Mayan refers to the ancient civilization that flourished in southern Mexico and Central America for thousands of years, reaching its height between roughly 250 and 900 CE. The Maya built magnificent stone cities with towering pyramids, developed a complex writing system using symbols called glyphs, and created incredibly accurate calendars based on careful astronomical observations.

The Maya were master mathematicians who used the concept of zero. They tracked the movements of planets and stars with remarkable precision, predicting eclipses far in advance. Their cities, like Tikal and Chichen Itza, featured elaborate temples, palaces, and ball courts where they played a ceremonial game.

While many great Mayan cities were eventually abandoned (scholars still debate exactly why), Mayan culture never disappeared. Today, millions of people in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras speak Mayan languages and maintain cultural traditions passed down through generations. When archaeologists study Maya ruins or decipher Maya hieroglyphs, they're uncovering the achievements of one of history's most sophisticated ancient civilizations.

The word can describe the people (the Maya or the Mayans), their language (I'm learning a Mayan language), or things related to their culture (Mayan architecture or Mayan mathematics).