Maya Civilization

An E-Group is a special collection of buildings found on over 60 archaeological sites throughout the Maya Lowland, which the Maya might have been used for astronomical, ritual and political reasons.

The Popol Vuh, often called the Bible of the Maya, is a colonial document which narrates the creation myth of the Maya Quiché of Guatemala and the Story of the Hero Twins.

The Bonampak murals, painted by the Classic period Maya, are among the most famous wall paintings of the New World.

English-speaking Mayanist scholars have a preference when you use "Maya" and when you use "Mayan": even if on the web the two terms are often used interchangeably.

Lintel 24 from the site of Yaxchilan is one of the best example of Maya stone carving, portraying the scene of the royal Lady Xok, performing ritual bloodletting

Bloodletting rituals and sacrifices were practiced by many Mesomerican societies; this article examines the importance of bloodletting to the Maya civilization.

Puuc is a word used to indicate both a region of the Yucatan peninsula which was ruled by the Maya; and a Maya architectural style

The Maya Highlands includes the southeastern part of the Maya civilization, located in the volcanic mountains of Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and el Salvador.

The Maya Lowlands are where the classic Maya civilization first arose, located in the northern part of Central America.

The Maya civilization had an extensive economic system, based on trade and agriculture. Here are some details of some of that system.

An introduction to the great Maya civilization, including detailed timeline, important archaeological sites, king lists, religion, politics, economics, and a bibliography.

The dynastic line of the Maya civilization site of Copán has several holes in it, and information that we know of its leaders comes from inscriptions on buildings in Copán.

Known rulers of the Maya civilization city of Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico

The Maya Civilization occupied much of the central North American continent between 2500 BC and AD 1500.

Archaeology Magazine reports on a new analysis of the Dallas tablet from the Classic Maya site called "Site Q".

Project home page

The Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, contains an enormous amount of resources for all of Mesoamerica, but primarily for Mayanists.

From the Foundation for Latin American Anthropological Research, a collection of images of Maya art, architecture, and archaeology.

Justin Kerr is a photographer who has spent the past 30 years of his life working with photography of Maya artifacts. Kerr discusses his development of the Maya Vase Database, an online collection of photographic images of vases, produced from a special camera technique into a flat rollout.

A web site with information on Aztec, Maya, Mixtec, and Inca cultures of Central and South America

Maya Blue is the name of a pigment, used by the Maya civilization to decorate pots, sculpture and panels

There are three surviving Maya codices known in the world: Dresden, Madrid, and Paris, named because that's where the codices ended up, in museums in those cities.

Loads of information on the best known archaeological sites of the Maya Civilization in Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras from Lawrence G. Desmond at ArchaeoPlanet.

A newly discovered stone panel at the Classic Period Maya (AD 250-900) capital city called La Corona in Guatemala has given researchers at Yale University enough evidence to confidently identify it as the long-sought city called Site Q.

Images and sounds from Merle Greene Robinson.

Recent investigations by Takeshi Inomata studying the role of plazas in Maya festivals led me to put together this photo essay of the plazas of some of the more famous Maya sites. Photos include those of Tulum, Tikal, Copan, Bonampak, Uxmal, and Calakmul.

Summary of an article on the architecture of the Late Classic period in the Yucatán peninsula

Like many pre-modern societies, the Classic period Maya (AD 250-900 AD) used ritual and ceremony performed by the rulers or elites to appease gods, repeat historical events, and prepare for the future. But not all ceremonies were secret rituals; in fact, many were public rituals, theatrical performances and dances played in public arenas to unite communities and express political power relationships.

List of important pre-classic Mayan sites in the Southern Lowlands. Refer to this page to discover the most important pre-classic sites of the Maya Lowlands. Learn about the most ancient cities of the Maya