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I. Introduction
Maya
Civilization, an ancient Native American culture that
represented one of the most advanced civilizations in
the western hemisphere before the arrival of Europeans.
The
people known as the Maya lived in the region that is now
eastern and southern, and western South-America.
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The
Maya civilization encompassed all of the Yucatán
Peninsula in present-day Mexico and parts of present-day
Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Ruins of
Maya cities, which serve as an indication of the
skill and artistry of their architects, have been
discovered throughout this region. For reasons
still unknown, the Maya civilization collapsed
in about AD 900.
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Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
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The
Maya culture reached its highest development from about
AD 300 to 900. The Maya built massive stone pyramids,
temples, and sculpture and accomplished complex achievements
in mathematics and astronomy, which were recorded in (a
pictorial form of writing).
After
900 the Maya mysteriously declined in the southern lowlands
of Guatemala. They later revived in the north on the Peninsula
and continued to dominate the area until the Spanish conquest
in the 16th century.
Descendants
of the Maya still form a large part of the population
of the region. Although many have adopted Spanish ways,
a significant number of modern Maya maintain traditional
cultural practices.
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"Maya
Civilization," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000
http://encarta.msn.com
© 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Contributed
By: William R. Fowler, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. Associate Professor
of Anthropology and Latin American Studies, Vanderbilt University.
Author of El Salvador: Antiguas Civilizaciones. Editor of Ancient
Mesoamerica.
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