Now we call them “stelae” and altars, and understand that these limestone reliefs are commemorative monuments commissioned by Maya rulers detailing their accomplishments during the Classic Period (250 ...

El Castillo (The Castle), a 98-foot-tall pyramid, dominates the city, while the Temple of the Warriors features murals of battle scenes and village life. Tulum was the largest Maya coastal city ...

Yet Maya men did wear long tunics in religious ceremonies, and scholars now accept that this is one of Copán’s most famous rulers, King Waxaklajun Ub’aah K’awiil, in the guise of a maize god.

In its heyday from about A.D. 300 to 900, the Maya civilization boasted hundreds of cities across a vast swath of Central America. Now archeological sites, these once-flourishing cities extended ...