The Ancient Americas

Featured Cultures

Maya Society
The Maya built one of the most famous civilizations in the Americas, excelling in architecture, sculpture, painting, written language, and astronomy. Their territory covered the present-day countries of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Belize, and southern Mexico.

The first evidence of Maya society dates back three thousand years. But the Maya rose to prominence roughly between AD 250 and 900, a time archaeologists call the Classic Period. A combination of circumstances—including war and drought—caused the Maya to abandon many of their cities shortly after AD 900. But language, spiritual beliefs, and other aspects of Maya society are still alive, maintained by descendants who live in Mexico and Central America today.

Settlement Patterns and Status
The ancient Maya were divided into a number of small kingdoms; they were not one group of people politically. A ruling family of high status governed each kingdom. Networking with each other helped these Maya rulers defend territories, trade across long distances, and find marriage partners for their children. Maya monuments celebrate marriages, coronations, battle victories, and other ways in which rulers strengthened their royal relationships and expanded political control.

To learn more about what it might have been like to live in the Maya kingdom of Tikal, take a look at Being a Part of Maya Society.

Maya monuments and glyphs (writing) tell archaeologists much about the various Mayan kingdoms and how they interacted with one another politically and militarily.

Other People and Places

Maya society thrived in Mexico and Central America from AD 250 to 900, during the same time...

	Hunting and gathering traditions prospered in the Canadian arctic.
	Pueblo villages sprang up in the Southwest.
	Other societies with governments, including the Zapotec and Moche, ruled in the Americas.
	The city of Jenne-Jenno in West Africa reached a population of 20,000—larger than most European towns of the time.
	Buddhism, practiced in India for hundreds of years, spread to China and other Asian countries.
	The Huns ransacked Europe under the reign of Attila—their greatest king.

Continue to Maya Military and More. >>