马雅人(Maya)，亦称中美洲印第安人的族群，西元250～900年发展出西半球最伟大的文明之一。到西元200年为止，他们已经发展出包含宫殿、寺庙、广场、球场的城市。他们利用石制工具来开采这些建筑所需的大量石头，而他们的雕塑与浮雕也有高度发展。马雅象形文字留存於书籍和铭文中。马雅数学的特色是位置记数法和0的使用，而马雅天文学的特色是精确订定的太阳年，以及金星与其卫星位置的精确表格。历法精确性对马雅宗教的繁复仪式和典礼来说是重要的，这种宗教以众多神只为基础。他们用仪式性杀戮、施虐、人祭来取悦众神、确保丰产、赶走宇宙的混乱。在古典时期的颠峰，马雅文明中居民有5,000～50,000的城市超过四十座。西元900年以後，马雅文明因不明原因而急速衰落。如今，马雅人的後裔是墨西哥南部与瓜地马拉以农业为生的人民。亦请参阅Chichen Itza、Copan、Lacandon、Maya languages、Quiche、Tikal、Tzeltal、Uxmal。

English version：

Maya

Group of Mesoamerican Indians who between AD 250 and 900 developed one of the Western Hemisphere's greatest civilizations. By AD 200 they had developed cities containing palaces, temples, plazas, and ball courts. They used stone tools to quarry the immense quantities of stone needed for those structures; their sculpture and relief carving were also highly developed. Mayan hieroglyphic writing survives in books and inscriptions. Mayan mathematics featured positional notation and the use of the zero; Mayan astronomy featured an accurately determined solar year and precise tables of the positions of Venus and the moon. Calendrical accuracy was important for the elaborate rituals and ceremonies of the Mayan religion, which was based on a pantheon of gods. Ritual bloodletting, torture, and human sacrifice were employed to propitiate the gods, ensure fertility, and stave off cosmic chaos. At the height of its Classic period, Mayan civilization included more than 40 cities of 5,000-50,000 people. After 900 the civilization declined rapidly for unknown reasons. Descendants of the Maya are now subsistence farmers in southern Mexico and Guatemala. See also Chichén Itzá, Copán, Lacandon, Maya codices, Mayan languages, Quiche, Tikal, Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Uxmal.