The ancient Mayan civilization contained nearly two-thirds of Mesoamerica. The area mainly included volcanic mountains with porous limestone, also called plains in the more central regions. The Mayan civilization stretched from Belize and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula in the north to Honduras in the south. What most distinguished the Maya, in my opinion, were their complex societies, which were built and modernized well ahead of their time in a tropical rainforest climate (Aissen, 1992). Normally, ancient populations lived in much drier climates, where irrigation practices served as the foundation of societies. The Maya excelled at pottery, hieroglyphic writing, calendar making, science, and mathematics. The Mayan civilization, which extended into what is now Guatemala, began to decline around 900 AD, and researchers are debating what may have caused this decline. The Golden Age of the Maya occurred around 250 AD in cities, including Altun Ha, Caracol, Lamanai, and Tikal among many others. During this period the population amounted to approximately two million people. Farmers, practicing slash-and-burn agricultural techniques along with more modern techniques, including terracing and irrigation, surrounded these cities. The religious beliefs of the Maya and the complexity of their societies are just some of the topics that will be covered. In this article we will discuss the methods used by the Maya in their respective territories to obtain food, shelter, home remedies, medicines and water. We will also discuss how the Maya marked and defended their territories, their political views, and their subsistence strategies. Mayan Culture and Subsistence Agriculture Slash-and-burn agriculture is the process of...... half the paper.... ..l believed to come from the decomposition of food many, many years ago. The Mayans, who live today, continue to carry on much of the culture they know. They do this through the clothes they wear, religious practices, rituals and food. Works Cited Aissen, J. L. (1992). Topic and focus in maya. Language, 68(1), 43.Alexander, R. T., & Reed, N. A. (2004). The Yucatan Caste War. Latin American Antiquities, 15(3), 366.Coe, M.D. (1966). The Mayans. New York: Praeger. Haar, G. V. (2008). Mayan voices for human rights: displaced Catholics in the Chiapas plateau – By Christine Kovic. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 14(2), 452-453. Hammond, N. (1972). Obsidian trade routes in the Maya area. Science, 178(4065), 1092-1093.Rice, D. S. (1983). Maya subsistence, studies in memory of Dennis E. Puleston. Journal of archaeological science, 10(3), 307-308.