People say, “Rome was not built in one day.” That means it takes a long time to create something big and important. This saying is also true of the Maya.
The earliest Maya hunted animals and fished. They also gathered wild berries, nuts, and seeds for food. By around 7000 B.C., these traveling bands of Maya began making homes for themselves in caves, rock shelters, and open camps. Slowly, over the next several thousand years, they began living a more settled village life. They wore animal-skin clothing and used flint-tipped spears.
As time passed, they built cities. Some were as big as 75,000 people. The Maya reached great heights in the arts, scientific learning, architecture, and writing. Their economy grew strong, and they built huge palaces, plazas, courtyards, and ball courts. They raised towering temple-pyramids all around the area.
