Big History 1: Maya

An interactive map with details and photographs of key sites.

A Flash-animated exploration of the beliefs of the Maya about how the world and human life were created. Includes overviews of Mayan culture and the Mayan pantheon of gods.

A beautiful visual tour of ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, Greece, China, Rome, Venice, Mongolia, and Mesoamerica.

This site describes the geography and landscape of the areas once inhabited by the Mayas. There is also information on Mayan writing, literature, culture, political organization, Mayan art, and other information on the Mayan Civilization.

Although these pictures are artist's ideas, they come pretty close to giving students a good idea of the magnificence of the Maya Empire. Be sure to watch the videos and click into the related stories throughout the website.

The Maya of Yucatan and Guatemala exhibited a cultural continuity spanning more than 2,000 years (1000 BC-AD 1542), and many aspects of their culture continue to the present.

The ancient Maya created the most advanced civilization in the New World.

The Maya series of articles consists of a map, Maya civilization timeline, cities, numerals and calendar, historical conflicts, and trade and commerce.

The earliest days of the Maya date back to 2000 BC when small farming villages first appeared in the highlands and Pacific coastline of Guatemala. Crops such as corn, squash and beans made up the staple of their diet and are believed to have been brought from previous migration through Mexico.

The first concrete traces of the Mayan civilization date back to the Preclassic period around 1,800 BC in the Mirador Basin in Petén, northern Guatemala, though some settlements are thought to be over 6,000 years old (Coe, 2005).