Maya Civilization Timeline

The Archaic Period in Mesoamerica during which hunter-gatherer culture moved toward agriculture.

Mayan Culture buries their dead individually under homes.

The Olmec Period which saw the rise of the Olmec culture's work in stone, first major cities appear.

Tomb of Mayan King K'utz Chman of Retalhuleu constructed in Guatemala.

The Zapotec Period in which writing, mathematics, and astronomy were disseminated. Calendar developed.

Traditional founding date of Maya Copán.

The Teotihuacan Period in which the city of Teotihuacan dominates as an important religious and cultural center.

The El Tajin Period, so named for the great city of El Tajin. Urban centers proliferate and the game of Pok-a-Tok is developed.

The Classic Maya Period which saw the height of the Maya Civilization in cities such as Chichen Itza, Palenque, Tikal, Copan and Uxmal.

Traditional Maya founding date of Yaxchilan.

Traditional founding date of Maya Copan.

First contact between Teotihuacan and Tikal.

Reign of the first named Copan ruler K'inich Yax K'uk Mo.

Maya Yaxchilan flourishes.

Reign of Kinich Janaab Pacal I or Pakal the Great, king of Maya Palenque.

Reign of Jasaw Chan K'awiil at Tikal.

The Maya city and temple complex of Chacchoben is built.

Chichen Itza flourishes in Yucatan, Mexico.

The Maya city of Palenque is abandoned.

Uxmal establishes itself as the capital of the Puuc region of Yucatan.

Maya Tikal is definitively abandoned.

The Post-Classic Period in which the cities were abandoned and the region was invaded by the Spanish conquerors.

The Battle of Utatlan in which the last Maya resistance is crushed by the conquistador Alvarado. Traditional date of the end of the Maya Civilization.

Diego de Landa, Bishop of the Yucatan, burns the books and images of the Maya outside the church at Mani.

The Maya civilization is discovered by John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood who explore and document the ruins.