🇲🇽 Maya

Maya

Mesoamerican civilization organized into numerous independent city-states rather than one unified empire.

Maya Region

Maya civilization developed across southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and parts of Honduras and El Salvador.

Maya City-States

Independent political centers ruled by individual kings and elites.

Maya Political Organization

Political authority was decentralized among competing city-states.

Maya Rulers

Maya rulers combined political and religious authority and were often viewed as sacred figures.

Maya Religion

Polytheistic religion involving gods associated with nature, agriculture, astronomy, and other forces.

Maya Theocracy

Political system in which religious authority strongly influenced government.

Maya Writing System

Complex system of glyphs used to record information, history, religion, and political events.

Maya Calendar

Highly developed calendar systems based on detailed astronomical observations.

Maya Astronomy

Maya scholars carefully observed celestial bodies and used astronomy to organize calendars and religious activities.

Maya Concept of Zero

Maya mathematicians independently developed the concept of zero for mathematical calculations.

Maya Agriculture

Agriculture supported dense populations and included maize as a major crop.

Maya Trade

City-states traded food, luxury goods, obsidian, cacao, and other products.

Maya Tribute

Some Maya city-states extracted tribute from subordinate populations.

Maya Architecture

Maya cities contained monumental temples, pyramids, palaces, and ceremonial centers.

Maya Sacrifice

Human and animal sacrifice were sometimes used in religious ceremonies.

Maya Decline

Major Maya centers declined for multiple reasons including warfare, environmental stress, drought, and political instability.

Maya Continuity

Maya peoples and cultures survived after the decline of major classical-era cities.

Pakal the Great

Maya ruler of Palenque known for monumental construction and political influence.