A lost civilisation tangled in the vines of time.  The ruined society belonging to the Maya. Thriving between 300 BC and 900 AD, the Maya lay in the highlands of Guatemala. Within this civilisation, they built monumental temples that took much more than just a few builders. From farmers to materials, every detail was vital.

The Maya had a wide range of jobs. It was common that all of the family was engaged in the same job. Popular jobs were in agriculture, farming and hunting. Farmers would work extensively to provide the workers with food. If no food was provided, they would not have any workers. If they did not have any workers, who would build their temples?

The farmers in the lowlands use the `slash and burn` technique to provide the soil with nutrients. They would cut down a section of the rainforest and set it alight. However, farmers in the highlands were lucky to have access to deep volcanic soil. After being turned up for years, the soil was full of nutrients and it lasted much longer than the soil in the lowlands.

Materials collected whilst farming, such as stone and wood, were useful for constructing Mayan homes. Adobe was a technique they used that required four key ingredients: Mud, clay, water and straw. They created bricks out of Adobe and stuck them together using mud mixtures. After this, they coated the house in another layer of mud. Their roofs were thatched so that the rain water would flow off them. Mayans lived in family compounds with their entire family. Depending on how large the family was, they would need a lot of buildings.

Materials collected whilst farming, such as stone and wood, were useful for constructing Mayan homes. Adobe was a technique they used that required four key ingredients: Mud, clay, water and straw. They created bricks out of Adobe and stuck them together using mud mixtures. After this, they coated the house in another layer of mud. Their roofs were thatched so that the rain water would flow off them. Mayans lived in family compounds with their entire family. Depending on how large the family was, they would need a lot of buildings.

Limestone was also a key ingredient in cement like substance called Stucco. This was used to cover Mayan temples, making them sturdy and strong. Red paints would then be spread over the temple. However, over many years the paint has worn away leaving stone temples in its place. To give the temple interest, the Maya would carve their language into stone slabs and arrange them around the temple. This was called Stele.

To conclude, the most vital resource used to construct a Mayan temple was not limestone, farming or decoration. The most vital resource was indeed people.

People controlled the agriculture, people made the decoration. They engaged in so many jobs that pieced together the empire of the Maya as we know it.