The Maya people are famous for their system of writing, the only written language in the Americas is known as Hieroglyphics.
Hieroglyphics, which translates literally to "holy inscriptions," is how scholars refer to the Mayan system of writing. It is called this mostly because it bears a superficial resemblance to Egyptian hieroglyphics.
The Maya began to form their first settlements around 2000 BC. Peru which is the modern countries is NOT once home to Mayan civilization. The Maya lived in what is today Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador.
El Mirador city, one of the earliest and largest Mayan cities, flourished in the 3rd century BC. El Mirador in Guatemala reached its height from about the 6th century to the 3rd century BC.
The Classic Period of Mayan history has been compared to the Renaissance in its flourishing of cities, architecture, literature, and culture and the competition of rival city-states. Approximately started in 200 AD. During the Classical Period, cities grew and warfare increased.
In the 9th century AD, the cities in the southern Mayan region were abandoned due to a combination of drought and warfare. The northern cities thrived, like Chichen Itza city. Chichen Itza, a famous city today, grew even after the southern cities of the Maya were abandoned.
First contact with the Spanish was made when a Spanish boat shipwrecked. Most of the survivors were sacrificed. Happened in the year 1511. In 1511, the Valdivia wrecked, leading to accidental contact of the Spanish with the Maya.
Pedro de Alvarado the conquistador subdued much of Mayan territory. He is famous for his cruelty towards the Maya. Pedro de Alvarado, who lived from 1485 to 1541, conquered the Maya in 1523.
When the Spanish military began taking over Maya land, they demanded Gold as tribute. The Spanish demanded tribute paid in gold, and overtaxing led to unrest.
The Spanish brought Catholicism and attempted to convert the Maya. Often Catholic and Maya beliefs would be merged, and are still sometimes held in common today. More often, the Spanish destroyed Maya religious texts and artifacts.
Kings were identified with the young maize god, and succession passed from father to son.
The Mayan diet included corn, squash, and beans as its staples, as well as coffee, chocolate, and tortillas.
Most people in the ancient Mayan world were farmers, servants, and laborers, but some were promoted to minor government positions. Roles such as the priest were held by the upper classes.
Weapons such as bow and arrow, blowdarts, and spears could have been used both for warfare and for hunting. Commoners usually had to know how to do both.
Although the Maya paid lots of attention to all of the known planets and stars, Venus held special importance for them. Venus's position dictated when they would fight, and when they would sacrifice enemy combatants.
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Mayan cities usually included temples, ceremonial ballcourts, and observatories.
Itzamna was the creator, who ruled the orderliness of the cosmos.
Among other Mayan cities and other Mesoamerican people, the Maya traded cacao, vanilla, and gold. Horses were not in the Americas until the Spaniards brought them.
Some New Age thinkers believed that the Mayan calendar predicted global catastrophe or some kind of enlightenment of humanity on December 21, 2012.
