User menu
Main menu

Who were the Ancient Maya?

60 second histories

This video covers:  An overview of the Maya people: where they originated and where they lived. 

Free to view
Who were the Maya? Or should I say, who are the Maya? You see the ancient civilization of the Maya has long since faded but descendants of the Maya people still live in the same parts of the world their ancestors did. The ancient Maya people first appeared in Mexico over four thousand years ago, they’re thought to have migrated from Asia to Canada down through America and on to the Yucatan peninsular in Central America. Much of this land was covered in thick jungle and it was in this jungle that the Maya cleared the trees away and built their cities, cities with such names as Tikal, Palenque and Chichen Itza. Its hard to believe that these cities of stone with their pyramids and temples, ball courts and houses supported populations of hundreds of thousands of people but what happened to them? The Maya abandoned their cities over a thousand years ago and over time the jungle overwhelmed the cities, hiding the ruins from the world until the arrival of the Spanish in the fifteen hundreds.
Eras: 
Ancient Maya
Topics: 
Civilizations
Character: 
Indiana Joan
Key words: 
History video, video, resource, Maya, Mayan, ancient, civilisation, ancient civilisation, Mexico, Yucatan peninsular, Central America, jungle, Tikal, Palenque, Chichen Itza, Spanish, abandoned, KS2, key stage 2, key stage 2 history, primary, KS2 videos, KS2 clips, KS2 history, KS2 videos, KS2 history film, KS2 history clip, Maya, Mayan, Ancient Maya, Ancient Mayan, Mexico, Y3, Y4, Y5, Y6, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, Year 6, Mesoamerica,