The Preclassic Maya Period

When the Europeans arrived in Mesoamerica they were confronted with the highly developed architecture, art and written language of the Maya culture. They were the only culture in the region to have a well ingrained written language that was very advanced. They also inhabited the region for a very long time, and had a long history in which to develop their culture. The Preclassic Period is not so commonly known as their later history - a history that is more frequently written about.

The Classic period of the Maya took place between 300 and 900 AD, and the sudden collapse of that incarnation of the civilization is one of the most tantalizing mysteries in archaeology. The era known as Preclassic, is denoted as the period of time from the earliest evidence of habitation until 250 AD or thereabouts. By 2000 BC there were Maya speakers present in the south of Mexico (although no one is exactly sure why or how they got there) and the people had begun the transition to an agricultural village life rather than being nomadic hunter-gatherers. 1000 years later, these small groups of huts had transformed into the beginnings of a society, including trade of desirable goods and traces of irrigation canals.

The first Maya city-state was likely Kaminaljuyu, in what is now modern day Guatemala. By 900 BC it had a complex government structure that was able to exude power and influence over other smaller cities in the area. The spot was also the primary source for obsidian, which was an extremely valuable resource. The older Olmec civilization, which is considered the first true established culture in Mexico, was reaching its height at this time, and there is evidence of trade between the two groups.

The Middle Preclassic, from 1000 to 400 BC, was a time of great conceptual growth. Not yet showing a writing system, carvings and murals that showed warriors, gods and rulers were depicted. Maize was an integral component of the Maya diet, and similar to the Olmec, they seemed to have worshiped the jaguar.

El Mirador and San Bartolo were part of a new group of large cities that were build from 400 to 250 BC. For unknown reasons even to this day, the sites were left to ruin when they were abandoned,. Surprisingly, the Maya never died out, although their next larger empire eventually fell too, even as their customs and ideologies remained intact. There are communities that are active today in Mexico who trace their roots back to this culture. There are several theories as to why this first Preclassic period ended, but none are truly provable due to simple lack of evidence. The later history of this influential group is better documented, but would not have existed without this first round of cultural rise and fall.

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