This is Part 5 in a series of articles on the history of the Maya. Follow the links to read Part 1, Part 2 , Part 3, Part 4 ...

New research suggests that explanations based only on climate may not fully account for the major decline of the lowland ...

Maya civilization in perspective -- Trajectories of evolution : Maya archaeology and the preclassic Maya -- Maya states before the classic period -- Planting the seed of civilization : the making of ...

Inside a ruined pyramid in the Guatemalan jungle, archeologists have unearthed the oldest known Maya painting, a brightly colored 30-foot-long mural depicting the Maya creation myth and the coronation ...

A period of severe drought near the end of the 1st millennium C.E. likely sealed the fate of Lowland Classic Maya society, and a new study shows just how dry it was as the populations of the Maya ...

The ancient Maya developed a complex religious system centered on gods, ancestors, and the passage of time. During the Classic period, Maya society was organized into independent kingdoms that shared ...

A laser-shooting eye in the sky has revealed the previously unappreciated size and complexity of ancient Maya civilization, both before and during its presumed heyday, scientists say. Maya people in ...

Carbon dioxide concentrations in Earth's atmosphere have reached 415 parts per million—a level that last occurred more than three million years ago, long before the evolution of humans. This news adds ...

The severity of drought conditions during the demise of the Maya civilization about 1,000 years ago has been quantified, representing another piece of evidence that could be used to solve the ...

"From the tombs of the elite to the graves of commoners, mortuary remains offer rich insights into Classic Maya society. In Mortuary Landscapes of the Classic Maya: Rituals of Body and Soul, the ...

The cities of the ancient Maya in Mesoamerica never fail to impress. But beneath the soil surface, an unexpected danger lurks there: mercury pollution. In a review article in Frontiers in ...

Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered a mysterious subterranean structure with painted walls hidden beneath a Maya ball court. The team found the building while excavating the ball court, the ...