, while many Maya remained independent. The Itza are also believed to have founded the city Mayapan. At its height, Mayapan had a population of about 15,000. But in no way was it as magnificent as Tikal or Chichen Itza. Warfare and rebellion led to the end of the Itza and Mayapan about 1450 A.D.From the fall of Mayapan until the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, the Maya returned to the pattern of dispersed political authority. Towns of modest size exercised control over a larger area and more rural population. Although central authority existed in Maya regions when the Spanish arrived, Maya peoples retained their vitality and sustained essential elements of their ritual legacy. ...
