yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

Ancient Maya 101 | National Geographic


2m read
·Nov 11, 2024

The Maya, they're considered one of the most advanced civilizations to have existed in the Americas before the Spanish conquest. But who exactly were the ancient Maya people, and what led to the collapse of their civilization?

As early as 1800 BC, the Maya had begun settling and established villages in what is today Mexico and Central America. Maya civilization peaked from 250 to 900 AD, during what archaeologists call the classic period. More than 40 cities flourished throughout the region, with populations as large as 50,000. The Maya built magnificent urban centers consisting of stone structures, including pyramid temples that were central to Maya religious practices.

In addition to these impressive city structures, agriculture played a key role in Maya civilization. Corn was one of the predominant crops. The Mayan creation story tells of major gods, the basis of Mayan religion, who created humans out of yellow and white corn.

The Maya also made significant advancements in mathematics and astronomy. They invented the concept of zero, and they developed an accurate calendar system used to guide the Maya agricultural cycles. The calendar was based on observations of the Sun and sky over thousands of years. The Maya also developed the only known system of writing in Mesoamerica: hieroglyphs.

In fact, much of what we know about ancient Maya civilization comes from deciphering hieroglyphic characters inscribed in pottery, stone slabs, and other ruins discovered at ancient sites. Hieroglyphs have revealed that despite the Maya's ingenuity and agrarian lifestyle, conflict was prevalent among some Maya city-states as they battled for control of the region throughout much of the classic period.

The city-state of Tikal, located in modern-day Guatemala, reigned as the closest thing to an empire in Maya history. But for a period of roughly 130 years, the Tikal people were overtaken through force and diplomacy by the Connell, a rival kingdom. Toward the end of the classic period, around 900 AD, most Maya cities had collapsed. Among the theories are warfare, a volcanic eruption, and perhaps, most likely, drought. However, archaeologists still debate why, as new evidence continues to emerge.

Despite the decline of ancient Maya civilization, the Maya people have by no means disappeared. More than 7 million Maya are estimated to be alive today in their indigenous homelands and around the world. While they participate in modern global life, they continue to follow agricultural and ceremonial practices of their ancestors.

More Articles

View All
Example reflecting quadrilateral over x axis
We’re asked to plot the image of quadrilateral ABCD. So that’s this blue quadrilateral here under a reflection across the x-axis. So that’s the x-axis, and we have our little tool here on Khan Academy where we can construct a quadrilateral, and we need to…
That Time I Said Prime Numbers For 3 Hours
Have you seen the video where I count by prime numbers for 3 hours? Well, that video is take two. Yeah, here’s what happened. The first time I did it, the guy whose job was to stop me after 3 hours read the clock wrong, and I was stopped after 2 hours and…
It Started: Home Prices Are Falling 50%
What’s up guys, it’s Graham here, and it’s official: after a decade of unstoppable growth, the housing market is beginning to fall. A new report from Redfin just found that home buyers are now backing out of deals at the fastest pace since the start of th…
Gettysburg
So we’ve been talking about the progress of the American Civil War, which started in early 1861 after the 11 states of the South, which were slave states, seceded from the Union and tried to establish an independent nation known as the Confederate States …
Homeroom with Sal and Wendy Kopp - Wednesday, September 15
Hi everyone! Sal Khan here from Khan Academy. Welcome to the Homeroom live stream! It’s been a while since we did one, but we’re back and we have an amazing guest, Wendy Kopp, CEO of Teach For All, also the founder of Teach For America. We’re going to ta…
Parents: See how to get 24/7 homework help with Khanmigo | Personal tutor | AI Tutor
Hey parents, do you need help with your child’s homework? Let me show you how Kigo can help with homework today. So, I’m in Kigo and I’m in the activities tab, and I’m going to use the “Tutor Me” feature. All you have to do is, you or your child can copy…