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The Ancient Mayan Civilization: A Story of Power and Decline
How Maya city-states rose from Preclassic villages, fought over hegemony in the Classic period, and why the southern lowland kingdoms faded after about 800 CE.
The Americas
Maya Cities and History
Maya city-states, their rise and collapse, and the Spanish conquest.
The Ancient City of Palenque: A Marvel of Mayan Architecture
A look at Palenque's buildings: the Temple of Inscriptions, the Palace with its tower, and the tomb of K'inich Janaab Pakal found inside the pyramid in 1952.
The Ancient City of Palenque: A Mayan Metropolis
Palenque as a Classic Maya kingdom: its rulers from Lady Yohl Ik'nal to K'inich Janaab Pakal, wars with Calakmul and Tonina, and its rainforest setting in Chiapas.
The Ancient City of Tikal: A Mayan Metropolis
Tikal in Guatemala: its towering temples, causeways and reservoirs, estimates of its population, and its long rivalry with Calakmul across the Classic period.
The Ancient Civilization of the Mayans: A Culture of Knowledge
Maya learning explained: the zero symbol and base-20 counting, astronomical tables for Venus and eclipses, and the bark-paper books that mostly did not survive.
The Epic Story of the Conquest of the Mayan Empire
There was no single Maya empire to conquer. This article traces the slow Spanish campaigns in Yucatan and the highlands, ending with the fall of Nojpeten in 1697.
The Mysterious Collapse of the Mayan Civilization
What cave stalagmites and lake sediments say about Terminal Classic drought, why the Maya did not vanish, and how northern cities and millions of people carried on.
The Rise of the Mayan Civilization: A New World Power
How Classic Maya city-states gained wealth and reach through trade in jade, obsidian, cacao and salt, and through alliances rather than a single empire.
The Rise of the Mayan Civilization: A Timeline
A dated sequence of Maya history, from Preclassic villages and El Mirador through the Classic peak to the Postclassic, with approximate dates for each period.
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