The Aztec, Maya and Olmec people were fascinating. They were advanced technologically for their time periods and laid the foundation for many of the current advances and ways of life we have today.

The Aztecs lived in the central Mexico and Guatemala area hundreds of years ago. They were an agricultural people and their most important crop was corn or maize. They also had a calender similar to ours, with 365 days. The Aztec empire was based at Tenochtitlan (present day Mexcio City), but the rest of the empire was made up of city-states.

The Mayan people lived in the southern Mexico and northern Central America areas. The Maya were known for their complete written language (the only known one in the pre-Columbian era), art, architecture, and mathematical system. Currently, six million descendants of the Maya live mainly in Mexico, Belize and Guatemala.

The Olmec lived in what are now the Tabasco and Veracruz states of Mexico. The Olmec were the first Mesoamerican civilization and were well-known for their art. They used jade, clay and greenstone to make statues, jars, masks and more, all with intricate details. Olmec art can be viewed in some museums.

These three groups of people are interesting to study and read about as they had so many similarities to life today, but many differences, as well.