The Maya culture, which consisted of a group of loosely knit communities, flourished in the areas known today as Central America and the Yucatan Peninsula between 1500 BC and the arrival of the Spanish in the early 1500's. Early development was centered in what is currently Guatemala and Belize, sometimes referred to as the Maya heartland, at cities including Bonampak, Copan, Palenque and Tikal. Following the peak of Mayan civilization between 600 and 900 BC, cultural prominence shifted north to the Yucatan, and sites like Chichen Itza, Dzibilchaltun, Tulum and Uxmal.
Like most Mesoamerican cultures, the Maya lived an agricultural lifestyle, subsisting on maize, beans, and squash. They are also known to have traded cotton, cacao, and exotic bird feathers like the quetzal and hummingbird.
Whereas the Aztec were known for uniting vast lands through both war and diplomacy, the Mayan contribution to the Mesoamerican cultural legacy is more intellectual. The Maya possessed a complex written language, as well as an understanding of mathematics and astronomy that far exceeded Europe's at the time. They developed a calendar more accurate than the one used today.
A number of outstanding examples of Mayan Architecture survive today. A tremendous amount has been learned from decoding stories depicted in the structures at Palenque and Chichen Itza. Both sites contain towers clearly utilized as observatories, with sophisticated calibrations denoting the paths of the moon, Venus, and the Pleiaides still visible inside El Caracol (“the seashell”) at Chichen Itza.
The emergence of Chichen Itza as a cultural center coincides with a period of influence of the Toltecs from the north, and the introduction of the cult of Kukulcan, also known as Quetzalcoatl. Perhaps the grandest demonstration of Mayan architecture and astronomy come together at Chichen Itza. El Castillo (“the castle”), the central pyramid dedicated to Kukulkan or Quetzalcoatl (the plumed serpent), is constructed so precisely, and aligned in such a way that as the sun passes overhead on the solstices and equinoxes, the shadows cast mimic the movements of a snake.
Although the Spaniards' zeal to spread Christianity caused the Maya to abandon the last of their ceremonial centers around 1545 AD, the people themselves merely retreated into the jungle and have continued to evolve their culture until the present. Some believe that the problems in Chiapas, Mexico today are evidence of this strong and inventive culture's persistence in preserving its ways.