The Mayas

The Mayas The Mayan culture of Mexico developed remarkably between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries, but in the sixteenth century they had less political power than the Aztecs. Corn cultivation was central to their culture, and many religious ceremonies were centred on the planting, growing and harvesting of corn. Efficient agricultural production generated surplus, which helped the ruling classes, priests and chiefs to invest in architecture and in the development of astronomy and mathematics. The Mayas devised a pictographic form of writing that has only been partially deciphered. Reclamation is the conversion of wasteland into land suitable for habitation or cultivation. Maya temple, Tikal, Guatemala, eighth century. C ONFRONTATION OF C ULTURES T HEMES IN W ORLD H ISTORY