The Maya and Aztecs

Long before Europeans arrived in the Americas, two extraordinary civilisations flourished in Mesoamerica — the region that includes modern Mexico and Central America. These were the Maya and the Aztecs. They built great cities, studied the stars, and created art and writing of astonishing skill.

It is easy to muddle them up, so here is the key difference. The Maya flourished much earlier, reaching their height more than a thousand years ago across many independent city-states. The Aztecs came later, building a single powerful empire in central Mexico in the 1300s and 1400s CE.

The Maya built magnificent stone cities deep in the rainforest, including Tikal and Chichen Itza, with towering stepped pyramids, palaces, and ball courts. They were brilliant mathematicians who understood the idea of zero — a concept many other ancient peoples did not have.

Across Mesoamerica, people played a sacred ball game on long stone courts. Players had to keep a heavy rubber ball moving using mainly their hips — no hands or feet allowed! It was part sport and part religious ceremony, and it was taken very seriously.

The Aztecs were clever farmers. Because their city sat in a lake, they built chinampas — floating garden islands made of mud and reeds — to grow maize, beans, and squash. At its height, Tenochtitlan was one of the largest cities in the world, bigger than most European cities of the time.

The Aztec Empire rose to power in the 1300s and 1400s CE. Its emperors collected tribute — payments of food, cloth, and treasure — from the peoples they conquered. The empire came to an end after Spanish conquistadors, led by Hernan Cortés, arrived in 1519 CE and allied with the Aztecs' enemies.