Mayan civilization in southern America

The first Maya settlements were established around 1800 BC in the period of Early Pre-Classic in the region of Soconusco of the Pacific Coast.

In the Classic period (AD 250-900) , the ancient Mayan civilization is located in an area of what will one day be southeastern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras.

Archeologists estimate that the peak of classic Mayan civilization developed between AD 600 and 800 - a period on which the Maya developed sophisticated ideas concerning astronomy, sculpture, architecture, and hieroglyphic wiring.

The Maya built splendid temples and pyramids were accomplished artists and developed a sophisticated calendar, as accurate as any in existence in the world at that time.

The Maya built tremendous cities – Tikal, the most important Mayan political center, may have been populated by more than 100,000 people.

The Maya people were an agrarian people who cleared the dense rainforests, developed farming and built a patchwork of city-states.

Mayan warfare was a unique with a tremendous amount of religious significance. Days of religious would preceded a battle, and the King and nobility would actively participate in combat. The purpose of warfare was not to gain territory, but to acquire slaves, who were used in large scale building projects and farming. 

The Mayan written language consists of glyphs. Unlike other language systems in ancient America, the Mayan glyphs are not just pictures of object. Many of them also represent specific sounds. The Maya inscribed their glyphs on far more imperishable materials like stone stelae, staircase, door lintels, facades, and pottery.

Mayan civilization declined inexplicably long before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. It ends with the Spanish conquest of Mesoamerica, which begins with the defeat of the Aztecs in 1521 and continues into the southern Maya region in 1524 and Yucatan in 1542.
Mayan civilization in southern America