Who Are the Maya?
Long before Europeans thought to sail across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas, The Maya conquered the rugged highlands of Guatemala, the dense jungles of the Yucatan, and the tropical lowlands of the Pacific coast. Here, they built vast cities, cities that rivaled those in Europe in terms of size and complexity. These cities were governed by a ruling elite and were supported by an elaborate system of taxation. The Maya were incredibly successful at exploiting their environment through slash-and-burn agriculture. The surplus that farmers produced went to support huge governmental and religious centers like Tik’al, Chichén Itzá and Palenque. For various reasons, many of these large cities fell out of use, even before Europeans arrived to conquer the “New World.”
But this governmental decline, as well as the changes that occurred with the arrival of the Spanish, did not prevent the Maya throughout the area from continuing many of their cultural traditions. Maya farmers continued to grow their crops of corns, beans, squash and chilies, the basis of the Maya economy. Fishermen on Lake Atitlán fished, potters made pots, weavers wove cloth and painters painted. Maya priests continued to divine the future and practice their rituals. Maya children still grew up speaking their native language. Of course, the Spanish Conquest did bring many changes to Maya life, but the Maya, even in the face of political domination, have an incredible knack for persistence.
From Lake Atitlán in the Guatemalan highlands to the Lacandon rainforest and to the tropical Yucatan peninsula, the Maya territory is vast and very diverse. Take a tour of the regions of the Maya.
Mayan langauges are incredibly varied and often differentiate social and political divisions. Discover more about the linguistic diversity of the Maya people by exploring the Mayan languages section.
Maya history was recorded for thousands of years through a hieroglyphic writing system, colonial texts written in Spanish and Maya, and oral traditions. Take a brief look at Maya history.