Maya people in the Yucatán Peninsula have prepared it this way since at least 400 AD. But people have abandoned these traditions, swapping pibs for modern stoves. More from Still Standing ...

In this way, dancing for the ancient and modern Maya is a method of connection, not only between people but also gods, spirits, and ancestors. The Spanish also documented the dances of the Maya.

At the height of the Mayan empire 1,400 years ago, the city of Tikal in modern-day Guatemala was a ... in Central America in 1517, the Mayan people had left Tikal for the surrounding jungle ...

Over the years people moved from villages to modern cities, making it difficult ... started to destroy the Maya cities and people. The Spanish were armed with artillery, steel swords and muskets ...

Known by the ancient Maya people as Lakamha, and today a UNESCO World Heritage site, the ruins of Palenque lie in the lush basin of the Usumacinta River in the modern Mexican state of Chiapas.

Over the years people moved from villages to modern cities, making it difficult ... started to destroy the Maya cities and people. The Spanish were armed with artillery, steel swords and muskets ...