Maya: Did you mean...?

Chaco Canyon was the center of a pre-Columbian civilization flourishing in the San Juan Basin of the American Southwest from the 9th to the 12th century CE. Chacoan civilization represents a singular period in the history of an ancient people...

Pulque is an alcoholic drink which was first drunk by the Maya, Aztecs, Huastecs and other cultures in ancient Mesoamerica. Similar to beer, it is made from the fermented juice or sap of the maguey plant (Agave americana). In the Aztec language...

Civilization (from the Latin civis=citizen and civitas=city) is a term applied to any society which has developed a writing system, government, production of surplus food, division of labor, and urbanization. The term is difficult to define...

A reproduction of the sarcophagus lid of the Maya ruler of Palenque, King Pakal the Great, also known as K'inich Janaab' Pacal (23 March 603 CE - 31 March 683 CE). In this detail the king is falling into the terrible jaws of the Maya underworld...

The Castillo pyramid at the Maya (and possibly later Toltec) centre of Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico. The pyramid was a temple built in honour of the Maya feathered-serpent god Kukulkan.

European explorers began to probe the Western Hemisphere in the early 1500s, and they found to their utter amazement not only a huge landmass but also a world filled with several diverse and populous indigenous cultures. Among their most...

The Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque, Mexico. The pyramid was completed c. 682 CE and used as the tomb of the Maya king Kinich Janaab Pacal (r. 615-683 CE).

The central plaza of Tikal, Guatemala. The Maya city flourished between 300 and 850 CE. On the left is the North Acropolis whilst on the right is Temple I, the tomb of Jasaw Chan K'awiil (r. 682-734 CE).

In the early 1840's Frederick Catherwood and John Lloyd Stephens extensively explored many of the ruined cities of the ancient Maya. Catherwood's drawings complemented Stephens' text in his best-selling books Incidents of Travel in Central...

The Caracol or Observatory of Chichen Itza, Mexico. Constructed prior to 800 CE, this Maya building was used as an astronomical observatory, especially of Venus.