About Maya Culture and History

      Yucatan Mayan is a native language still used in modern day Mexico and Belize.  According to Ethnologue, the majority of Yucatan Mayan speakers are in Mexico, with approximately 700,000 speakers in the country and 706,000 total in the world.  These other 6,000 are mostly found in Belize.
Also spoken in Belize is Mopán Maya which has about 9,200 speakers in Belize and 11,800 world worldwide (mostly in Guatamala).
       According to Yucatec Mayan Language, Classical Mayan culture can be traced back to various regions of Mesoamerica including modern day Guatamala, Honduras, and Mexico.  Mayans are known for their sophisticated urban centers located in Latin American tropical rain forests.  Tikal, the urban center of the Mayan culture, is a cultural and tourist destination today in Guatamala.

Tikal National Park, Guatmala

     Mayas survived off of maize and other farming products as this was the center of Maya life.  Mayan culture had both a patriarchy as well as a religious hierarchy.  Religious practices related mostly to farming and agriculture.  In their religion, Mayas were concerned mostly with cycles and time which expresses the fame and success of their calendar.
     Modern day Maya language helps to preserve and support a rich native culture.  Since the beginning of the Mayan society, people have been celebrating and preserving its culture.  Maya language has come in contact closely with Spanish, especially during the Spanish Conquest.  Maya has since most likely run into English and Portuguese.  There is no evidence that any of these languages mixed profoundly.