Maya civilization
Belize, 250 CE–1521. Draft, not yet reviewed
It was a Mesoamerican civilization that existed from antiquity to the early modern period. The Maya civilization spread across the territory of present-day Belize around 1500 BC, and flourished until around 900 AD. The recorded history of the middle and southern regions focuses on Caracol, an urban political centre that may have supported over 140,000 people. North of the Maya Mountains, the most important political centre was Lamanai.
Seat of power: Lamanai
No rulers documented for this era yet.
Culture
- In the late Classic Era of Maya Civilization (600-1000 AD), an estimated 400,000 to 1,000,000 people inhabited the area of present-day Belize.
- The Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas.
- Lamanai was occupied as early as the 16th century BC. In 625 AD, "Stele 9" was erected there in the Yucatec language of the Maya.
- When Spanish explorers arrived in the 16th century, the area of present-day Belize included at least three distinct Maya territories.
Picture
Lamanai is renowned for its exceptionally long occupation spanning three millennia, beginning in the Early Preclassic Maya period and continuing through the Spanish and British Colonial periods, into the 20th century.
Image: Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.