Mexico’s Pre-Hispanic Period (Part 2)

The splendor of the Maya civilization was from 250 AD to 1000 AD. They inhabited a vast region spreading over 5 states of the Southeast, Campeche, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Yucatan, in Central America what we now know as Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador were also part of the vast Mayan empire.

Watch Part 2 of an informative video about Mexico’s Pre-Hispanic Period.

 

The splendor of the Maya civilization was from 250 AD to 1000 AD. They inhabited a vast región spreading over 5 states of the Southeast, Campeche, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Yucatan, in Central America what we now know as Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador, were also part of the vast Mayan empire.

During the reign, people spoke in as many as 44 different languages or dialects.
The Mayans created a civilization that, through out the centuries, went through various changes, such as economic, cultural, family structure, religious and political structure.

Contrary to what we might think, the Mayan civilization has not disappeared, as their descendants still live in most of these territories.
The Mayas built beautiful buildings and produced elaborate jewelry, sculptures and handcrafts.
They were astronomical observers and designed a calendar with great precision.
They were builders and created elaborate agricultural systems.

They built cities in what is now modern day Guatemala, El Salvador, Yucatan, Chiapas and Campeche. These were great cities like Dzilbilchaltun, Calakmul, El Mirador, Edzna, Chichen-Itza, Palenque, Uxmal, Coba and Tikal.

The Maya literature llustrates the daily life of this culture. The books of Chilam Balam and the Popul-Vuh held extreme religious and political significance for the Maya, and can be compared in their importance to theTorah, the Bible and the Koran.

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Bibliography/Sources

Wikipedia

Fragment taken from Mexico Antiguo, written by Pablo Escalante Gonzalbo, compilation from the book “Nueva Historia Minima de Mexico”, published by el El Colegio de Mexico.

Watch Mexico’s Pre-Hispanic Period (Part 1)