Introduction: The ancient Mayas were a group of North American people . They lived in the Yucatan Penninsula and Central America and their civilization lasted from about 1500 BC to around 1400 AD. Later the Spanish conquistadors wiped out most of the advanced civilizations in Mesoamerica with guns and other weapons which the people of that area had not seen before.

The Maya had a very advanced society. Their mathematics and astronomy skills were incredible. They could tell the time and predict when an eclipse was coming. Their bloody sacrifices also made them well known.

Learn more about these exciting people in our report on this great civilization of the past.

In the south part of what was the Maya culture there are high mountains and thick, tropical rainforest with a high rainfall. In the north there are high plateaus with a temperate climate and a flat tropical plain with bush and scrub in the Yucatan Peninsula.

The weather is warm and there is plenty of rain so the Maya could farm easily. In the forests they cut down the trees and bushes to clear the land and then they burned them. This farming practice is called "slash and burn" and it is still done today.

The total area covered by Maya civiliztion was about 120,000 square miles which is about the same size as Great Britain or a bit smaller than California.