33 

 Historical Setting 



There is some debate about when people first inhabitated Mesoamerica. While some would 

 argue that the earliest settlers in Mesoamerica arrived about 25,000 B.C. (Adams, 1991), others 

 scientists would contend that about 7,000 B.C. is more probable (Nesbitt, 1980). The Maya Indian 

 civilization developed during 1500 B.C.- 150 A.D. (Formative Period). By about 800 B.C., the Maya 

 had founded the city of Dzibilchaltun, near Merida, and several other smaller villages along the coasts 

 of the Yucatan Peninsula and south to Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador (Andrews, 1960, 

 1965; Deeveyetal., 1979). 



During 150/300-650/900 A.D. (Classic Period), the Maya increased in number and developed 

 an advanced culture that included a calendar, number system, network of roads, written and spoken 

 language, trade routes that reached from central Mexico to Panama, and a system of horticulture that 

 used raised gardens irrigated by canals (Denevan, 1970; Flannery, 1982; Pohl, 1985; Sabloff, 1991; 

 Turner and Harrison, 1983). At the height of their power during 1250-1519 A.D. (Late Postclassic 

 Period), die Maya in die northern part of the Yucatan Peninsula numbered about 800,000 inhabitants 

 (Clendinnen, 1987; Cook and Borah, 1974). 



Perhaps the Maya are best known for their large ceremonial centers, including Tikal 

 (Guatemala), Coba and Tulum (Quintana Roo, Mexico), and Uxmal and Chich6n-Itza (Yucatin, 

 Mexico; Lothrop, 1924; Stephens, 1963; Thompson, 1966; Thompson et al., 1932, 1940). During 

 650/900-1250 A.D., for reasons Uiat still are being debated, the Maya civilization declined in size and 

 power (cf., Adams, 1977, 1991; Cowgill, 1962; Culbert and Rice, 1990; Morley, 1956; Thompson, 

 1966; Willey and Shimkin, 1973). 



In 1511, the Maya were first contacted by Europeans— albeit accidentally— when some Spanish 

 sailors were shipwrecked at a site called Las Viboras along die norUiem coast of the Yucatan Peninsula 

 (Landa, 1978). Several skirmishes ensued in die following years as odier Spanish sailors attempted to 

 rescue Uieir comrades and explore die coast. In 1527, die Spanish, who were searching for slaves and 

 wealth, began their conquest of die Yucatan Peninsula, and by 1542 had founded die city of Merida. 



