The Maya are known for their advanced culture, including a fully developed written language, art, architecture, mathematics, and astronomy. They were not necessarily inventors but improved on other cultures’ creations. Maya city-states had a decentralized government structure and were found in southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Maya history is divided into three periods: Preclassic, Classical, and Postclassic. The Maya legacy lives on in the rural populations of Chiapas, Guatemala, Belize, and the Yucatan Peninsula, where their culture remains evident.
As one of the best examples of indigenous Mesoamerican cultures, the Maya are often considered one of the most advanced cultures in all of the Americas. Although many historians believe they were the first culture in the New World to use a fully developed written language, as well as being innovators in art, architecture, and the sciences of mathematics and astronomy, the Maya people were not necessarily known as inventor. Instead, this culture seemed to promote the application of other cultures’ creations to the area and find ways to improve on those basic developments. From this perspective, Maya influence can be found in many places around Mexico and other parts of Central America, with artifacts that originated with them found as far away as central Mexico.
Geographically, Maya city-states tended to form with a government structure that allowed for a large amount of individual government by municipalities, rather than some kind of strong central structure. The main connections between population centers appear to have been cultural rather than political. Strongholds have been found in several southern Mexican states, as well as present-day Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Sometimes referred to as the Maya area, this vast expanse covers a wide range of climatic conditions, from mountain ranges to semi-arid plains.
Mayan history is normally divided into three major periods. The Preclassic period involves the earliest signs of them as a distinct people. Permanent settlements dating back to about 1800 BC have been found along the Pacific coast. During this period, there is evidence of the development of some degree of manufacturing and an interest in art. A number of examples of Maya pottery and clay figures that were fired in primitive kilns have survived to this day. There are also some indications that the process of using buildings as a means of recording history began to develop during this period. Public ceremonial rites, especially in relation to the creation of funeral rites for the deceased, also appear to have their origins in the Preclassic period.
The Classical period is usually dated from 250 to 900 in the Common Era. During this period, culture began to develop urban centers more focused on the pursuit of artistic and intellectual development. Written records of the time demonstrate a highly developed method of communication among these people. Engineering feats are also usually associated with the classical period, such as the building of pyramids in city-states. There also seems to have been a developing desire to preserve personal and cultural histories as well, and there have survived carved stone slabs known as stelae which use hieroglyphs to tell the stories and lineage of important rulers of the time, as well as preserve the stories of their conquests in battle.
Towards the end of the Classic Period, the structure of Maya society began to undergo a change. Settlements in the southern lowlands began to shrink and were eventually abandoned. Architecture began to appear that featured plain facades, rather than bearing the ornate inscriptions of past centuries. Indeed, building in general took on more of a utilitarian emphasis, with few if any large structures appearing in the 8th or 9th century.
During the Postclassic period, the Maya people continued to thrive in the northern sections of the area. The settlement of new settlements usually meant that straight walls, flat ceilings and simple lines characterized the construction of the buildings. While the earlier interest in art continued to be present, as well as in language and writing, most of the bursts of creativity of earlier periods had ceased. Assimilation with other cultures also weakened some of Maya culture, although several city states retained a distinct flavor well into the 16th century. Only after nearly two centuries of effort by the Spanish conquistadors would the last remnants of this culture be brought under the control of an outside power in the 16th.
Today, the Mayan legacy lives on in several ways. Many members of the rural populations of Chiapas, Guatemala, Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula are descendants of this culture and use one of its dialects as their primary spoken language. Much of the culture remains evident in these areas today, found in a form that was integrated with post-conquest ideologies, such as Roman Catholicism. Today, the history and contributions of the Mayans are perhaps more appreciated than in previous years, with many sociologists and historians finally giving this people the attention they have long deserved.
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