The Mayan civilization was one of the most sophisticated cultures to develop in the New World.  The sky played a key role in the Mayan world view.  The Mayans were obsessed with tracking the movements of the heavenly bodies.  Astronomy provided the base for everything that happened within the Mayan society.  They developed a highly complex hieroglyphic writing system that included phonetics.  Their ceremonial architecture reached monumental proportions.  The extremely elaborate Mayan calendar rivals the accuracy of the one we use today.  The sophisticated mathematical system  of the Mayans included the concept of zero.  Arabia is the only other civilization in the history of the world to develop the concept of zero.