Guatemala and Honduras Tour

Archaeologists divide the pre-Columbian history of Mesoamerica into the Preclassic period (3000 BC to 250 AD), the Classic period (250 to 900 AD), and the Postclassic period (900 to 1500 AD).

Until recently, the Preclassic period was regarded by researchers as a formative period, in which the peoples typically lived in huts in small villages of farmers, with few permanent buildings. This notion has been challenged since the late 20th century by discoveries of monumental architecture from that period.

The Classic period of Mesoamerican civilization corresponds to the height of the Maya civilization. It is represented by countless sites throughout Guatemala, although the largest concentration is in Petén. This period is characterized by urbanisation, the emergence of independent city-states, and contact with other Mesoamerican cultures. This lasted until approximately 900 AD, when the Classic Maya civilization collapsed.

The Post-Classic period is represented by regional kingdoms, such as the Itza, Kowoj, Yalain and Kejache in Petén, and the Mam, Ki'che', Kackchiquel, Chajoma, Tz'utujil, Poqomchi', Q'eqchi' and Ch'orti' peoples in the highlands. Their cities preserved many aspects of Maya culture

New chronological framework

Christian Duverger criticizes classical periodization for implying a value judgment: pre- implying that the civilization in question is only in gestation, and post- implying that it has entered into decline. He therefore uses a chronological framework in five eras, based in particular on the notion of horizon already used in 1942 by Alfonso Caso in one of the first periodizations of Mesoamerica: