玛雅文明是拉丁美洲古代印第安人文明和美洲古代印第安文明的杰出代表，以印第安玛雅人而得名。玛雅文明约形成于公元前2500年，其主要分布在墨西哥南部、危地马拉、巴西、伯利兹以及洪都拉斯和萨尔瓦多西部地区。玛雅文明在物质文化、科学艺术等方面有很大成就。
1. Maya：The historical periods and unique civilizations
Initially established during the Pre-Classic period（c. 2000 BC to 250 AD）， according to the Mesoamerican chronology， many Maya cities reached their highest state of development during the Classic period （c. 250 AD to 900 AD）， and continued throughout the Post-Classic period until the arrival of the Spanish.
玛雅：不同的历史时期与独特的文明状况
玛雅文明最初建立于前古典时期（约公元前2000～公元250年），根据中美洲年表，许多玛雅城市在古典时期（公元250～900年）都达到了其最高速的发展状态，并继续持续到整个后古典时期，直到西班牙人抵达这里。
The main history and cultural characteristics
The Maya civilization shares many features with other Mesoamerican civilizations due to the high degree of interaction and cultural diffusion that characterized the region. Advances such as writing， epigraphy， and the calendar did not originate with the Maya； however， their civilization fully developed them. Maya influence can be detected from Honduras， Guatemala， and western El Salvador to as far away as central Mexico， more than 1，000 km （620 mi） from the Maya area. Many outside influences are found in Maya art and architecture， which are thought to result from trade and cultural exchange rather than direct external conquest.
The Maya peoples never disappeared， neither at the time of the Classic period decline nor with the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores and the subsequent Spanish colonization of the Americas. Today， the Maya and their descendants form sizable populations throughout the Maya area and maintain a distinctive set of traditions and beliefs that are the result of the merger of pre-Columbian and post-Conquest ideas and cultures. Millions of people speak Mayan languages today.
历史概况与文化特点
玛雅文明与其他中美洲文明有着许多共同的特点，这一点归结于具有本地特色的互动和文化传播的高度发展。先进的文字、铭文和日历并不源自玛雅人，然而，他们的文明充分地发展了它们。玛雅文明的影响可以蔓延到洪都拉斯、危地马拉和萨尔瓦多西部地区，直到墨西哥的中部，辐射范围大约距离玛雅地区1000多公里（620英里）。人们还发现许多玛雅艺术和建筑受到的外来影响，这些都被认为是贸易和文化交流导致的结果，而不是直接的对外侵略。
无论是在古典时期衰退之时，还是在西班牙侵略者的入侵时期，还是后来的西班牙美洲殖民地时期，玛雅人都从来不曾消失过。今天，玛雅人和他们的后代在整个玛雅地区繁衍了众多的人口，并维持了一套独特的传统和信仰，那是前哥伦布和后征服思想文化的混合体。如今，仍有数百万人讲的是玛雅语。
Preclassic Maya：The original era of Maya civilization
There is some dispute about when this era of Maya civilization began. Discoveries of Maya occupation at Cuello， Belize have been carbon dated to around 2600 BC.This level of occupation included monumental structures. The Maya calendar， which is based around the so-called Mesoamerican Long Count calendar， begins on a date equivalent to 11 August 3114 BC.
However the most widely accepted view， as of 2010， is that the first clearly Maya settlements were established around 1800 BC in the Soconusco region of the Pacific Coast. This period， known as the Early Preclassic， was characterized by sedentary communities and the introduction of pottery and fired clay figurines.
Important sites in the southern Maya lowlands include Nakbe， El Mirador， Cival， and San Bartolo. In the Guatemalan Highlands Kaminaljuyu emerged around 800 BC. For many centuries it controlled the Jade and Obsidian sources for the Peten and Pacific Lowlands. The important early site of Izapa， and Chocolates at around 600 BC were the main producers of Cacao. Mid-sized Maya communities also began to develop in the northern Maya lowlands during the Middle and Late Preclassic， though these lacked the size， scale， and influence of the large centers of the southern lowlands. Two important Preclassic northern sites include Komchen and Dzibilchaltun. The first written inion in Maya hieroglyphics also dates to this period （c. 250 BC）.
There is disagreement about the boundaries which differentiate the physical and cultural extent of the early Maya and neighboring Preclassic Mesoamerican civilizations， such as the Olmec culture of the Tabasco lowlands and the Mixe-Zoque and Zapotec-speaking peoples of Chiapas and southern Oaxaca， respectively. Many of the earliest significant inions and buildings appeared in this overlapping zone， and evidence suggests that these cultures and the formative Maya influenced one another.
前古典时期玛雅：玛雅文明的起源时代
有关玛雅文明的起源时代后人有一些争议。由于在伯利兹城的奎略地区发现了玛雅遗迹，碳年代大约测定到公元前2600年，这个水准的遗迹包括了纪念性建筑物。玛雅历法建立在所谓的中美洲长历法的基础之上，开始日期相当于公元前3114年8月11日。
然而，到2010年为止流传最广泛的说法是，第一个明确的玛雅定居点建立在公元前1800年，坐落于太平洋沿岸的索科努斯科地区。这一时期被称为早期前古典时期，其特点是有了定居的社区，还生产出了陶器和陶土俑。
玛雅低地南部的重要遗址包括纳克贝、埃尔米拉少尔、西瓦尔和圣巴托罗，公元前800年，在危地马拉谷地上出现了卡米纳尔胡尤，好几个世纪以来，它一直控制着佩滕地区和太平洋低地的玉石和黑曜石的来源。重要的早期遗址还有伊萨巴，大约公元前600年出现的可可，是巧克力的主要生产来源。在玛雅中后期，中型玛雅社区也开始在北部玛雅低地发展，尽管它们没有南部低地广阔中心那样的尺寸、规模和影响力。在北部，前古典时期的两大重要遗址是考蒙城和兹比尔查尔坦。玛雅象形文字的首次书面碑文也追溯到前古典时期（公元前250年）。
在区分早期玛雅和邻近的中美洲文明物质和文化程度的界限上，考古界有一定的分歧。例如，塔巴斯科低地上的奥尔梅克文化以及恰帕斯和瓦哈卡南部的索克诸语言、萨巴特克语言，许多最早的重要碑刻和建筑出现在这个重叠区。有证据表明，这些文化和玛雅文明在形成过程中曾彼此影响。
Classic Maya：It witnessed the monumental inions of the peak of large-scale construction and urbanism
The Classic period （c. 250 AD–900 AD） witnessed the peak of largescale construction and urbanism， the recording of monumental inions， and a period of significant intellectual and artistic development， particularly in the southern lowland regions. They developed an agriculturally intensive， city-centered empire consisting of numerous independent city-states. This includes the well-known cities of Tikal， Palenque， Copan and Calakmul， but also the lesser known Dos Pilas， Uaxactun， Altun Ha， and Bonampak， among others. The Early Classic settlement distribution in the northern Maya lowlands is not as clearly known as the southern zone， but does include a number of population centers， such as the early occupation of Uxmal.