Editing Belize (section)

===Early history===

[[File:Mayamap.png|right|thumb|Extent of the Maya civilization]]
The [[Maya civilization]] emerged at least three millennia ago in the lowland area of the [[Yucatán Peninsula]] and the highlands to the south, in the area of present-day southeastern Mexico, Belize, [[Guatemala]], and western [[Honduras]]. Many aspects of this culture persist in the area, despite nearly 500 years of European domination. Prior to about 2500 BCE, some [[hunter-gatherer|hunting and foraging]] bands settled in small farming villages; they domesticated crops such as corn, beans, [[Cucurbita|squash]], and chili peppers.

A profusion of languages and subcultures developed within the Maya core culture. Between about 2500 BCE and 250 CE, the basic institutions of Maya civilization emerged.<ref name=cs>
{{cite book
|last= Bolland|first= Nigel
|date= 1993|chapter= Belize: Historical Setting
|chapter-url= https://cdn.loc.gov/master/frd/frdcstdy/gu/guyanabelizecoun00merr_0/guyanabelizecoun00merr_0.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://cdn.loc.gov/master/frd/frdcstdy/gu/guyanabelizecoun00merr_0/guyanabelizecoun00merr_0.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live
|title= Guyana and Belize: Country Studies|editor= Tim Merrill
|publisher= [[Library of Congress]] [[Federal Research Division]]
}}
</ref>