Later Mayan City-States: Map & History
The Maya civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization that existed from antiquity to the early modern period.
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Historiographical synthesis & structured realm registry
The Maya civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization that existed from antiquity to the early modern period. Known by its ancient temples and glyphs (script), the civilization is also noted for its art, architecture, mathematics, calendar, and astronomical system. The Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas.
Modern Countries Once Part of Later Mayan City-States
At its mapped extent, Later Mayan City-States covered territory in 3 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
- Belize850–1546 CE · a large part
- Guatemala1450–1546 CE · a small part
- Mexico850–1546 CE · a small part
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Later Mayan City-States's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Later Mayan City-States in Depth
History
The history of Maya civilization is divided into three principal periods: the Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic. These were preceded by the Archaic Period, during which the first settled villages and early developments in agriculture emerged. Modern scholars regard these periods as arbitrary divisions of Maya chronology, rather than indicative of cultural evolution or decline. Definitions of the start and end dates of period spans can vary by as much as a century, depending on the author.
The Maya developed their first civilization in the Preclassic period. Scholars continue to discuss when this era of Maya civilization began. Maya occupation at Cuello (modern Belize) has been carbon dated to around 2600 BC.
Geography
The Maya civilization occupied a wide territory that included southeastern Mexico and northern Central America. This area included the entire Yucatán Peninsula and all of the territory now in the modern countries of Guatemala and Belize, as well as the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador. Most of the peninsula is formed by a vast plain with few hills or mountains and a generally low coastline. The territory of the Maya covered a third of Mesoamerica, and the Maya were engaged in a dynamic relationship with neighbouring cultures that included the Olmecs, Mixtecs, Teotihuacan, and Aztecs.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Maya civilization (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Later Mayan City-States: Key Facts
| Dissolved | 1521 |
|---|
Succeeded by
- Kingdom of New Spain
Facts from Wikidata Q28567 (CC0).
Later Mayan City-States Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Later Mayan City-States appears, with the other states of the time.
Later Mayan City-States Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 187,745 km² in 1488 CE.
Later Mayan City-States: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Later Mayan City-States exist?
Later Mayan City-States is dated to 850 CE – 1546 CE, in the Early Middle Ages era.
How large was Later Mayan City-States at its peak?
At its peak in 1488 AD Later Mayan City-States covered about 187,745 km².
How did the map of Later Mayan City-States change over time?
Later Mayan City-States appears on 7 dated world maps in the atlas, from 900 CE to 1500 CE. Each shows its borders in that year next to the other states of the time.
Other Sovereign Realms
High & Late Middle Ages • Capital: Avarga
Early Middle Ages • Capital: Constantinople
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Söğüt, Bursa, Edirne, Constantinople
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Lahore, Delhi