Maya

This article is about the minor civilization in Age of Empires III. For the civilization in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors, see Mayans.

Maya
The Maya Trading Post icon
Settlement information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III
Continent	Central America
Units	Maya Holcan Spearman Medicine Man (in The WarChiefs)
Technologies	Maya Cotton Armor Maya Calendar
Maps	Orinoco Sonora Yucatán

The Maya are a Native American tribe featured in Age of Empires III. Like all natives, they can be allied with by building a Trading Post at their Trading Post site.

Units

Maya Holcan Spearman: Maya barbed spearmen. Good against cavalry or buildings.

Medicine Man: Heals injured units. (only available in The WarChiefs)

Technologies

Maya technologies focus on boosting an allied economy and improving all hand infantry in combat.

Age	Technology	Cost	Effect
	Maya Cotton Armor	250 wood, 250 coin	Melee infantry get +20% hit points
	Maya Calendar	120 wood, 120 coin	Settlers, Coureurs des Bois, Settler Wagons, and Villagers gather food 10% faster

In-game dialogue

Maya units speak the K'iche language, a Mesoamerican language which is spoken in the present-day Guatemala and, as with other modern Mayan languages, evolved from the original Proto-Mayan language.

• Zah
• Tabis
• Outzca
• Zaba
• Cayashé (Attack)
• Cocaya (Attack)

History

“

The Maya civilization arose in the Yucatan Peninsula of Central America, beginning around 1500 BCE. They were heavily influenced by the Olmec civilization of Mexico, which had developed a system of writing, a calendar, and a complex religion. Population growth was spurred by advances in growing and irrigating crops of corn, beans, squash, and peppers. The period from 300 to 900 CE is known as the Classic Period of the Maya culture, which featured the construction of very impressive cities, advanced writing, astronomy, arithmetic, a complex political system of competing city states, and the Maya ball game pok-a-tok. They were able to measure very precisely the orbits of planets. They went through cycles of building, tearing down, and rebuilding on the foundations of the past. Although their remaining structures are of bare stone today, they were apparently once painted in very bright colors. Beginning in 750 CE the Maya civilization went into decline for reasons not clear today. One opinion is that the population had expanded during a period of good climate, and trees had been widely removed to farm increasingly marginal land. Ecological changes led to massive crop failures, starvation, and war over decreasing food resources. By 830 construction had ceased and the cities were gradually abandoned. The Maya moved to smaller agricultural villages, and their great cities disappeared into the enveloping tropical forests.

”

Gallery

A Maya settlement with allied defenders present

Alternate Maya Trading Post icon, note the slight color variations compared to the Holcan Spearman icon

Maya Concept Art

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