Mayan civilization

The Mayans were a group of people who lived in Central America. They developed an advanced civilization. It lasted for-cough Excuse me. It lasted for many centuries. Its high point was between the years 200 and 900. The Mayans are famous for a number of things. They built many city-states. These were like small countries. Naturally, the center of each was a city. Farms surrounded these cities and supported them with food. Mayan cities also contained exceptional works of architecture. The ruins of some buildings can be seen today. There are both large palaces and stepped pyramids. The Mayans had a writing system and literature, but they didn't use paper. Odd, no? Instead, they wrote on stone, wood, and tree bark. Lots of writing was done on the insides and outsides of their temples and palaces. They also formed books from tree bark, but sadly, few of these books have survived to the present day. What happened to them Well, first, the heat and wet weather of the jungle destroyed many, but Spanish conquerors got most of them. They actively sought to destroy the Mayans' written records. Fortunately, other objects, including Mayan works of art, have survived. We can see some of this art on the stones of their temples and palaces. The Mayans were excellent pottery makers as well. They created figures of stone, clay and wood, and they even made some objects out of metal. But there are few extant examples of any metal devices.