Facts about the Mayans
February 16, 2026
The earliest known Maya settlements date to approximately 1800 B.C. These early Maya peoples were agricultural, and grew various crops, such as corn, beans, squash and cassava. During the classical Maya period, from A.D. 250 to 900, the Maya built impressive cities from stone, including huge stepped…
Ancient Mayan currency
December 5, 2025
Europeans first discovered chocolate in 1519 when the explorer Cortes and his men drank “chocolatl” with the Aztec emperor, Moctezuma. The ancient Mayan and Aztec cultures, however, cultivated and traded cacao for many centuries before the Europeans even considered sailing away from their coastline…
Classic Mayan period
November 15, 2025
Maya had a complex society (Classic period 300 - 900 AD) Most artistic and cultural achievement came about during the Classic period 300 - 900 AD. The Maya developed a complex, hierarchical society divided into classes and professions. Centralized governments, headed by a king, ruled territories with…
Map of ancient Mayan civilization
October 26, 2025
During the zenith of its power in the sixth century A.D., the Mayan civilization was one of the most important and strongest civilizations in pre-Spanish Mexico and Central America. They built great stone cities that included iconic pyramid-shaped temples for the performance of their religious rituals…
Ancient Mayan Inventions
October 6, 2025
Are there any Aztec inventions that are still in use in the world today? It s actually a tricky question, and it depends on what you mean by invention . The truth is that the empire of the Aztecs introduced many things to the world. But they weren t so much unique innovations as they were things they…
Mayan civilization information
September 16, 2025
The exact origins of the Mayas remain unknown. What is known about them is that they dedicated an immense amount of time to erecting giant monuments of stone, in the form of temples, pyramids and palaces. The Mayans’ extraordinary architectural and cultural accomplishments rival those of the world’s…
Mayans ancient civilization
August 27, 2025
Queen of Uxmal limestone sculpture, AD 600-900 (Image: Consejo Nacional) The archaeologist J Eric Thompson followed in their wake, spreading his belief that the Maya had been a peaceful, rural people, whose grand urban plazas were visited only for the performance of priest-led rites on special dates…
Mayan civilization accomplishments
August 7, 2025
The Mayan civilization survived for more than 2, years from 300 A.D. to 900 A.D. in the time period known as the Classic Period. The Mayan people were made up of people who lived in the present-day areas of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador. The Mayan written language was made up of…
Sacrifice in Mayan culture
July 18, 2025
Today I visited a brand new museum in the State of Yucatan in Mexico. I was there to discuss the strategy and activities UNESCO s freshwater programme IHP with representatives from all continents. What struck me most in this museum was the orange statue of this god, put high up on a small temple. The…
Mayan games for Kids
June 28, 2025
The Maya loved ball games. Ball courts were usually placed at the base of a temple, because all games were held to honor the many Maya gods. Festivals were held every twenty (20) days. Every festival had a ball game scheduled. Everybody who possibly could came to the ball games. The courts had a hoop…
Fall of Mayan Empire
June 8, 2025
The Mayan ruins of Tikal are hidden deep in the rainforests of Guatemala. From the air only a handful of temples and palaces peek through the canopy. The stone carvings are weather-beaten. Huge plazas are covered in moss and giant reservoirs are engulfed by jungle. The only inhabitants are wild animals…
Mayan Religion human sacrifice
May 19, 2025
We forbid and place strict sanctions on cannibalism, incest, and human sacrifice, considering they epitomize savage or barbarian behavior. Not everyone or every civilized group has shared our sensibilities. Many groups of people have performed human sacrifices as a way of pleasing or appeasing their…
Ancient Mayan Schools
April 29, 2025
Background Watching the sunrise from the top of Temple IV, one of the 3, documented structures in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal, is an unforgettable experience. Toucans and green parrots dart amidst a massive canopy of trees, including tropical cedar, mahogany, and kapok. The roars of howler monkeys…
Aztecs info
April 9, 2025
SAN DIEGO - 38th ANNUAL AZTEC INVITATIONAL INFO San Diego State track and field head coach Shelia Burrell has announced the schedule and participating teams for the 38th annual Aztec Track and Field Invitational. The three-day meet, which will take place from March 24-26, 2016 at the Aztrack on the SDSU…
What is Mayan religion?
March 20, 2025
Home / What is the SMJ? / Mayan Symbolism This section gives background information on the components, main characters, symbolism and significance of Mayan rituals. Who participated in the ceremony? Priests, the chosen (men), and mature or elderly women. Children and young women were not involved. The…
Aztec Mayan gods
February 28, 2025
The Mayan and Aztec religions are part of Meso-American beliefs. Along with the Zapotecs and Mixtecs, Mayans and Aztecs believed in a vital force that distinguished living matter from non-living, or animate vs. inanimate. Mayans worshiped nature deities, had a priest class, valued astronomy and astrology…
Ancient Maya history
February 8, 2025
Mayan History The Maya are probably the best-known of the classical civilizations of Mesoamerica. Originating in the Yucatan around 2600 B.C., they rose to prominence around A.D. 250 in present-day southern Mexico, Guatemala, western Honduras, El Salvador, and northern Belize. Building on the inherited…
Mayan ruins Facts
January 19, 2025
The Tulum ruins are among the most visited sites in all of Mexico. Here are 7 fun facts about this impressive archaeological site overlooking the Caribbean Sea. Located at the southern end of the, Tulum is one of the fastest growing eco-destinations in Mexico. With its endless white beaches, historical…
Aztec Facts for Kids
December 30, 2024
The Spanish Conquistadores were amazed by how well Aztec mums and dads looked after, cared for, brought up and taught their children. You can tell this too from the simple fact that EVERY Mexica child, boy or girl, went to school: the Aztecs were one of the first societies in the world to provide ‘universal…
Mayan Civilization collapse
December 9, 2024
The Terminal Classic period in Mesoamerica between c. 800 and 925 CE saw one of the most dramatic civilization collapses in history. Within a century or so the flourishing Classic Maya civilization fell into a permanent decline, so that once great cities were abandoned and left to ruin, in many cases…
Mayan gods names
November 19, 2024
Bowl with images of the Chocolate God Mexico or Guatemala, 400-600, stone Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collections Washington, D.C. CACAO AND THE CHOCOLATE GOD Cacao grows in very moist tropical environments, usually under the high canopy of rainforest. Dried, roasted cacao was ground into chocolate…
What happened to the ancient Mayans?
October 30, 2024
That’s the translation of Och Chan Yopaat, the name of an ancient Maya ruler whose likeness dominates a remarkable carving discovered last month in a Guatemala pyramid. The carving, which depicts the ruler atop a mountain spirit, provides important clues about changes in power as Maya groups warred against…
Tulum History
October 10, 2024
The word Tulum means fence or wall, and is the name given to the site in recent times because of the wall surrounding it, although its ancient name was possibly Zama, a corruption of Zamal (morning), associated with the dawn. This is an ideal name for the site, as sunrise in Tulum is worth getting up…
Ancient Mayans
September 20, 2024
For more than 120 years the Venus Table of the Dresden Codex - an ancient Mayan book containing astronomical data - has been of great interest to scholars around the world. The accuracy of its observations, especially the calculation of a kind of leap year in the Mayan Calendar, was deemed an impressive…