B.C. |
|
DETAILED TIME-LINE |
|
11,000
|
The first
hunter-gatherers settle in the Maya highlands and lowlands. |
|
3114-3113
|
The creation of the
world takes place, according to the Maya Long Count calendar. |
|
2000
|
The rise of the Olmec
civilization, from which many aspects of Maya culture are derived. Village
farming becomes established throughout Maya regions. |
|
700 |
Writing is developed
in Mesoamérica. |
|
400 |
The earliest known
solar calendars carved in stone are in use among the Maya. |
|
300
|
The Maya adopt the
idea of a hierarchical society ruled by nobles and kings. |
|
100
|
The city of
Teotihuacán is founded and for centuries is the cultural, religious and
trading centre of Mesoamérica. |
A.D. |
100
|
The decline of the
Olmecs. |
|
400
|
The Maya highlands
fall under the domination of Teotihuacán, and the disintegration of Maya
culture and language begins in some parts of the highlands. |
|
500 |
Tikal becomes the
first great Maya city, as citizens from Teotihuacán make their way there,
introducing new ideas involving weaponry, captives, ritual practices and
human sacrifice. |
|
600 |
An unknown event
destroys the civilization at Teotihuacán, along with the empire it
supported. Tikal becomes the largest city-state in Mesoamérica. |
|
683
|
The Emperor Pacal dies
at the age of 80 and is buried in the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque.
|
|
751 |
Long-standing Maya
alliances begin to break down. Trade between Maya city-states declines, and
inter-state conflict increases. |
|
869
|
Construction ceases in
Tikal, marking the beginning of the city's decline. |
|
899 |
Tikal is abandoned.
|
|
900 |
The Classic Period of
Maya history ends, with the collapse of the southern lowland cities. Maya
cities in the northern Yucatán continue to thrive. Development of the Puuc
style in Uxmal, Kabah and Labná. |
|
1200 |
Northern Maya cities
begin to be abandoned. |
|
1224
|
The city of Chichén
Itzá is abandoned by the Toltecs. The Itzá people settle in the deserted
area. |
|
1244
|
The Itzá abandon
Chichén Itzá for reasons unknown. |
|
1263 |
The Itzá begin
building the city of Mayapán. |
|
1283
|
Mayapán becomes the
capital of Yucatán, as the League of Mayapán rules the country. |
|
1441
|
There is a rebellion
within Mayapán and the city is abandoned by 1461. After this, political
union is lost in Yucatán. Sixteen rival groups compete among themselves to
rule over the others. |
|
1517 |
The Spanish first
arrive on the shores of Yucatán under Hernández de Córdoba, who later dies
of wounds received in battle against the Maya. The arrival of the Spanish
ushers in Old World diseases unknown among the Maya, including smallpox,
influenza and measles. Within a century, 90 per cent of Mesoamérica's native
populations will be killed off. |
|
1519
|
Hernán Cortés begins
exploring Yucatán. |
|
1524 |
Cortés meets the Itzá
people, the last of the Maya to remain unconquered by the Spanish. |
|
1528
|
The Spanish under
Francisco de Montejo begin their conquest of the northern Maya. The Maya
fight back with surprising vigour, keeping the Spanish at bay for several
years. |
|
1541 |
The Spanish are
finally able to subdue the Maya and put an end to Maya resistance. Revolt
continues, however, to plague the Spaniards off and on for the rest of the
century. |
|
1542
|
The Spanish establish
a capital city at Mérida in Yucatán. |
|
1695
|
The ruins of Tikal
are discovered by chance by the Spanish priest Father Andrés de Avedaño and
his companions, who had become lost in the Petén jungle. |
|
1697 |
The city of Tayasal,
capital of the Itzá in the Petén, is taken by the Spanish. Thus the last
Maya independent political entity is subdued to the Spanish Crown. |
|
1712 |
The Maya of the
Chiapas highlands rise against the Mexican government. They will continue to
do so off and on until today. |
|
1724 |
The Spanish Crown
abolishes the system of encomienda, which had given Spanish land owners the
right to forced Indian labour. |
|
1761 |
The Maya of Yucatán,
led by Jacinto Canek, rise against the government. |
|
1821
|
Mexico becomes
independent from Spain. |
|
1839 |
American diplomat and
amateur archaeologist John Lloyd Stephens and English artist Frederick
Catherwood begin a series of explorations into Maya regions, revealing the
full splendour of classical Maya civilization to the world for the first
time. |
|
1847
|
The Yucatán Maya rise
up against the Mexican government, rebelling against the miserable
conditions and cruelty they have suffered at the hands of the whites. The
rebellion is so successful that the Maya almost manage to take over the
entire peninsula in what has become known as the War of the Castes. |
|
1850 |
A miraculous "talking
cross" in a village in central Quintana Roo predicts a holy war against the
whites. Bolstered by arms received from the British in Belize, the Maya form
into quasi-military companies inspired by messianic zeal. The fighting
continues until 1901, when English in Belize betray the followers of the
talking cross, the cruzobs, and retire their support. |
|
1860
|
The Yucatán Maya rebel
again. |
|
1864 |
Workmen digging a
canal on the Caribbean coast of Guatemala discover a jade plaque inscribed
with a date of A.D. 320 (8.14.3.1.12 in the Maya Long Count.) The so called
Plaque of Leyden, thought to be manufactured in Tikal, becomes one of the
oldest known objects dated with the Maya calendar system. |
|
1880
|
A new tide of
government intervention in Maya life begins as governments attempt to force
the Maya to become labourers on cash-crop plantations. This destroys many
aspects of Maya cultural traditions and agricultural methods preserved over
4,000 years. Towns which had been protected for the Maya soon become a haven
for mixed-race ladinos who prey economically on the indigenous Maya and
usurp all positions of social and economic power. |
|
1901 |
The War of the Castes
comes to an end, although there are armed cruzobs in the jungle until at
least 1935. |
|
1910
|
The Mexican Revolution
begins. |
|
1952 |
The Priest-king
Pacal's tomb at Palenque is discovered and excavated by Mexican
archaeologist Alberto Ruz, marking the first time a tomb has been found
inside a Maya pyramid. Prior to this, Maya pyramids were believed to be
temples with a purely religious or ceremonial purpose. |
|
1962
|
Maya hieroglyphic
signs are first catalogued. Uncontrolled looting of Maya tombs and other
sites begins around this time in the southern lowlands, continuing until
well into the 1970s. |
|
1992
|
A Quiché Maya woman
from Guatemala named Rigoberta Menchú, who has lost most of her family to
the death squads and is known for speaking out against the extermination of
the Maya, wins the Nobel Peace Prize. |
|
1994
|
Chiapas Maya, Tzeltal
and Tzotzil in their majority, rise against the Mexican government, taking
the city of San Cristóbal de las Casas. |