1 101 X A ditch dug around 100 BC for irrigation and perhaps defence marks the start of major developments in this coastal village, linked, suggest some scholars, with the adoption of kingship here. Within a hundred years a monumental centre was under construction and its inhabitants were involved in long distance trade.
#Cerros, reconstruction of Cerros
2 101 X A farming settlement dating back to 1100 BC. Beside the platforms, on which houses and possibly shrines were built, a number of burials have been found. These included a woman with a deformed head, the result of carrying heavy burdens in a tumpline - a sling suspended from a headband.
#Cuello
3 101 X Nakbe was a major centre during the Olmec period, its monuments constructed over a village dating back to 1000 BC. Stelae (carved monoliths) here are probably the earliest yet found in the Maya lowlands and show strong links with the culture of the Maya highlands.
#Nakbe
4 0 44 11
#EL MIRADOR EARLY MONUMENTAL ARCHITECTURE IW
5 0 44 4
#Maya calendrics IW
6 1 44 15
#Collapse of the Maya IW
7 0 44 14
#Warfare IW
8 8 44 1
#VR Bonampak
9 13 44 1
#CM Tikal
10 101 X One of most important Maya centres of the 7th century AD, a principal opponent of Tikal, was until recently known only from the emblem glyph giving its Maya name on monuments at other centres; it has now been identified as Calakmul.
#Calakmul
11 101 X A remarkable series of 8th century AD temple carvings depict scenes from the lives of king Shield-Jaguar of Yaxchilan, an important centre, his wife Lady Xoc and his son Bird-Jaguar. Particularly notable are the panels depicting Lady Xoc letting blood and experiencing a visionary manifestation of the dynasty's founder.
#Yaxchilan
12 0 44 1
#IW Classic Maya
13 101 X Among the structures in this Maya centre were eight bathhouses for taking saunas. Here fires were maintained in stone-built hearths lined with potsherds. Having sealed the room, bathers would throw water over the hearth and relax on the masonry benches to enjoy the refreshing steam.
#Piedras Negras
14 102 E The sites of the Puuc region, of which Uxmal is the most splendid, flourished late in the Maya civilization. Here architecture reached a particularly high standard, with elaborate three dimensional decoration and exquisite stone mosaics.
#Uxmal, Governors palace
15 101 X The Maya of the Rio Bec area developed a distinctive regional style of architecture. They decorated their palaces with solid non-functional towers closely mimicking the stepped sides, broad stairways and high temples of Maya temple pyramids.
#Rio Bec area, Palace at Xpuhil, Rio Bec culture
16 0 44 10
#Tikal IW Teotihuacan and the Maya
17 1 44 12
#IW Palenque dynastic lists
18 102 F From the 6th century AD Copan was one of the major Maya centres, dominating many of its neighbours. For a brief period, Quirigua was among these, but rapidly regained its independence. The crowning work of the kings of Copan is the 8th century Temple of the Inscriptions with its magnificent hieroglyphic stairway.
#Copan, Hieroglyphic stairway
19 19 44 1
#EW Cauac-Sky and Quirigua
20 101 X An early ceremonial centre of great importance, cut off in its prime by nearby Tikal. Among its fine monuments were six temple pyramids decorated with masks symbolizing the cosmos. A stela of AD 328 depicting a king with a cowering captive is the earliest known example of this standard image.
#Uaxactun, temple platform with stucco masks
21 0 44 7
#IW Social organization and settlement structure
22 0 44 6
#IW Religion and rites
23 0 44 3
#IW Maya script
24 0 44 2
#IW Tikal versus Uaxactun
25 0 44 13
#IW Pacal
26 17 44 1
#IS Maya cosmos
27 101 X Kaminaljuyu was one of the major centres of the Maya highlands, enjoying great prosperity from Olmec times onwards. Despite the lack of suitable local stone for building, its inhabitants erected magnificent pyramids of earth and clay, in which richly furnished elite burials were placed. It declined around AD 250.
#PW Kaminaljuyu
28 101 X A island used by the Maya as a necropolis (cemetery), probably for the rulers of the nearby Puuc area. Among the grave goods were many hollow mould-made pottery figurines containing whistles: these depict individuals from all walks of life and may include portraits of the deceased, though some are undoubtedly gods.
