The ancient Maya controlled vast swaths of territory from southern Mexico down into Central America for thousands of years. Famous kingdoms like Tikal, Mayapan and others spread throughout Mesoamerica in time and space, each occupying its own territory and often warring with its neighbors in a complex system of territorial control.
Many of these states, like the city of Yaxnohcah, found in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula near the Guatemalan border, maintained power for centuries.
Yaxnohcah managed to maintain a city for so long because of the way they sustainably managed their water supply and agriculture.
