Mayan religious thought aimed to explain and justify the social order and to understand the relationship between man and his environment. As in any agricultural society, the natural elements are the basic co-ordinates in religious thought. The highest deity was Itzamna (god of the heavens and of knowledge). Other important divinities were Chac (god of water), Kukulkan (god of the winds), Ixchel (goddess of births) and Ah Puch (god of death). Their images appear on the facades of the buildings, in decorations of ceramic work, or in the manuscripts dating from 16th and 17Ith centuries.

Knowledge of agricultural cycles was fundamental for survival. Thus, two complementary calendars were created: that of rituals, of 260 days (with months of 29 and 30 days), and the civil calendar, of 365 days, based on the movement of the Sun and divided into 18 months of 20 days and one month of 5 days. The two calendars coincide every 52 years, at the time when life and all matter affecting it undergoes renovation.

Hieroglyphic writing has its origins before 250 AD. Painted signs synthesising ideas are combined with words and syllables. The texts are found engraved on stone, bone, ceramics, etc., and refer to historical events (royal succession, wars, etc.) along with ritual and religious matters. We find samples of hieroglyphic texts in both inscription-bearing steles and the altars situated in the squares before the buildings and also in ceramic recipients or crafted bones that form part of the tombs.

Unlike people in other cultures, the Mayans buried their dead under the houses, whether they were palaces, pyramids or simple dwellings made of palm leaves and wood. The more simple tombs had some recipient which accompanied the deceased. Those corresponding to important people or monarchs, situated under significant buildings, had a funeral chamber in stone and a series of ceramic pieces, figurines, mosaic masks of precious stones or stucco-work, crafted bones, jade jewellery, wooden figures, items of food, and so on.
Deformity of the cranium in well-to-do families was considered in good aesthetic taste so that plumes might be better displayed. Again, holes were made in teeth so that small pieces of jade might be encrusted, jade being a sacred material in this culture.

The richest tombs have been found at Palenque (Chiapas, Mexico), Copán (Honduras) and Tikal (Guatemala), amongst others.