In order to survive, he embraces the Mayan culture and even gets married to Mayan noble girl. Guerrero is shipwrecked and luckily makes his way to coast of Yuncatán. – Gonzalo Guerrero, a Spaniard sailor, encounters problems at sea. Maya Civilization Timeline | Spanish Conquistadors (from left to right): Pedro de Alvarado (c. * * As is common with the decline of ancient civilizations, the reasons for the decline of Tikal and Teotihuacan are a complete puzzle to archeologists to this day. the city, along with its neighboring southern lowland cities, becomes a ghost city, ushering in the end of the Classic Period of the Maya civilization. – Tikal declines sharply** the city is no longer properly organized to be able to muster resources and the desire to put up buildings. As a result, trade and economic growth reverse, leaving the region in a deplorable situation.Ĩ67 A.D. – The Mesoamerica region is plunged into chaos and decline as inter-city wars become the norm of the day. Pacal lived to the ripe age of 80.ħ51 A.D. – The powerful and revered Emperor Pacal is buried. – Leaders of Caracol steer their city-state into a very powerful force.Ħ83 A.D. This paves the way for the civilization at Tikal, which can boast of about half a million people, to lead Mesoamerica again.Ħ00 A.D. – Teotihuacan and its people vanish of the face of the earth for reasons unknown to this day. – Tikal’s dominance in the region is ended by an alliance formed by other city-states, including the city-state of Calakmul. New forms of barbaric and human sacrifices also emerge in Tikal, which in turn spurs Tikal to subjugate surrounding cities.ĥ60 A.D. – With the decline of Teotihuacan, the Maya city of Tikal emerges strong and prosperous, poaching the resources from Teotihuacan. – Teotihuacan, a city-state, introduces new ways of doing things, in terms of religious practices and language by so doing, they begin to make rightful claim as the most dominant city in the Maya highlands.ĥ00 A.D. Maya Civilization | Calakmul was a very city-state during the classic periodĤ00 A.D. – A thriving settlement at Tikal spring up. – Large buildings and monuments spring up in cities such as El Mirador farming and internal trade intensifies, which result population boom.ĥ50 B.C. – Relatively advanced ancient settlements like Chalchuapa and Copan begin to have huge impact in the region. – The Olmec civilization continues to developġ000 B.C. – The Olmec civilization emerge as the dominant group of people on the Mexican gulf coast and from those people, emerge the Maya civilization along with a host of farming villages.ġ500 B.C. – The Maya civilization is born, as the people become more organized and corporate among themselves. – According to Mayans in the region, the world is created.Ģ600 B.C. – Maya highlands and lowlands receive the first hunter-gatherers.ģ,114 B.C. When exactly did the Maya civilization start and end? How did the Maya culture evolve over those centuries of years? To discover the answers to these questions, World History Edu presents a complete timeline of the Maya Civilization below: Olmec (1200-1000 B.C.)ġ1,000 B.C. This feat of theirs, as well as many more, was part of the reason why the Mayans were so dominant in the region until the arrival of the Spanish in 1519 CE. Archaeologists reason that the Maya civilization was perhaps the only civilization in the Americas to have an advanced written language. Magnificent stone structures and pyramids, which were often used for religious purposes, often graced the landscape of those cities. This Central American civilization could boast of powerful city-states like Mirador, Uzmal, Kaminaljuyu, and Chichen Itza. Beginning as far back as the second millennium BCE, the Maya civilization was a colossal force to be reckoned with in Mesoamerica for close to 3,000 years.