Who were the Maya?
The Maya are an Indigenous people of Mexico and Central America whose ancient civilization built great cities, pyramids and a sophisticated writing and calendar system. Millions of Maya people live there today.
Maya civilization developed over thousands of years in what is now southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador. It reached its peak during the Classic period, from about AD 250 to 900, when cities such as Tikal, Palenque, Copán and Calakmul had tens of thousands of people, stone temples, palaces and ball courts.
The Maya developed the most complete writing system in the ancient Americas, using hundreds of glyphs. They were skilled astronomers and mathematicians who used a symbol for zero and tracked the movements of the Sun, Moon and Venus. Their famous Long Count calendar recorded dates over thousands of years.
Decline and survival
Many southern Maya cities were abandoned in the 800s and 900s, probably due to drought, warfare and overpopulation. Northern cities like Chichén Itzá continued to thrive. The Maya people did not disappear. More than six million of their descendants still speak around 30 Mayan languages.
Did You Know?
Using laser scanning called lidar, archaeologists have discovered tens of thousands of previously unknown Maya structures hidden under the jungle since 2018.