The Maya forged the greatest society in the history of the ancient Americas, and one of the great societies in human history. Long before contact with Europeans, Maya communities built spectacular cities, created complex agricultural systems, mastered the visual arts, and developed a sophisticated writing system that recorded extraordinary knowledge in calendrics, mathematics, and astronomy. All that was achieved without area-wide centralized control. For there was never a single, unified Maya state or empire, but always numerous, evolving ethnic groups speaking dozens of distinct Mayan languages. The people we call "Maya" never thought of themselves as such; so what was their self-identity and how did Maya civilization come to be "invented"? Yet something definable, unique, and endlessly fascinating-what we call Maya culture-has clearly existed for millennia. With the Maya subdivided in so many ways-geographical, linguistic, and chronological-the pursuit of what made the Maya "the Maya" is all the more important. In this Very Short Introduction, Restall and Solari explore the themes of Mayan self-identity, polity or city-state political culture, and cosmovision and the world beyond. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.