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During this period, the ancient Mesoamericans moved from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to the more recognizable Mayan agricultural lifestyle, initiating the start of Mayan culture.
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The Olmec civilization was the first Mesoamerican people group to establish themselves in Ancient Mexico; erecting large stone monuments, stone complexes and drinking chocolate, they passed on their customs to the Maya and other Mesoamerican cultures.
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Around this time, Maya society began to develop socially, politically and economically, leading to the development of government structures and many other attributes that characterize the culture.
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Archaeologists characterize the Pre-Classic Period as the time when the ancestors of the ancient Mayans began to spread across the landscape, developing communities into what would later be known as city-states.
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Like the Maya and Olmec's societies, the Zapotecs, who lived in the southern highlands, had a flourishing culture that traded resources and ideas with other civilizations, such as the Maya, creating a unique blend of cultures from the many different societies it came into contact with.
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The Mayans, although grouped as one civilization, recognized themselves as individual city-states with independent rulers that traded amongst themselves, sparking the beginning of the Mayan world.
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The Teotihuacan period, named after the dominant city during the time, was prosperous in trade; and the city, its namesake, controlled a large expanse of Mexico's central highlands, which would later become Mayan city-states, exploiting natural resources, such as obsidian, cocoa, salt and cotton.
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The El Tajin Period is best known for the rise of urban metropolises and the invention of Pok-a-Tok, a popular sport in Maya civilization; however, it is also home to famous monuments and architecture which have provided information to historians.
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Maya religion was highly integrated with calendrics and mathematics, so the development of calendars, mathematics and writing systems were crucial to their religious practices and it also inspired modern-day calendars.
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By the Classic Period, also known as the golden age of Maya civilization, most communities had grown into city-states, and religious beliefs led to the development of technology, such as calendars, and elaborate temples where Mayan deities were worshipped.
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Copán, one of the most southerly Maya centres, was established by K’inich Yax K’uk Mo’, a Maya from a neighbouring community who started his dynasty and would eventually rise to be one of the major centres in the Maya civilization.
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The Maya were incredible architects, reaching the peak of their building prowess in 550 by creating and maintaining large temples that have provided archaeologists with historical information about Maya culture.
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Found at the northern tip of the Yucatan peninsula, Chichen Itza, a great Maya city-state, had a rich culture that left behind magnificent architecture, art and sculptures, providing much information on Maya life and culture.
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A once important Maya metropolis, Palenque, located in the Chiapas altiplano, was abandoned during the decline of the Classic Period, forcing many Maya to seek refuge in other city-states, causing population increases and food shortages.
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Due to several reasons, including disease, famine, a top-heavy government, unbearable labour demands and infertile soil, the southern Maya city-states began to fall, causing the demise of the Classic Maya and the collapse of many city-states in the south.
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Following the decline of the Classic Period, the Post-Classic Period was a less-sophisticated and more secularized adaptation of Maya culture that focused more on economic prosperity than religion; but had its own unique culture.
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After setting out from Spain in 1492, Christopher Columbus and his three ships sailed to the Americas and made the first contact with Mesoamericans, changing the course of Maya history and beginning the contact between Europeans and the Mesoamerican empires.
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In 1511, the first encounter was not favourable for the Spanish; for, after being shipwrecked, several Spanish sailors were taken prisoner by a Maya lord and sacrificed, leaving only two survivors who later became slaves and were Mayanised.
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After Columbus' discovery of the Americas, private vessels carrying Spanish conquistadors arrived, spreading European diseases among locals, which heavily affected the Maya civilization, wiping out nearly one-third of their population.
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Traditionally known as the end of Maya civilization, the Battle of Utatlan was the final, decisive battle between the Maya and the Spanish conquistadors which occurred in the Guatemalan highlands and ended in a Spanish victory.
