Welcome to the depths of winter! As I mentioned prior, this semester – the final semester of high school – is devoted to American history. With this comes new experiences, new stories, and new fun facts I can now confidently recite at the dinner table. While I’m now on post-contact American history for the rest of the semester until graduation, my fall and winter were spent collectively on Pre-Columbian American history. What better way to study the pre-contact Americas with a focused exploration of the Maya. They are perhaps one of the largest, most powerful, and most well known Indigenous civilizations in the western hemisphere, and for good reason. Throughout learning about the Maya, I was constantly amazed by the various facets of their civilization, including but not limited to their creation myths, architecture, leadership style, astronomy, and even their math. I’m not really a math-y person, but learning about a completely foreign numbers system to the one I use did ignite a flame of curiosity in my brain. Throughout this process, I was also able to compile a PowerPoint video essay summarizing the Maya civilization, which I am pleased to share with you! So, without further ado, I hope you learn something new about the Maya!