Chichen Izta, (pronounced, Cheechen eetZA) is perhaps the best known Mayan archaeological site on the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico, leading Palenque, in Chiapas, Mexico, Tikal in Guatemala and Copan in Honduras. Thought to be built on the site of a prior Mayan settlement, the city was at its height from around AD 980 to 1220, preceding the Toltecs from central Mexico, who settled here.

Many ruins of important buildings remain from this time. The Castillo and other temples with sculptures and color reliefs, an observatory, and a sacred well (cenote), into which sacrifices, including human beings, were thrown are included among these.

History per se is never accurate. The only real account we have of history is what is left by opinion. This is especially true in the realm of Mayan history, where the most elaborate accounts of history are sourced from unskilled archaeologists, opinionated historians, inaccurate translations, biased Spanish Conquistador scripts.

Other than such archaeologists, historians, and scripts, we are left with eroding hieroglyphics that aren’t always decipherable, even by those that speak one or two of over 30 dialects of Mayan. Thus, the following account, as with any historical account of Mayan history, should be read with a bit a constructive and inquisitive skepticism. Don’t take our word for it, seek the truth, or at least something close to it.

The Maya were one of the Mesoamerican societies that left a huge impact on the history and culture of Central America. The Maya were more advanced than their neighbors in many areas, such as agriculture, architecture and astronomy, but what has fascinated explorers and archaeologists the most is their unique hieroglyphic writing system, which they invented more than 2,300 years ago.

The Maya glyphs are very advanced, visually striking and complex. Their calligraphic style and sophisticated phonetic system are different from any other writing system in the world. This is because the ancient Maya invented their writing system independently from the rest of the world.

The ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza is one of the main places of interest for tourists visiting the Yucatan peninsula, in Mexico. The name of the city means "At the mouth of the well of the Itza", and is believed to have reached its apogee during the political and economical dominance of the Itza ethnic group over the northern Yucatan.

Chichen Itza is a large pre-Colombian archeological site built by the advanced (for its time) Mayan civilization. Archaeologists have found signs of previously built settlements in the area, but the most impressive buildings in the city were built around 600 AD.

Rediscovered in 1905 by Maurice Perigny, Nakum has had several archaeological and restorative sessions including a Guatemalan official restoration in 1990.

Nakum is a Mayan Jungle Site and a former ceremonial center and city of the ancient Maya of Guatemala. Located in the northeastern portion of the Petén Basin region, it rests in what is called the Guatemalan department of Petén. The northeastern Petén region contains significant Maya sites, Nakum being one of three sites composing the cultural and political triangle of "Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo". Approximately 17 km to the north of Yaxha and some 20 km to the east of Tikal. Outside of Tikal its main temple, a visibly-restored feature, serves as one of the Maya civilization’s best preserved archeological artifacts.

While maize was a common food for the Maya, their cuisine was varied and highly extensive. They consumed many types of food, including fish and other ocean creatures, wild plants, and their own crops. They were also excellent hunters and foragers, though their advanced agricultural methods produced the staple foods upon which their entire diet was based.

The primary crops grown by the Maya were maize, squash, beans, and chili peppers. The first three were used throughout the Americas and called the “Three Sisters” because they complimented each other both in taste and nutrients. Many varieties of maize were grown, but it was a delicate crop that could not support the larger developments, so it is thought that perhaps manioc was used in its place when maize was scarce. Other crops included tomatoes, avocadoes, papaya, pineapple, pumpkin, and sweet potato. Many herbs and spices were also grown and used in their cooking. This included vanilla, white cinnamon, avocado leaf, and allspice. Some of these were used to create special dishes while others were used in everyday cooking. Wild onions and salt were also commonly used in the cooking.

Unlike Chichen Itza and Tikal, Copan is very little known by the outside world. Nonetheless, this Mayan site is one of the most important sites in the Mayan world. Because of its vast gambit of hieroglyphic texts, Copan is considered an intelligencia among the Mayan world settlements. The site, located in the Copan Valley of Honduras has recently been subject to meticulous study and investigation due to the wealth of history and culture found in the inscriptions on the temples and stellae.

Referred to as the most artistically advanced and elaborate of all the cities, Copan we deemed a heritage of humanity site in 1980 by UNESCO. Continuous study of the city by archaeologists for over a century has made it the most studied city of the Maya.

Chichen Itza was the spiritual and social hub of the late Mayan World. It was the centerpiece of the Mayan civilization in the Yucatan Peninsula since the early 700’s. The city was the center of sacrifice for the area as well. The city owed that sacrificial reputation to an ancient Mayan and the mysterious cenotes in the area. A cenote is a natural well that reaches deep into the land, possibly connecting to other underground tunnels.

The Sacrificial Cenote wasn’t used for drinking, or cleaning, another set of cenotes and artificial wells were used for that. A Bishop in the mid 1500’s is the first to mention the sacrifices that occur at the ancient Sacrificial Cenote. The Bishop claimed that Chichen Itza had a huge chamber inside which they would herd thousands of slaves and citizens to be sacrificed at the cenotes.