The Mayans ruled the Yucatan (and Guatemala and Honduras) for more than a 1000 years. Literally hundreds of Mayan sites are scattered around the area from the very small temple at Punta Sur on Isla Mujeres to the large Mayan cities at Chichen Itza, Uxmal, and Tikal. The Mayans were very advanced, including a written language, inventing the concept of zero in math, creating a calendar (with the first year beginning in 3313 B.C. for some reason), and learning the phases of the moon, when eclipses would occur, and the movements of Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. They also were very religious and worshiped many gods (the concept of one God had not caught on). One of their common religious rites was human sacrifices. Children were sacrificed to the God of Chac (or god of thunder and rain). The face of the victim was painted blue and his or her heart was torn out at the sacrifice site. The religious faithful then dined on the corpse of the victim or they pitched the mutilated body into a cenote or some other sacred body of water. When we were touring the site at Chichen Itza, this caught Cameron, Haley, and Travis’ attention, but otherwise they have really enjoyed seeing the Mayan sites.
Cayuse 