The Maya empire

The remains of the Maya empire are located on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, and in the Central American countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize, and Honduras.

The Maya empire 1500BC 1000BC 500BC 0 AD2000AD1500AD1000 Maya civilization began around 1000BC. The Maya empire reached its peak between the years AD250 and AD900. Maya civilization disappeared for unknown reasons around the year AD900.

The Maya empire The Maya established the best written language in ancient Latin America. The basic units of the language are hieroglyphics – pictures that represent a word or syllable.

The Maya empire Some examples of carved Maya writing.

The Maya empire The Maya also had a counting system. Numbers were depicted using dots and lines.

The Maya empire This is a small section of numbers carved into a wall. The left column shows the date of Archaeologists calculate this to be June 23, AD156.

The Maya empire Chichen-Itza The Maya were skilled architects and builders. They built both temples and pyramids.

The Maya empire The Great Ball Court of Chichen-Itza

The Maya empire Palenque

The Maya empire Kalakmul

The Maya empire Pyramids of Comalcalco

The Maya empire The Maya used a slash-and-burn method for farming.

The Maya empire Organization of the Maya people Upper Class Middle Class Lower Class King Priest Nobles Scribes Warriors Skilled Builders Merchants Artists Craftsmen Slaves Farmers Peasants

The Maya empire A modern-day Guatemalan woman using a back-strap loom. This method of weaving is from the ancient Mayans.

The Maya empire Oaxacan women on parade in traditional Mayan apparel.

The End of the Maya empire There is no known reason for the decline of the Maya empire. To scientists, they appear to have simply left their villages. Their cities and palaces were completely abandoned. The rainforest grew over their lands. Theories – over crowdedness, slave revolt, foreign invasion, collapse of trade routes, climate change, epidemic disease, or environmental disaster. However, there is no hard evidence to fully support any of these theories.