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Article: Exploring the ancient civilization of the Maya.
- Article from:
- Highlights for Children
- Article date:
- October 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Highlights for Children, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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For thousands of years the ancient Maya lived in southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and parts of El Salvador and Honduras. They were farmers living in villages and towns and raising corn, beans, squash, and chili peppers. Around 2,500 years ago, in a burst of creative energy, they started building large and beautiful cities. In the center of these cities they built pyramids dedicated to their rulers and gods.
The Maya used highly developed systems of astronomy and mathematics, and they recorded their history with the New World's most sophisticated writing system.
After flourishing for more than 1,500 years, the Maya civilization started to decline, ...