The Maya Empire, centered in the tropical lowlands of what is now Guatemala, reached the peak of its power and influence around the sixth century A.D. The Maya excelled at agriculture, pottery, hieroglyph writing, calendar-making and mathematics, and left behind an astonishing amount of impressive architecture and symbolic artwork. Most of what historians know about the Maya comes from what remains of their architecture and art, including stone carvings and inscriptions on their buildings and monuments. The Maya also made paper from tree bark and wrote in books made from this paper, known as codices; four of these codices are known to have survived.
One of the many intriguing things about the Maya was their ability to build a great civilization in a tropical rainforest climate.
The artwork of the Mayas was distinctive. In order to memorialize their rulers, the Maya carved stone portraits. Many Maya sculptures were painted using colors and techniques specific to their culture. Mayan art was commissioned by rulers as a means of accompanying them to the underworld.
The nobles wore decorated clothing and huge headdresses made from feathers.