The Mayas where not big empire builders, their cities coexisted independent in many ways from each other, tough they did have commerce trades and some disperse wars. They occupied three separate areas of Mesoamerica (South, Central, and North), all tough many investigators don't consider the southern civilization as real Mayas; this is because they lack many of the characteristic Mayan traits. Some books even ignore this area all together as being associated with the Mayas. On the other hand, since the Central and Northern areas are not separated by any natural barriers, they both flourished more or less together and both have all the characteristic Maya traits, like agricultural features, hieroglyphic writing, the long count with all it's complexities and others. On this section you can find a brief summary of some of the mayor Maya cities.

This great capital was one of the largest and most important cities of the Maya era. Its name means "the wells of Itzá" referring to the two large cenotes at the site. This cenotes allowed the city to grow and prosper since they where a very important source of water during the dry seasons. There's also sufficient archaeological evidence to suggest that Chichén Itzá was also a vital northern trade center.

One of the most important buildings of the site, called the "Castillo", is located on the northern part of Chichén. It's a flat temple, placed on a very high large platform with four stairways. It also has four doorways, but the northern doorway is wider than the others. The Castillo has a total of 365 steps, symbolizing the 365-day journey of the Earth around the Sun.

Northwest of the Castillo is the Great Ball Court, the largest in Mesoamerica, measuring 545 by 225 feet, with a playing alley 440 by 110 feet. Two parallel walls define the playing alley, each with a single stone ring. The purpose of the game was to get a rubber ball to pass trough one of the rings using only the hip, elbows, shoulders, and feet. When an important game took place it was customary to sacrifice the captain of the loosing team.

Another very intriguing building at the site is the one called "Caracol". This round building constructed over two large platforms, has a round stairway leading two a small room with square-shaped holes in the sealing. This means that the building was most probably an observatory the Mayas used to aid them in their advanced astronomical calculations.

The two large cenotes were essential to Chichén's power and prosperity. The city drew its drinking water from the centrally located Xtoloc Cenote. The other one was sacred, and was used to give offering to the gods. Many remains have been retrieved from the cenote, like gold plates, masks collar, jade ornaments and also some human bones and skulls that support the theory that many sacrifices were done in this cenote.

Chichén Itzá was no doubt, one of the most important cities of the area. Many religious pilgrimages were made from all over Maya land to make offerings to its sacred cenote. Evidence found at the site also suggests that Chichén was also of vital importance to the Maya's commerce trades. espanol/turismo/guatemala/arqueologia/mixcoviejo

Palenque was the first discovered of all the Mayan cities. It's also one of the best conservated. Palenque was designed by the best architects of all the Maya land, and also by the best writers, as we can appreciate by all the beatiful hieroglyphic texts trough out the site.

Two of Palenque's most important buildings are the Temple of the Inscriptions, which houses the unique burial chamber of King Pacal, and the multiroom Palace, with its unique four-story tower. North of the Palace is a plaza with a small ball court on its east side. The north side of the plaza is bounded by a series of small temples, including the Temple of the Count, named after Count Frederick Waldeck, who lived and studied here in the 19th century.

Below the temple of the inscriptions is a path leading downward to the door of another small chamber, right outside this door the bones of five sacrificed men and one woman were found. Placed in the center of the chamber was a very beautiful sarcophagus carved with hieroglyphics that record Pacal's life and his ancestors. On the walls of this chamber nine stucco figures of the Bolontiku, the nine lords of the Maya underworld Xibalba, were found.

Three of the most important buildings of the site are located around a very large court: The temple of the cross to the north, the largest of the three represent all that is supernatural and the origins of men. The temple of the sun, to the west, has the most complete exterior of them all, its designs are quite breathtaking. Finally to the east is the temple of the "Foliated Cross", the final of the three central buildings in this group, has one of the most complete remnants of a doorsill in the Maya region. One can still view the red and green pigments on the decorative designs of the sill, which provide a glimpse of what the site may have looked like while still in use.

Other groups of buildings exist along the northwest-to-southeast ridge, south of where the main complex is located. There are various temples along the waterfalls that follow the path of the stream that divides the center of the site, as well as complexes overlooking the entire site from bases higher on the hillside. Not much is known about these aspects of the Palenque site.