astronomy and city-states.
Capital: Tikal, Palenque, Chichén Itzá · Central America & Caribbean
Overview
The Maya built dozens of independent city-states across the Yucatán, Petén and Chiapas. They developed the only fully written script of the pre-Columbian Americas, a positional zero, and astronomical tables of striking accuracy.
Timeline
- c. 2000 BCEPreclassic Maya settlement
- c. 250 – 900 CEClassic period — Tikal, Palenque, Calakmul
- c. 900 – 1500Postclassic — Chichén Itzá, Mayapán
- 1697Spanish conquest of the last Maya kingdom, Nojpetén
Rulers
King of Palenque
Tikal king who defeated Calakmul
Wars & conflicts
- Tikal – Calakmul rivalry
- Yucatán Wars
Architecture
Stepped pyramids, ball courts, corbelled arches, sacbé causeways.
Religion
Polytheistic with maize gods, Vision Serpent, bloodletting rites, cyclical cosmology.
Economy
Maize agriculture, cacao currency, jade and obsidian trade.
Technology
Long Count calendar, positional zero, glyphic writing, astronomical observatories.
Art
Stelae, jade masks, polychrome ceramics, murals of Bonampak.
Influence
Maya calendrics and codices remain a foundation of Mesoamerican studies.
Decline
Classic Maya collapse in the 9th century remains debated: drought, warfare, overpopulation.
Key sites
- Tikal
- Palenque
- Chichén Itzá
- Copán
- Uxmal
- Calakmul