The two periods overlap due to the fact that different groups in the region gradually evolved from being a distinct people through archaic development to adopting a culture and a distinctly Mayan local technology. It was also during the Preclassic period that the Maya developed a greater interest in art and began to engage in manufacturing to some extent. A number of Preclassic Mayan pottery and clay figurines fired in primitive kilns still survive today. Many of these clay and pottery objects, more than four thousand years old, give us clues to their origin and function. Indicators on the progress of their technology. The process of using buildings as a means of recording history had also begun to develop in the Preclassic Maya period. A very distinct Mayan culture, with shared religious beliefs and practices, as well as technologies, began to form and advance rapidly during the Preclassic period. Public ceremonies and rites begin to take place during the Preclassic period. The creation of funeral rites for the dead began at this time. The Mayan civilization continued to grow and progress until its Classic Period, where it reached its peak between 200 and 250 AD. Still almost two thousand years before contact with