Geographical Location & Background Information
Geographic Location:
Both ancient Mayan and today’s modern Mayan culture occupy central America: the Yucatan Peninsula in southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. The Mayan civilization was split up into three general areas, Central Maya Lowlands, Northern Yucatan Peninsula, and the Guatemalan Highlands. Central Maya Lowlands is where the core values of Mayan culture originated. Central Maya Lowlands flourished during the classical period of Mayan society before the decline around 900 CE. The cities of Tikal, and Palenque were located in this area, which is located in what is now known as Guatemala. The Northern Yucatan Peninsula had their best times in the post-classical period, after the collapse. Like the name sounds, this region is located on the Yucatan Peninsula in modern day México. The largest cities in this area are Chichen-Itza and Uxmal. The third region, the Guatemalan Highlands, is located in the mountainous region and expands to the western coast of Guatemala. This area flourished during the pre-classical period of Mayan society.
Background Information:
Throughout schooling most students are taught that the Mayans of Central America went extinct. That is not entirely true. The Mayan culture which started in around 2000 BCE still exists today, but not to the same strength that they had in their peak. Around 900 CE there was a great collapse where we began to see a noticeable decline in the population and the fall of several of their most prominent cities. But this fall was not noticed in all Mayan cities. Several cities on the Yucatan Peninsula and in modern day Guatemala actually flourished in the decline of their countrymen. When the Spanish arrived in the Americas in the 1500’s, with disease and superior technology, is when we see the next large decline in Mayan culture. After the Spanish conquest the Mayans and the other indigenous groups of Latin America were oppressed by the their conquerors and non-natives. Mayan history is split into three distict periods, Pre-classical period(2000BCE-300CE), the Classical period(300CE-900CE) and the Post Classical period(900CE-1200CE). As mentioned earlier, each specific region had more prominant periods in history. The Guatemalen Highlands had the Pre-classical period, the Central Maya Lowlands had the Classical period, and the Northern Yucatan Peninsula had the Post-classic period. The last big cites of the Mayan civilization were conquered at the end of the Post-classical period. After that what remained of the Mayan civilization was independently runned villages.
References:
Leventhal, Richard M., Carlos Chan Espinosa, Cristina Coc. (2012). “The Modern Maya and Recent History.” Expedition 54 (1): 46-51.
uidaho.edu. “Mayan Geography.” Retrieved September 22, 2015 (http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/arch499/nonwest/mayan/geography.htm)
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