The ancestors of the indigenous peoples (Native Americans) were from central and eastern Asia and were crossed by the earth and ice bridge which connected to the Siberia and Alaska at the time. in the region of what is now known as the Bering Strait towards North America during the Ice Age, approximately 50,000 years ago. They were nomadic peoples who followed their diet and this is presented as a factor explaining their wandering from Asia to North America. Some continued east and settled in the cold regions of the sub-Arctic, others wandered south across North, Central and South America, developing distinct physical and cultural characteristics. Three distinct groups developed societies in parts of the Caribbean and Central and South America. The Tainos were located in Jamaica. Hispaniola, Cuba, Puerto Rico and parts of the Bahamas and Trinidad. The Kalinagos in Grenada, Tobago, Saint Vincent, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and Trinidad. The Mayans were located in Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Guatemala. These societies were organized primarily on a political, religious, economic and social basis (Amerindians to Africans 3rd edition, Dyde et al. 2008). Political life The Mayans They lived in independent city-states and had a rigid class system. Each class had its own duties and rights down to clothing and accessories. Each city-state had...... middle of paper...... The Mayans were polytheists and they believed in many manifestations of their one God Kunabku and these manifestations oversaw everything. Priests were appointed not only because of their religious commitment, but also based on their level of literacy. Halach Uinic was also called K'uhul Ajaw, which refers to the Holy Lord/Ruler, demonstrating the close association between the king and God and, in turn, the state and religion. The Mayans also believed in ancestor worship and the communication carried out by Halach Uinic and priests during their hallucinations. Bloodletting was also an activity practiced by the Mayans as a means of sacrifice to their God and as worship. It was taken from war captives and prisoners, but the blood of nobles was particularly precious and used on special occasions. Works Cited (Sharma, 1996) (Figueredo, 2008; Brian Dyde, 2008)