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[[File: Distribution-myn.png|300px|thumbnail|left|Map Showing the Distribution of Maya Culture in Green]]
The people who spoke variations of the Maya language and were therefore considered to be part of the Maya culture, inhabited what are now the modern nation-states of southern Mexico, Guatamala, Honduras, and Belieze from about 1500 BC until AD 1600 with the highpoint being from about AD 250 until 925. <ref> Coe, Michael D. <i>The Maya.</i> 7th ed. (London: Thames and Hudson, 2005), p. 10</ref> Although the Maya were the most sophisticated culture in their particular geographic region, they were just one of many advanced cultures in the region of Central America – referred to by scholars as “Mesoamerica” – before the arrival of Europeans in the sixteenth century. Before the Maya were dominant in Mesoamerica, the Olmecs developed a complex society and after the Maya influence waned, the Aztecs became the most powerful group in the region. Contemporary with the Maya was the Toltec culture, which was clustered around cities in what would today be central Mexico.
The high point of Maya culture is referred to as the “Classic Period,” which lasted from around AD 250 until the middle of the tenth century. <ref> Webster, David. “The Not So Peaceful Civilization: A Review of Maya War.” <i>Journal of World Prehistory.</i> 14 (2000) p. 69</ref> It was during the Classical Period that the Maya developed writing, monumental architecture, and made astronomical observations, resulting in the creation of fairly accurate calendars. <ref> Coe, p. 211</ref> All of these factors contributed to make the Maya the most advanced of all the Pre-Colombian peoples, but with that said, they were not without their problems.
