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Maya Civilization

Introduction

Maya civilization is an ancient American culture. It's one of the most developed civilizations in the western hemisphere before the arrival of Europeans. People called the Maya lived in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras. Those people built massive stone pyramids, temples, and sculpture; developed a system of writing using hieroglyphs; and recorded their achievements in mathematics and astronomy. Most archeologists said that the Maya culture attained its highest level of development from AD 300 to 900; this period was called the Classic period. Archeologists have found in northern Guatemala highly developed cities sophisticated art, and examples of Maya writing that date from 600 years before the Classic period began.
After 900 the Maya declined in the southern lowlands of Guatemala and then reappeared later in the north of Yucatan peninsula and continued to diffuse until the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Descendants of the Maya still form a large part of the population of the region. Many of the have adopted Spanish traditions but a significant number still practice the traditional culture.

Geography and landscape

The ancient Maya civilization occupied the Eastern third of Mesoamerica. The topography of the area greatly varied from volcanic mountains to a porous limestone shelf, known as the Lowlands. The southern Lowlands was covered by a rain forest with an average of 150 feet. The northern lowlands also contained forest but they were drier than their southern counterparts. February to May was the dry season with a hot air. At this period, fields had been cut and burned. The skies filled with a smoky grit, making the air more and more uncomfortable. Until the rains came in late May to clear the murky atmosphere.

This region contains may dangerous animals including the jaguar, the caiman (a fierce crocodile), the bull shark, and many species of poisonous snakes. These animals had to be avoided as the Maya...