Advances in deciphering hieroglyphic texts and the results of archaeological research have contributed towards changing the idyllic picture of Mayan culture, created in the nineteen-forties, of a society of great scientists and architects leading a peaceful and opulent existence.

In this sense, we now know that they had irrigation ditches and terraces which enabled them to cultivate the land and harvest sufficient agricultural produce to maintain populations of up to 50,000 or 60,000 people; that different social groups came together in the urban centres thanks to thoroughfares constructed in the forest; that social life was marked by a series of rituals (birth, puberty, marriage ceremonies, etc.) and celebrations throughout the year (planting, harvest, public functions with individual sacrifices, etc.); that contact between the cities was constant and achieved using rivers and the sea and paths constructed for such journeys, the longest of which was over 100 kilometres.

We also know that this was an extremely hierarchical society, where religion played a fundamental role in the lives of the people. Beneath the governor of each city, we find the civil, religious and military nobility within which were distributed magistrates, military heads and local functionaries, who were concerned with tribute collection and other functions.

The high priests, who understood the natural cycles, were equal in power to the governors, to whom they acted as advisors. Beneath them were priests specialised in ceremonies, and councils of elder priests. Traders and specialised craftsmen constituted the next level down. This population pyramid was maintained thanks to the work of the rural cultivators and slave labour force which was generated in conflicts between the different cities.

We know the names of the monarchs, and even of the long dynasties of governors (for example, Palenque, Tikal or Copán), the honorific titles they held, their physical appearance, the specific data concerning the year of construction or remodelling of a building, and of the conquest of one city by another. All of this information offers a somewhat less idyllic vision of a society like that of the Mayan people.