Which statement about the Maya is NOT accurate?

Which statement about the Maya is NOT accurate?

• A. They consisted of independent city-states unified by culture, religion, and trade.
• B. They charted planets, moons, and the sun to develop a calendar.
• C. They had a centralized empire ruled by a single monarch.
• D. Located in southeastern Mexico.

Answer: (C)

Maya political life was organized around independent city-states rather than a single, centralized empire. Each city-state—like Tikal, Palenque, or Calakmul—had its own ruling dynasty and government, governing local affairs while sharing a common language, religion, and trade networks with neighboring cities. They sometimes formed alliances or fought wars, but there was no one monarch who ruled all Maya lands. That distinctive pattern—many autonomous centers bound by shared culture—explains why the statement about a centralized empire is not accurate. The other ideas fit what we know: they developed sophisticated calendars through careful observations of celestial bodies, including the sun, the moon, and planets like Venus; and their homeland covers parts of southeastern Mexico and adjacent areas in Central America.

Maya political life was organized around independent city-states rather than a single, centralized empire. Each city-state—like Tikal, Palenque, or Calakmul—had its own ruling dynasty and government, governing local affairs while sharing a common language, religion, and trade networks with neighboring cities. They sometimes formed alliances or fought wars, but there was no one monarch who ruled all Maya lands. That distinctive pattern—many autonomous centers bound by shared culture—explains why the statement about a centralized empire is not accurate. The other ideas fit what we know: they developed sophisticated calendars through careful observations of celestial bodies, including the sun, the moon, and planets like Venus; and their homeland covers parts of southeastern Mexico and adjacent areas in Central America.