A Brief Introduction to Maya Culture

Without context, an archaeological site might either impress you or seem like little more than a pile of stacked stones. Here’s a glimpse into the civilization behind the extraordinary archaeological sites you can visit today.

The pre-Hispanic Maya civilization

It is believed that the word “Maya” comes from the ancient name of Yucatán, Ma’ya’ab, which literally means “the not many” or, more freely translated, “the chosen ones.” Although records of the Maya people date back as far as 8000 BCE, Maya culture as a social entity began to take shape around 2000 BCE.

To better understand their history, researchers typically divide the Maya civilization into three main periods, spanning from the early formation of their society to their contact with the Spanish, who arrived in Yucatán in the 16th century. These periods are generally classified as:

Preclassic: 1200 BCE - 250 CE 

Classic: 250 - 950 CE 

Postclassic: 950 - 1511 CE

It is important to note that, except for the end of the Postclassic period (which marks the first contact between the Maya and the Spanish), these dates do not correspond to any specific event and may vary from source to source. Even the year 1511 is debated—this was when the Spaniard Gonzalo Guerrero accidentally arrived in Yucatán, but some historians argue that the Postclassic period ended in 1517 when Francisco Hernández de Córdoba landed at Cabo Catoche. Others go even further and set the date at 1535, when the second campaign for the conquest of Yucatán was completed.

The geography of the Maya world

Over more than 3,500 years, Maya culture developed, thrived, and strengthened across a vast territory, covering the entire south of México—including the Yucatán Península, Tabasco, and the highlands of Chiapas—as well as present-day Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras. As in the rest of the world, different city-states emerged, rose to power, and later declined, forming alliances and rivalries that evolved over time.

The urban development that took place after the arrival of the Spanish makes it nearly impossible to determine exactly how many great Maya cities once existed. Even among the sites we know today, many original names remain unknown. To this day, research continues, and we keep uncovering new insights into the pre-Hispanic Maya world.

Some notable achievements of the pre-Hispanic Maya civilization

Maya language and writing

• The Maya language spoken in Yucatán today originates from another language called Proto-Maya, which is the common language from which many of the native languages of southeastern México descend.
• The Maya writing system (in glyphs) is considered the most sophisticated in Mesoamerica.
• The Maya writing system also included an ingenious method for representing numbers, allowing for the easy manipulation of large figures.

Maya math and numeration

• The Maya numerical system was base 20; it is believed that this number was chosen because it corresponds to the total number of fingers and toes.
• Any number could be represented using just three symbols: the dot (equivalent to 1), the bar (equivalent to 5), and the shell (equivalent to zero).

Astronomy and calendars

• The Maya had several calendars; the most famous are the Tzolkin or ceremonial calendar, which had 260 days, and the Haab, or solar calendar, with 365 days.
• Another calendar (which was mistakenly associated with the "end of the world" in 2012) was the Long Count: literally a count of days (in cycles of multiples of 20) starting from a mythological beginning corresponding to August 11, 3114 BCE.
• Another calendar, the 819-day calendar, was used to calculate and predict the positions of each of the planets visible to the naked eye (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn).

• Maya astronomy was one of the most advanced, comprehensive, and accurate systems developed without the use of telescopes.
• The Maya calculated the duration of a lunar cycle more accurately than Ptolemy, whose calculations were the basis of European astronomy for 1400 years.
• The Maya solar calendar (that is, the measurement of a complete orbit of the Earth around the sun) was more accurate than the Julian calendar used by the Spanish at the time of contact.
• Many Maya constructions are aligned in various ways with celestial events; although the equinoxes are the most well-known, it is believed that the solstices and the zenith (the exact moment when the sun is at the center of the sky and casts no lateral shadows) were actually of greater significance.

Each archaeological site in Yucatán is an opportunity to travel through time and reflect on the place each civilization holds in history. Walk along their sacbés (causeways), admire their monuments, marvel at the intricacy of their stonework, and discover the greatness that endures in contemporary Maya communities. The adventure awaits!

First published in Yucatán Today print and digital magazine no. 447, in March 2025.