During this period the Mayas numbered in the millions， they created a multitude of kingdoms and small empires， built monumental palaces and temples， engaged in grandiose ceremonies， and developed an elaborate hieroglyphic writing system. The social basis of this exuberant civilization was a large political and economic intersocietal network （world system） extending throughout the Maya region and beyond to the wider Mesoamerican world. The political， economic， and culturally dominant‘core’Maya units of the Classic Maya world system were located in the central lowlands， while its corresponding dependent or ‘peripheral’Mayan units were found along the margins of the southern highland and northern lowland areas. But as in all world systems， the Maya core centers shifted through time， starting out during Preclassic times in the southern highlands， moving to the central lowlands during the Classic period， and finally shifting to the northern peninsula during the Postclassic period. In this Maya world system the semi-peripheral （mediational） units generally took the form of trade and commercial centers.
The most notable monuments are the stepped pyramids they built in their religious centers and the accompanying palaces of their rulers. The palace at Cancuen is the largest in the Maya area， though the site， interestingly， lacks pyramids. Other important archaeological remains include the carved stone slabs usually called stelae， which depict rulers along with hieroglyphic texts describing their genealogy， military victories， and other accomplishments.
古典时期玛雅：见证宏大建设与城市化高峰的不朽铭文
古典时期（约公元250～900年）见证了大规模建设与城市化的高峰，记录了不朽的铭文，它是一个知识和艺术发展的重要时期，特别是在南部低地地区，他们开发了一个以城市为中心的，由大量独立的城邦组成的农业密集型帝国，这包括著名的城市蒂卡尔、帕伦克、科潘和卡拉克穆尔，还有鲜为人知的多斯皮拉斯、瓦哈克通、阿尔顿哈和波南帕克。分布在北部玛雅低地的早期古典居民区没有明确地定义为南部地区，但它包括大量的人口聚集地，如乌斯马尔的早期领地。
在这一时期玛雅有数百万人口，他们创造了众多的王国和小帝国，建立了巨大的宫殿和庙宇，举行了宏伟的仪式，并制定了详尽的象形文字书写系统。这种旺盛文明的社会基础是一个蔓延到整个玛雅地区和中美洲以外的更广泛地区的巨大世界政治和经济的跨社会网络（世界体系）。古典玛雅世界系统中以政治、经济和文化优势为“核心”的玛雅王国都位于南部谷地和北部低地的边缘地带，而其相应的依赖或“周边”玛雅单位被发现于沿边缘的南部高地和低地地区，但在所有的世界体系当中，玛雅核心地带随着时间的推移而不断更换。开始的时候，这个核心前古典时期在北部谷地，后来在古典时期转移到中部低地，最后在后古典时期又迁徙到北部半岛。在这个玛雅世界体系中，边陲（中介）地带的王国通常表现为贸易和商业中心的形式。
最著名的玛雅古迹是有阶梯的金字塔，这些金字塔建在他们的宗教中心以及伴随而来的统治者的宫殿。建在坎昆地区的宫殿是玛雅地区最大的宫殿，有趣的是这个地区却缺乏金字塔。坎昆地区其他重要的考古遗迹包括雕刻石板，通常被称为石柱，其中描绘的是统治者与他们的家谱、军事胜利和其他成就的象形文字。
The Maya collapse：Different assumptions about the mystery of its disappearance
The Maya centers of the southern lowlands went into decline during the 8th and 9th centuries and were abandoned shortly thereafter. This decline was coupled with a cessation of monumental inions and largescale architectural construction. There is no universally accepted theory to explain this collapse.
Non-ecological theories of Maya decline are divided into several subcategories， such as overpopulation， foreign invasion， peasant revolt， and the collapse of key trade routes. Ecological hypotheses include environmental disaster， epidemic disease， and climate change. There is evidence that the Maya population exceeded the carrying capacity of the environment including exhaustion of agricultural potential and overhunting of megafauna. Some scholars have recently theorized that an intense 200 year drought led to the collapse of Maya civilization. The drought theory originated from research performed by physical scientists studying lake beds， ancient pollen， and other data， not from the archaeological community. Newer research from 2011 suggests that converting much of their forest land into cropland may have led to reduced evapotranspiration and thus rainfall， magnifying natural drought. A study published in Science in 2012 found that modest rainfall reductions， amounting to only 25 to 40 percent in annual rainfall， may have been the tipping point to the Maya collapse. Based on samples of lake and cave sediments in the areas surrounding major Maya cities， the researchers were able to determine the amount of annual rainfall in the region. The mild droughts that took place between AD 800-950 were enough to rapidly reduce open water availability.
崩溃的玛雅文明：有关消失之谜的各种假设
公元8世纪和9世纪，南部低地的玛雅中心地区开始走向衰落，此后不久便土崩瓦解，由于不朽的铭文和大型的建筑施工的停止，加速了它的瓦解，目前还没有普遍被人们所接受的理论来解释这一消失之谜。
玛雅衰落的非生态理论分成若干小类，如人口过剩、外敌入侵、农民起义以及主要贸易路线的崩溃等。生态假设包括环境灾害、传染病以及气候变化。有证据表明，玛雅人口超过环境承载能力，包括农业潜力的消耗和动物的捕猎残杀。最近有些学者的研究表明，200年的严重干旱导致了玛雅文明的瓦解。这个干旱理论起源于研究湖床、古代花粉和其他数据的物理科学家，而不是来自考古界的学者。2011年更新的研究表明，将森林土地开发成耕田可能导致降雨减少和水分蒸发，从而扩大自然干旱的范围。2012年一项科学研究又发现，降水量骤降，一年降雨量仅占25%～40%，可能是玛雅解体的转折点。基于主要的玛雅城市周边地区的湖泊和洞穴沉积的采样，研究人员能够确定该地区的年降雨量。发生在公元800～950年的轻度干旱，足以迅速减少无冰水资源的可利用量。
2. A variety of ancient cities， and rich and colorful cultures
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization， noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas， as well as for its art， architecture， and mathematical and astronomical systems.
琳琅满目的古城与丰富多彩的文化
玛雅文明是在前哥伦布时期美洲唯一以充分发展的书面语言而著称的中美洲文明，同样著名的还有它的艺术、建筑、数学和天文系统。
Old city of Tulum：One of the last cities of the Mayans
Tulum is the site of a Pre-Columbian Maya walled city serving as a major port for Coba. The ruins are situated on 12-meter （39 ft） tall cliffs， along the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea in the state of Quintana Roo， Mexico. Tulum was one of the last cities inhabited and built by the Mayans， it was at its height between the 13th and 15th centuries and managed to survive about 70 years after the Spanish began occupying Mexico. Old World diseases brought by the Spanish settlers appear to have been the cause of its demise. One of the best-preserved coastal Maya sites， Tulum is today a popular site for tourists.