by Muriah Summer

Created on: December 08, 2008   Last Updated: February 10, 2009

-The Birth of Mayan Civilization-

The Mayan Civilization once flourished in the area known as Mesoamerica, holding sway over the Yucatan peninsula, modern Belize, and parts of Honduras and El Salvador. The earliest humans in what would become the Mayan area were nomadic hunters, who may have been present as early as 10000 BCE. As hunting and gathering gave way to settled life and agriculture, the seeds of Mayan civilization were sown.

Archeologists once believed that the inhabitants of the Mayan area didn't settle down into farming villages until about 900 BCE, but recent discoveries have pushed that date back to at least 1000 and perhaps 1200 BCE. (Hammond 138) The Mayan civilization that developed out of those farming villages was notable for its unique stepped pyramids, and for its writing system, the only fully developed writing system to develop in the Pre-Columbian Americas. (New World)

The Mayans had a rich and varied culture. It is a common mistake to think of the Maya as a monolithic entity, unchanging over time. In fact, the Mayan civilization varied depending on location and time period, and diverse languages and customs were common. The Maya never united politically- throughout their history they remained a culturally linked group of independent states, somewhat similar to the Greek city-states. (Sharer 93)

-The Formative Period-

Mayan Civilization is traditionally divided into three main periods. The Pre-Classic, or Formative period, saw the development of settled communities and many of the distinctive features of Mayan Culture, including the first instances of written language. It is subdivided into Early Pre-Classic (ca. 2000-1000 BCE), Middle Pre-Classic (ca. 1000-400 BCE), Late Pre-Classic (ca. 400 BCE to 100 CE), and Terminal Pre-Classic (ca. 100-250 CE). (Sharer 155) By the Terminal Pre-Classic, the Maya appear to have had commerce and organized farming, centralized power, written language, and they were constructing civil engineering projects- all of the building blocks for the great flourishing of Mayan civilization. (Hammond 139)

-The Classic Period-

The Classic Period (250 CE- 900 CE) is when the Maya created "stelae", carved stone monuments with a portrait of an important Maya on one face, with writing and a Mayan calendar date on the other face. (McKillop 8) Kings and Queens ruled in the Mayan city-states, and were considered divine. Kings were more common, but it was not unknown for a woman to rule a Mayan city-state. (McKillop 182)

The Classic

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