Maya civilization

The Maya civilization was one of the great Mesoamerican and Pre-Columbian civilizations. The Maya were renowned for having the most sophisticated and developed writing system in the Western Hemisphere as well as their monumental achievements in art, architecture and astronomy. At its height, the Maya cultural area spanned the Yucatan Peninsula and highlands of Chiapas and Campeche in Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and parts of western Honduras and El Salvador. During its history, the Mayan civilization was never unified.

Understand
Contrary to popular belief, although the Spanish Conquistadores overthrew Maya states and ended Maya civilization in that sense, the Maya people and their cultural heritage never really died. There are millions of people who identify as Maya and speak Mayan languages and despite the turmoil that was created by the Spanish conquest, many of them have carried on traditions that have existed for over a thousand years.

In contrast to the Aztecs and the Inca, the Maya cultural sphere never merged into one empire. Throughout all periods of its history, the Maya were politically organized as city-states and chiefdoms competing and interacting with one another.

Architecture
Mayan cities often show elements of distinctive architectural styles that correspond to regional differences at different points in time. The architectural styles include:


 * Peten style
 * * Elements: prominent stairways, stepped terraces, tall, slender pyramids, interiors have arched ceilings and stucco masks
 * * Sites: Tikal, Xunantunich, Uaxactun, El Mirador


 * Puuc style
 * * Elements: veneer over stone/concrete, lattices and frets, Chac masks, corbel arch, alignment to central plaza 14 degrees east of north
 * * Sites: Uxmal, Sayil, Kabah, Labna


 * Rio Bec style
 * * Elements: Twin non-functional towers with false staircases, non-functional temples with no interior rooms, false doorways
 * * Sites: Xpujil, Rio Bec, Becan


 * Chenes style
 * * Elements: carved mosaic facades, doors framed with monster masks around a doorway/mouth
 * * Sites: Dzibilnocac, Hochob, Edzná, Chicanna

Mexico






Guatemala




Eat
The staples of the Maya diet were maize (corn), squash, beans and chili peppers. Corn was always nixtamilized (soaked in limewater or lye), which added vitamins to the corn and made it a complete protein. Many types of meals were made from corn, including tortillas, tamales and gruels of varying consistencies. Cassava was also a widely grown crop, the energy and nutrient-rich tuber vegetable playing its part in sustaining a dense population for its time.

Meats were mostly obtained by hunting though dogs and turkeys may have been domesticated. The most common source of game was white-tailed deer. In the coastal areas, and in the larger inland cities where transportation networks were well developed, seafood was part of the Maya diet.

The Maya were the first people to cultivate the cacao plant and drink an ancient form of chocolate. Avocados were a commonly eaten fruit and used in a variety of dishes.

Beekeeping was (and still is) widely practiced by the Maya. The Mayan practice dates to about 300 BC. American bee species are smaller than European honey bees and have no stingers. The Maya preferred a species known today as Melipona beecheii, which is a smaller bee that lives in hollowed logs. The honey is said to be sweeter than the honey of European bees and it has a distinctive citric flavor. The Maya used the honey as a sweetener and also fermented it to make a mead that they called balche. Today, they still make mead from the honey of native stingless bees. Look for bottles of Xtabentún (which is flavored with anise).

Itineraries

 * Ruta Puuc
 * Ruta Rio Bec
 * Cenotes of the Yucatán