At first overshadowed by the splendour of highland centres like Kaminaljuyu, the Maya lowlands saw the emergence of major ceremonial centres during the late centuries BC.
By AD 292 the lowland Maya were erecting stelae (carved monoliths) inscribed with dates in the complex Long Count and within a hundred years were recording major events using a developed writing system, the only Mesoamerican civilization to do so.
Ceremonial centres were the focus of the rites conducted to ensure the well-being of the whole community. Huge platforms supported towering temples in which the king performed bloodletting ceremonies and where successive kings were buried.
The king not only provided the pathway linking the everyday and spiritual worlds but also headed the organization of daily life.
Under his aegis monumental structures were planned and built, raised fields and other agricultural systems constructed and maintained, and trade sponsored. He also personally led the community in warfare.
Although culturally united, the Maya were divided into rival communities, each controlled by a major ceremonial centre. By AD 600 some larger political units were emerging, with a more developed social hierarchy reflected in the hierarchy of settlements: villages answerable to the local lord resident in the minor centre; local lords subordinate to greater lords who in turn served the king.
