They built vast cities, majestic temples and palaces and filled them with explanations of their history and beliefs, carved in stone. They developed a language, a calendar and complex social systems that brought order to the chaos of their jungle home. They even turned their eyes to the heavens to try to make sense of the Universe.
The Mayans were the first and one of the most important pre-Hispanic civilizations in the Americas. At the time of the Spanish conquest, the area occupied by the Maya covered all or part of Mexico (the sates of Campeche, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Yucatan), Belize, Guatamala, sections of El Salvador and western Honduras.
These five countries are partners in Mundo Maya (Maya World), an innovative program in which governments and private businesses have joined forces to encourage visitors to explore the region's fantastic archaeological treasures.
Mayan history has been divided into three major periods: the Pre-classic, from 2,000 B.C. too 250 A.D.; the Classic (when the Mayan culture was at its peak) from 250 to 950 A.D.; and the Post-classic from 900 A.D. to the Spanish conquest in the early 16th century.
The defined area of the Mundo Maya covers about half a million square kilometers and contains scores of archaeological sites, ranging from huge ceremonial centers like Tikal and Copan to the excavated remains of smaller outposts scattered throughout the region. Every stop on the Maya route, bears witness to a remarkable people whose deep spiritualism and remarkable engineering skills allowed them to create a great civilization in the midst of a hostile environment.
The list below is just a few of the more important sites in the Mundo Maya
Edzna , 30 miles southeast of Campeche, has several pyramids, including one five-story structure with a carved heiroglyphic staircase, a ballcourt and several stelae (carved stone columns) dating to the Late Classic period (600 to 900 A.D.).
Palenque, in the southern state of Chiapas, is one of the most beautiful, and
popular, sites in the Mundo Maya.
Located on a hillside overlooking the Usumacinta River, the site spreads out around three
major groups of buildings from the Late Classic period -- the Palace, the Temple of the
Inscriptions and the Group of the Cross.
Cholula is about 80 miles east of Mexico City and boasts a 180-foot-high pyramid, one of the largest structures in pre-Columbian America.
Chichen Itza is one of Mexico's most famous archaeological sites, attracting
hordes of visitors from the nearby Yucatan peninsula tourist centers of Cancun and Merida.
The site covers some 90 acres and contains many structures. Chichen Itza is most famous,
however, for the three well restored buildings around the Great Plaza: the nine-story
pyramid called the Castillo, the Temple of the Warriors with its carved stone columns, and
the 500-foot-long ballcourt, the largest in Mesoamerica.