The Maya Culture Chronology is a guide that will help you understand the rise and fall of the Maya civilization.
Pre-Classic Period (1500 BC-250 AD)
 This is the formative period during which the population grew, the agriculture developed new techniques and where, most likely, rulers evolved from powerful spiritual leaders. Early Maya ceremonial centers emerged in the lowlands and Pre-Classic rulers consolidated their power and centralized authority.
Classic Period (250-900 AD)
 The Classic period was characterized by the emergence of city-states ruled by powerful kings who adopted a hierarchical system of government. Astronomy, medicine and writing were developed. These large urban states were built around ceremonial centers and covered extensive areas of land. We owe to this period some of the greatest archeological marvels known to us and built by the astonishing Maya civilization.
Post-Classic Period (900-1200 AD)
 The Maya civilization decline began around 900 AD with governments becoming highly segmented and, for reasons largely unknown to us, the Maya abandoned their cities in the Yucatan Peninsula. The northern Mayas were finally integrated in the early thirteenth century by the Toltecs, who dominated central Mexico from the city of Tula. Some smaller centers continued to thrive until the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the early sixteenth century. |
