The Maya
The excavation
of Mayan sites began in the modern time of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick
Catherwood. These two explorers made Mayan culture popular and known to
the world. Their work started more than a century of site discovery and
interpretation of aspects of Mayan culture and architecture.
The
Mayan civilisation started 2500 B.C. in what we today know as the tropical
lowlands of northern Guatemala. The civilisation was centred in the Yucatan
peninsula (which today occupies an area of 38,402 square kilometres) and
spread to adjacent Belize and western Honduras. Their capital was at Chichen
Itza.
The prehistory of the Maya are divided into 3 time zones - Formative (c.1500BC - 300AD), Classic (300-900AD) and Postclassic (900-1500AD). The Mayan civilisation reached its peak during the classical period of 300 - 900 AD, after which it dipped into decline. Mayan cities were abandoned. Their power and influence was completely wiped out upon the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, when their culture was wrecked by the gold hunting Spainards and the numerous missionaries who went around preaching hell and brimstone to them and destroyed countless documents and possessions they had, ignoring their cultural worth.
As a sidenote, the name Yucatan was given by the Spaniards who when they arrived asked the locals where they were. The locals, not understanding them (obviously), conversed among themselves and said "uhuuthaan" - "hear how they talk" in English - and the Spaniards cheerfully took it to be the answer to their question.
