The food crops which the Archaic people started to produce were also used by another stone age culture which was destined for impressive achievements in Belize and the rest of Mesoamerica starting from about 2500 BC. This culture was the Maya culture which started around 2500 BC and lasted for about 4000 years.
|
Period |
Timespan |
|
Post Classic |
900 AD – 1500 AD |
|
Classic |
300 AD – 800 AD |
|
Pre-Classic |
2500 BC – 0 AD |
During the Pre-Classic period, the Maya developed the groundwork for the Classic period. Specifically, the Preclassic was the period in which the crops which were used to feed the populations were domesticated. Seeds of crops like pumpkins, beans, corn, manoic, sweet potatoes and yams were collected for future use.
When the Classic Period came around, the Maya made many developments in the field of arts, manufacturing of natural products, construction, mathematics, writing, and religion. It was during the classic period that the most impressive constructions were made. Roads were built and the corbelled arch was refined.
After the Classic period the Maya societies collapsed and the populations in Belize fled north into the Yucatan area. There are a number of theories for the collapse. These include foreign invasion, revolt against the nobility, abandonment of trade routes and epidemics. The most
likely cause of the collapse was that there were more droughts.