How did the Mayan civilization get its name?

The Maya is actually one of the thankfully extant cultures still remaining in the Americas. There are still Mayan-speaking peoples inhabiting southern Mexico and the surrounding areas. read more

The Maya is actually one of the thankfully extant cultures still remaining in the Americas. There are still Mayan-speaking peoples inhabiting southern Mexico and the surrounding areas. Through them, we have the living endonym (name that a specific culture calls itself) in the word Maya. read more

The word"Maya" was likely derived from the postclassical Yucatán city of Mayapan. Its more restricted meaning in pre-colonial and colonial times points to an origin in a particular region of the Yucatán Peninsula. read more

The modern day difficulty in deciphering the Mayan hieroglyphics stems from the actions of the same man who, inadvertently, preserved so much of what we know of the Maya Civilization: Bishop Diego de Landa. read more

The Maya civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization developed by the Maya peoples, and noted for its hieroglyphic script—the only known fully developed writing system of the pre-Columbian Americas—as well as for its art, architecture, mathematics, calendar, and astronomical system. read more