The heyday of Maya civilization was during the 1st millennium AD.¹⁾

The rapid collapse of the Maya civilization, in turn, occurred in the ninth century. This collapse had something of the apocalypse about it. Maya religious centers disappeared, cities were abandoned, and the steles (stone slabs) on which the Maya recorded important dates and holidays were vaporized. ²⁾

The basis of the Maya economy was agriculture. ³⁾