Starting around 1000 B.C., these villages were replaced by the ancient cities of the Maya Civilization, which spread around massive administrative and ceremonial complexes that seemed to touch the stars.
Around 7000 B.C., Mesoamerican communities started cultivating maize and beans and developing permanent dwellings concentrated in what is now southeastern Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, as well as sections of Honduras and El Salvador. Starting around 1000 B.C., these villages were replaced by the ancient cities of the Maya Civilization, which spread around massive administrative and ceremonial complexes that seemed to touch the stars.