History and Culture
While Central America is a culturally diverse region, its local cultures and history are heavily influenced by the Spanish colonisation. The people’s lifestyle, language, religion, and traditions today reflect a mix of what they assimilated from the Spanish settlers and those retained from their indigenous ancestors.
Anthropologists commonly refer to the region as a “cultural hearth” along with Mexico, as it birthed many early human civilisations like the Mayans. Many Mayan sites have survived through generations, from ancient cities to stone carvings left on the ruins, bridging the region’s celebrated past to the contemporary times. These are the best archeological sites that proudly display the remainders of a bygone era when Mayan civilization was at its height.
-
Tikal is an ancient mayan citadel hidden deep in the high canopy jungle of Guatemala, home to numerous iconic pyramids and soaring temples that loom above the rainforest.
-
Caracol is one of the most important Mayan archeological sites in Belize, blanketed by the lush greenery of Chiquibul Forest and occupying a size that’s larger than the modern-day Belize City.
-
Joya de Cerén was a pre-Hispanic Mayan agricultural town in El Salvador that faced the same fate as Pompeii and was buried after the catastrophic eruption of the Laguna Caldera volcano. Now, it has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site that echoes the pre-Columbian Mayan way of life.
