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Maya civilization king7/2/2023 250–900 CE) defines the highest point of Maya civilization in architecture, art, writing, and population size. 1000 BCE corresponds to the Middle and Late Preclassic eras. 2000–1000 BCE) pre-dates the rise of the first kingdoms, so the span that began by ca. The Preclassic includes the origins and apogee of the first Maya kingdoms from about 1000 BCE to 250 CE. To understand and follow this long development, Maya civilization is divided into three periods: the Preclassic, the Classic, and the Postclassic. Most of these kingdoms existed for hundreds of years a few endured for a thousand years or more. Over the following 2,500 years scores of Maya polities rose and fell, some larger and more powerful than others. The brutal subjugation of the Maya people by the Spanish extinguished a series of independent Maya states with roots as far back as 1000 BCE. Located in eastern Mesoamerica, the ancient Maya flourished in a diverse homeland in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador until the Spanish Conquest. Maya civilization was part of this independent evolutionary process. Ancient raised fields at Pulltrouser Swamp in Belize are shown in this aerial photograph. He Maya produced bountiful harvests of food from a diverse and productive agricultural system that included irrigation, terracing, and drained fields in swamps and shallow lakes. This map shows the location of various sites mentioned in this issue of Expedition. Maya sites that have been identified and explored are located in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. In fact, the evidence clearly shows that civilization evolved in the Americas due to the efforts of the descendants of the first people who came to the New World during the last Ice Age, some 12,000 to 20,000 years ago. Of course archaeology has found no evidence to suggest that Old World intrusions brought civilization to the Maya or to any other Pre-Columbian society. Consequently, 16th century Europeans readily accepted the myth that the Maya and other indigenous civilizations were transplanted to the Americas by “lost” Old World migrations before 1492. But 500 years ago, after the Spaniards “discovered” the Maya, many could not believe that Native Americans had developed cities, writing, art, and other hallmarks of civilization. The ancient Maya created one of the world’s most brilliant and successful civilizations.
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