The document provides an overview of the history and culture of the Maya people in Guatemala. It discusses the Maya civilization and complex calendar systems pre-Spanish conquest. It then summarizes the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, the establishment of closed corporate communities under colonial rule, and liberal reforms in the 19th century that privatized land and established debt peonage. The document also outlines the Guatemalan revolution of 1944, the US-backed coup in 1954, and the long civil war between guerrillas and government forces that ended with peace accords in 1996.

1. The Maya Culture Area Peasant Societies: Past and Present