Who?


 * The Mayans **

-The Maya lived in subtropical Mesomerica in parts of the countries that are now Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize, Honduras, and the Yucatan peninsula area of Mexico

-The ancient Maya were united by a shared religious system and language, although there are actually many Mayan languages. While the political system was also shared among the Maya, each chiefdom had its own ruler. Battles between cities and protective alliances were frequent.

-The Maya built pyramids, like the people of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Maya pyramids were usually 9-step pyramids with flat tops on which were perched temples to the gods accessible by stairs. The steps corresponded with the 9 layers of the Underworld.

-The Maya spoke various Maya family languages some of which were phonetically transcribed via hieroglyphs. The Maya painted their words on bark paper that has disintegrated, but also wrote on more enduring substances Two dialects dominate the inscriptions and are presumed to be the more prestigious forms of the Maya language. One is from the southern area of the Maya and the other from the Yucatan peninsula. With the advent of the Spanish, the prestige language became Spanish.