The Maya civilization was an ancient group of people who lived in what is now Mexico, South, and Central America. They made many important discoveries. One of their biggest achievements was their writing system, which used pictures called hieroglyphics to record important information. The Mayans were also excellent at studying the stars and created a very accurate calendar to track time. They built great cities with pyramids, temples, and big buildings. The Maya were good at math too, and they even invented the number zero to help with their calculations. The Maya also created the wheel to help them travel long distances and carry heavy loads.