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Mayas
Or
Maya.
Ancient
civilization of American Indians from Mesoamerica, mainly the Yucatán peninsula,
Guatemala and adjacent areas. They exhibited a cultural continuity spanning more than
2,000 years (1000 BC AD 1542), and many aspects of their culture continue to the
present.
The Mayan civilization in
all stages formative, flourishing, declining, and continuing has been based
on agriculture. Indian corn, or maize, was domesticated from a wild grass in central
Mexico about 7,000 years ago and sustained most sedentary Indian civilizations from that
time. Cities that flourished in the classic period in lowland Guatemala are exemplified by
Tikal, which has pyramid-temples more than 200 feet (60 meters) high and numerous carved
stelae as time markers and reign recorders. Then the Old Empire collapsed. The stable
city-states, comparable to ancient Greece in cultural accomplishment and administrative
acumen, faded from memory. No one knows why the culture declined and the cities were
covered by encroaching forest until rediscovery in the 19th century. Possible causes
include exhaustion of the cornfields by overpopulation, climatic changes, hurricanes,
pestilences of epidemic proportions, wars, and insurrection.
Many archaeologists think
that the Maya were some of the most violent people that ever lived. They practiced human
sacrifice to please the gods and even their games were brutal (sometimes prisoners were
tied up and used as balls in game playing). Some experts speculate that their entire
civilization may have been destroyed by uninterrupted warfare among their kingdoms.
Today more than 2 million
Mayan Indians live in northern Yucatan and highland Guatemala in a style similar to that
of the common people among their ancestors. Excavations at Dzibilchaltun near Merida
revealed house sites from 1000 BC that resemble today's huts in rural regions. The same
style of construction wattle-and-daub walls in an oval shape with a thatched roof
of palmetto fronds and little furniture serves the native Maya, who continue to
resist racial mixing and the dilution of their culture.
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Related online classes and learning:
--
Ancient Civilizations (World History Part
1).
This exciting self-paced history course
will examine the ancient civilizations that dominated historical records
between the time periods of 3000 B.C. to 1200 B.C.
Click
HERE to enroll.
Also available
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Understanding Parapsychology and the
Paranormal
A look at the
components of the fascinating world of parapsychology and the
paranormal. Is there more to the human condition than merely blood, skin
, bone and nerves? Find out as we explore reincarnation & past lives,
channeling, dreams, out of body experiences, astral travel, numerology,
automatic writing, meditation and visualization, auras, colors,
crystals, dowsing, energy healing and much, much more.
Click HERE
to enroll.
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For more
new age and alternative beliefs
online classes,
click HERE.
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Recommended
software:
Other related software titles:
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The Journey of
Civilization: An Interactive Cd-Rom Exploring World and Western Traditions.
-- Click
HERE for more related
software.
Recommended
videos:
Other related video titles:
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Aztecs - Inside the Hidden Empire.
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Cities of the Ancient Mayas DVD.
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Death Cult of the
Incas.
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History of the Mayas, the 1000 Year
Chronicle of Ancient Mexico and Central America.
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In Search of
History - Maya.
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Land of the Maya.
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La Ruta Maya.
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Legacy of the Incas.
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Lost City of the
Incas.
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Lost
Civilizations - Inca.
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Lost
Civilizations - Maya.
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Lost Treasures of the Ancient World:
Mayans & Aztecs.
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Lost World of the
Incas.
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Lost World of the
Maya.
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Maya: Cichen Itza.
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Maya: Copan.
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Maya: Edzna.
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Maya: Messages in
Stone.
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Maya: Palenque.
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Maya, The -
Temples, Tombs and Time.
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Mayas: Lords of the Jungle.
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Mexico's Great
Pyramids.
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Mystery of the
Maya - DVD.
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Odyssey: Incas.
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Secrets of the Aztecs & Mayas.
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Secrets of Lost Empires: Easter
Island.
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Secrets of Lost
Empires - Inca.
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The Incas.
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The Incas
Remembered.
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Time Life's World of the Supernatural:
The Hungry Gods.
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Click
HERE for more related
videos.
Recommended art prints and posters:
Inca Ruins Of Machu Picchu, Llama, Peru
Vanderbilt, Shirley
Buy this Giclee
Print |
Peru Of The Incas
Buy this Giclee Print |
The Incas
Buy this Poster |
Remains of a Maya woman in the ruins of Copan
Kenneth Garrett/National
Geographic
Buy this Giclee
Print |
Inca Ruins at Machu Picchu
Buy this Giclee Print |

Views of Athenian Ruins (Hc)
Buy this Art Print |
Temples In The Central Square Of Maya Ruins, Copan, Honduras
Maiquez, Alfredo
Buy this Giclee Print |
An ancient Mayan jade carving soaking
Kenneth Garrett/National Geographic
Buy this Framed Art Print |
Aztec Cosmos
Buy this Poster |
Stelae Of The King 18 Rabbit At The Maya Ruins, Copan, Honduras
Maiquez, Alfredo
Buy this Giclee Print |
One of the many pre-Columbian Maya ruins on the Yucatan Peninsula
W. E. Garrett/National Geographic Image Collection
Buy this Giclee Print |
Interior, Aztec Theatre, San Antonio, Texas
Buy this Art Print |
Archaeologist studying Maya ruins in a Guatemalan forest
Kenneth Garrett/National
Geographic
Buy this Framed
Art Print |
A young man offers prayers at a Mayan altar
Kenneth Garrett/National Geographic
Buy this Framed Art Print |
Aztec Calendar On Beaten Copper, Mexico City, Mexico
Saks, Stephen
Buy this Giclee
Print |
-- Click
HERE for more related
art prints and posters.
Recommended books:

