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The Maya were politically formed similarly to the [[Greek]] city-states. Each city was politically independent and ruled by a king who had multiple wives. Each king had a ceremonial center containing temple pyramids, ball courts and stelae, which are tall stone statues containing a portrait on one side and glyphs on the other. Some cities politically controlled other sites, as Copan controlled Quirigua until a revolt in which the people of Quirigua beheaded the ruler of Copan, Waxaklahun Ub'a K'awiil, or 18 Rabbit. The four major sites are [[Palenque]], [[Tikal]], [[Calakmul]] and [[Copan]]. Later, [[Chichen Itza]] was built, but this site was built after the collapse of many others. For food, the Maya grew maize (corn), squash and beans. Like other American Indians the Maya had no coins or paper money, but sometimes traded in cacao (chocolate) beans, shells or other goods. The Maya were probably the only Mesoamerican civilization with a fully functional writing system, based on the use of hieroglyphs, although other people like the Mixtecs and the Aztecs had a comic book like writing system, that was not as fully developed as the Mayan one, and there also exist (as of yet undeciphered) Epi-Olmec and Olmec hieroglyphs.
The Maya were politically formed similarly to the [[Greek]] city-states. Each city was politically independent and ruled by a king who had multiple wives. Each king had a ceremonial center containing temple pyramids, ball courts and stelae, which are tall stone statues containing a portrait on one side and glyphs on the other. Some cities politically controlled other sites, as Copan controlled Quirigua until a revolt in which the people of Quirigua beheaded the ruler of Copan, Waxaklahun Ub'a K'awiil, or 18 Rabbit. The four major sites are [[Palenque]], [[Tikal]], [[Calakmul]] and [[Copan]]. Later, [[Chichen Itza]] was built, but this site was built after the collapse of many others. For food, the Maya grew maize (corn), squash and beans. Like other American Indians the Maya had no coins or paper money, but sometimes traded in cacao (chocolate) beans, shells or other goods. The Maya were probably the only Mesoamerican civilization with a fully functional writing system, based on the use of hieroglyphs, although other people like the Mixtecs and the Aztecs had a comic book like writing system, that was not as fully developed as the Mayan one, and there also exist (as of yet undeciphered) Epi-Olmec and Olmec hieroglyphs.
Contrary to early beliefs, the Mayans were involved in warfare, perhaps rarely, though research indicates that, "It may well be that vengeful dynastic vendettas, total destruction of cities and the enslavement of whole populations occurred throughout Maya history." (Martin 2000: 176)
==Religion==
==Religion==