Scientists studied the genetic makeup of seven Maya individuals—including one who was the victim of human sacrifice.

The textbook timeline of the Maya civilization goes like this: The culture reached its height, known as the Classic period, between A.D. 200 and 900. Over the next century, urban centers fell apart.

Then, in 964, the Itzás, a Maya-speaking people from the Petén rain forest around Tikal, moved into the city. Archeologists have fully explored only about 20 or 30 of several hundred buildings ...

One of the largest and best-preserved Mayan pyramids, the temple was a mausoleum for 7th century ruler K’inich Janab Pakal. The evidence of a long-forgotten civilization was everywhere ...

The Maya civilization is one of the biggest and most famous of pre-Columbian civilizations in the Americas. For over 3,000 years, the Mayas lived throughout the Maya Region, which consisted of ...

While DNA has been recovered from other Maya sites before, this is the most detailed genetic snapshot ever taken of individuals who lived in one of the civilization’s most iconic cities.

Experts at the Guatemalan Ministry of Culture say it was inhabited by the Maya, the ancient civilization of indigenous people in Central America. The presence of pyramids and monuments suggest ...