Maya, Indigenous people of Mesoamerica occupying a nearly continuous territory in southern Mexico, Guatemala, and northern Belize. In the early 21st century some 30 Mayan languages were spoken by more than five million people, most of whom were bilingual in Spanish.

Explore the origins of the Temple of Chichen Itza, a Mayan pyramid in modern-day Mexico that features several unique features, including an echo designed to sound like a bird call. The Classic...

Archaeological findings indicate that the Maya likely migrated from North America into the highlands of Guatemala approximately in 2600 B.C. They gained prominence around 250 A.D. by establishing thriving agrarian communities thanks to advanced farming techniques.

At its peak, the Mayan Civilization was one of the most densely populated and culturally dynamic societies in the world. The Maya civilization shares many features with other Mesoamerican civilizations due to the high degree of interaction and cultural diffusion that characterized the region.

The Maya, a civilization of Indigenous people in Central America, created a complex Mayan calendar and massive pyrami...

Mayan architecture tends to integrate a great degree of natural features. For instance, some cities sited on the flat limestone plains of the northern Yucatan grew into great sprawling municipalities, while others built in the hills of Usumacinta utilized the natural loft of the topography to raise their towers and temples to impressive heights.

The ancestral Maya dates back 4,000 years, around 2000 BCE. Major change all over Mesoamerica began after 2000 BCE in the Preclassic or Formative period. The Maya began as nomadic farmers and eventually transitioned to more settled life; villages are known to have spread throughout the Maya lowlands by 1000BCE. By the Late Preclassic period (~300 BCE), regional centers had formed in the ...