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Ancient Maya Cities

Archaeological Sites of the Maya Civilization

By K. Kris Hirst, About.com

Ancient cities of the Maya civilization that have been studied by archaeologists are located in the modern countries of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras

Bonampak (Mexico)

Bonampak is a Classic Maya site in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, occupied from about 650-800 AD. The site is probably best known for its marvelous murals, painted with a lot of the mysterious Maya blue pigment.

Cacaxtla (Mexico)

Cacaxtla was a Late Classic to Epiclassic (AD 600-900) city in the Puebla Valley, Tlaxcala, Mexico, with a population of about 10,000 at its peak.

Cahal Pech (Belize)

The site of Cahal Pech is an early Middle Formative to Classic period Maya site in Belize, occupied pretty much continuously between 900 B.C. to A.D. 800.

Caracol (Belize)

The site of Caracol (the snail) is a large Classic-period Maya site located on the Vaca Plateau of central Belize in the Cayo district.

Chalchuapa (El Salvador)

Chalchuapa is the name of a Maya period site in El Salvador, occupied from about 1200 BC to the Spanish conquest.

Chichén Itzá (Mexico)

Chichén Itzá is a large Maya and Toltec village and temple complex on the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, and one of the most well known and often-visited Mayan archaeological sites. The earliest occupations there probably date to the Late Formative period; but the site really took off about the 8th century AD, when the Maya built the first of the stone structures and began to use the Sacred Cenote (well).

Colha (Belize)

The archaeological site of Colha is located in Belize about 60 kilometers north of Belize City. It is primarily known for its Maya occupation, although it was first occupied probably around 3000 BC.

Copán (Honduras)

The archaeological site of Copán is located in western Honduras, and represents a major Classic period Maya temple and regional center.

La Corona (Guatemala)

Marcello Canuto with hieroglyph panel from Site Q - La Corona, Guatemala Yale University
A recently discovered stone panel at the Classic Period Maya (AD 250-900) center of La Corona in Guatemala has confirmed the identification of that site as the long-sought Maya center once only known as "Site Q".

Lamanai (Belize)

Lamanai ("Submerged Crocodile") is a Maya site located in Orange Walk, Belize.

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