-
3114 BCE
The mayan calender
Twenty tuns are known as a kʼatun. Twenty kʼatuns make a bʼakʼtun. The Long Count calendar identifies a date by counting the number of days from the Mayan creation date 4 Ahaw, 8 Kumkʼu August 11, 3114 BC in the proleptic Gregorian calendar or September 6 in the Julian calendar -3113 astronomical dating. -
1800 BCE
how it all began
Much of Maya history is shrouded in mystery. It is believed today that the Mayan people began to settle in the Yucatan area of what is now Mexico between 2600 BC and 1800 BC. As the centuries rolled on, their culture and religion developed. -
1800 BCE
the pre classic period
hile hunters and gatherers had a presence in Central America stretching back thousands of years, it was in what archaeologists call the Pre-classic period (1800 B.C. to A.D. 250) that permanent village life really took off, leading to the creation of early Maya cities. -
1600 BCE
The pyramids
Pyramids were the largest buildings in Mayan cities and were built as temples and royal tombs. Shrines, where sacrifices were made to the gods, were at the top, while burial chambers were hidden deep inside. The pyramids were built of stone and covered with red painted plaster, but this plaster has decayed after the years. -
1000 BCE
The gods
The Mayans religion involved several aspects of nature, astronomy, and rituals. Most Gods represented a form in nature, for example, Sun God, Kinih Ahous, or Maize God, Yum Kaax. The Mayans were known for their calendars and astronomical buildings. These were used during their religious rituals. -
900 BCE
the dissaperance of the maya
From the late eighth through the end of the ninth century, something unknown happened to shake the Maya civilization to its foundations. One by one, the Classic cities in the southern lowlands were abandoned, and by A.D. 900, Maya civilization in that region had collapsed -
250
The rise of the empire
The Classic Period, which began around A.D. 250, was the golden age of the Maya Empire. Classic Maya civilization grew to some 40 cities, including Tikal, Uaxactún, Copán, Bonampak, Dos Pilas, Calakmul, Palenque, and Río Bec; each city held a population of between 5,000 and 50,000 people. -
The rise of the population
Classic Maya civilization grew to some 40 cities, including Tikal, Uaxactún, Copán, Bonampak, Dos Pilas, Calakmul, Palenque and Río Bec; each city held a population of between 5,000 and 50,000 people. At its peak, the Maya population may have reached 2,000,000. -
A sacrifice is wanted from the gods
During the pre-Columbian era, human sacrifice in Mayan culture was the ritual offering of nourishment to the gods. Blood was viewed as a potent source of nourishment for the Maya deities, and the sacrifice of a living creature was a powerful blood offering.
