The Maya people, history, achievements, and decline

The Maya people, history, achievements, and decline

The Maya people, history, achievements, and decline 7 Minutes Read 1554 Words EN HISTORY & CULTURE The pyramid-building Maya reigned over much of Central America. Today, descendants keep Maya history alive—a sign of resilience. This sculpture of the head of a Mayan warrior found in the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque, Mexico. One of the largest and best-preserved Mayan pyramids, the temple was a mausoleum for 7th century ruler K’inich Janab Pakal. De Agostini via Getty Images By Erin Blakemore Last updated October 9, 2025 Evidence of Mayan civilization was everywhere: Beneath a Spanish convent, underneath a street. Most of it was covered in vines and vegetation, reclaimed by the jungle. The British-American explorers combing through the Yucatán Peninsula in the 1830s and 1840s had no idea who built these mysterious sites but soon became convinced that they were major archaeological treasures. Discarded and abandoned, the function of these sites and artifacts—temples, pyramids, remnants…