Mayan timeline By Firestar7676 2000 BCE Farming villages begin to form. Period: 2000 BCE to 250 Pre-Classic Period 1500 BCE Maya takes on Olmec religion 1000 BCE Maya form larger settlements 700 BCE Mayan writing develops 600 BCE Tikal formed 600 BCE Large cities are built 400 BCE first Mayan calender 300 BCE First Mayan monarchy is formed 100 BCE Teotihuacan is established in the Valley of Mexico 100 BCE First pyramids are built Period: 250 to 900 Classic period 400 Teotihuacan becomes the dominant city 560 Tikal is defeated 600 Teotihuacan declines and is no longer a cultural center 900 The southern lowland cities collapse and Teotihuacan is abandoned Period: 900 to 1500 Post-Classic Period 925 Chichen Itza becomes most powerful city-state in region 925 Chichen Itza becomes the most powerful city-state in the region 1250 Chichen Itza is abandoned 1283 Mayapan becomes the capital city 1441 The people rebel against the rule of Mayapan Period: 1500 to 1695 Colonial Period 1517 Spanish arrive 1519 Hernan Cortes arrives and explores the Yucatan Peninsula 1541 Many of the Mayan city-states are conquered by the Spanish 1542 The Spanish found the city of Merida 1695 The ruins of Tikal are discovered
