creating a hieroglyphic writing system
inventing an accurate calendar system
The Maya were a pre-Columbian people who inhabited the region of Mesoamerica (present-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, etc.). They peaked during the period from 250 AD to 900 AD, known as the Classic Period. The Maya are known to have had one of the most sophisticated pre-Columbian civilizations. In addition, they developed large cities and had advanced knowledge in areas such as mathematics. After 900 A.D., the Maya went into decline, and their cities emptied out.
The Maya became well known for having very advanced knowledge in areas such as Astronomy and Mathematics. In the religious field, the Maya were polytheists, that is, they believed in several gods and had human sacrifice as a very important ritualistic practice. These sacrifices were also of considerable political importance to these people.
Politically, they were organized in city-states, which means that the Maya never formed an empire with consolidated borders. The power of kings extended, exclusively, over the domains of their cities and satellite cities, if any. They survived from agriculture, and their main food was corn.