The Encyclopedia of the Ancient
Americas: Step into the World of the Inuit, Native American, Aztec,
Maya, and Inca Peoples
Buy this Book |

Heaven's Mirror: Quest for the Lost Civilization
Buy this Book |

Aztec, Inca, and Maya
Buy this Book |

Lost Cities and Ancient Mysteries of South America Buy this Book |

Gods of the Maya, Aztecs, and Incas
Buy this Book |

Mayas, Aztecs & Incas: All-in-One Resource
Buy this Book |

Religion and Empire: The Dynamics of
Aztec and Inca Expansionism (New Studies in Archaeology)
Buy this Book |

Technology of the Gods: The Incredible Sciences of the Ancients
Buy this Book |

Sungods and Sacrifice: Lost World of
the Aztecs, Inca and Maya
Buy this Book |
Other related titles:
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A Catalog of Maya
Hieroglyphs (The Civilization of the American Indian Series, Vol 62).
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A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya.
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Ancestors of the
Incas: The Lost Civilizations of Peru.
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Album of Maya
Architecture.
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An Archaeological
Guide to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.
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Ancient
Civilizations of the New World (Essays in World History).
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Ancient West
Mexico: Art and Archaeology of the Unknown Past.
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An Illustrated
Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya.
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An Introduction
to the Study of the Maya Hieroglyphs.
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Aztec and Maya
Myths (Legendary Past).
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Aztec Inca &
Maya.
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Breaking the Maya
Code.
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Civilizations of
Peru: Before 1535 (Looking Back).
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Callachaca:
Style and Status in an Inca Community.
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Conquest of the
Incas.
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Daily Life in the
Inca Empire.
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Gods of the Maya,
Aztecs, and Incas (Myths of the World).
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Hidden Maya.
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History of the
Inca Empire: An Account of the Indians' Customs and Their Origin.
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History of the
Inca Realm.
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Imagined Empires: Incas, Aztecs, and the New World of American Literature.
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Inca Cosmology
and the Human Body.
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Inca Religion and
Customs.
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Incas,
Conquistadors, and Treasure Hunters; Lost Treasure of the Inca.
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Incas: Lords of
Gold and Glory (Lost Civilizations).
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Inca Town.
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Jaguar Wisdom:
Mayan Calendar Magic.
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Language of the
Inka Since the European Invasion.
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Mathematics of
the Incas: Code of the Quipu.
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Maya.
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Maya Conquistador.
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Maya for
Travelers and Students: A Guide to Language and Culture in Yucatan.
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Mexico: From the
Olmecs to the Aztecs.
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Moon, Sun, and
Witches: Gender Ideologies and Class in Inca and Colonial Peru.
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Mummies and
Mortuary Monuments: A Postprocessual Prehistory of Central Andean Social Organization.
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Narrative of the
Incas.
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Painting the Maya
Universe: Royal Ceramics of the Classic Period.
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Peruvian
Prehistory.
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Prehistoric
Mesoamerica.
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Religion and
Empire: The Dynamics of Aztec and Inca Expansionism.
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Rio Azul: An
Ancient Maya City.
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Scribes, Warriors
and Kings: The City of Copan and the Ancient Maya.
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Secrets of Mayan
Science/Religion.
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Shape of Inca
History: Narrative and Architecture in an Andean Empire.
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Surfers of the
Zuvuya: Tales of Interdimensional Travel.
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The Ancient Incas: Chronicles from National Geographic.
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The Ancient Maya.
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The Art of the
Maya Scribe.
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The Cities of the
Ancient Andes.
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The Code of Kings: The Language of Seven Sacred Maya Temples and Tombs.
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The Feathered
Serpent and the Cross: The Pre-Columbian God-Kings the Papal States.
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The Incas.
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The Incas: A
Bibliography of Books and Periodical Articles.
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The Incas and
Their Ancestors: The Archaeology of Peru.
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The Incas:
People of the Sun (Discoveries).
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The Incas (The
Ancient World).
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The History of a
Myth: Pacariqtambo and the Origin of the Incas.
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The Maya (Ancient
Peoples and Places).
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The Maya:
Palaces and Pyramids of the Rain Forest.
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The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology.
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The Mayan Oracle: Return Path to the Stars (Book, 44 Cards, 20 Mayan Star Glyphs, 13
Numbers, and 11 Lenses
of Mystery).
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The New
Archaeology and the Ancient Maya.
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The Secret of the
Incas: Myth, Astronomy, and the War Against Time.
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The World of the
Ancient Maya.
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The Yucatan: A
Guide to the Land of Maya Mysteries Plus Sacred Sites at Belize, Tikal & Copan.
--
Click
HERE for more related
books.
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Further info:
Ancient
Americas.
Mayan Prophecies, The.
Quetza-sha.
Search for the Lost Cave
People.
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