Within a generation of Christopher Columbus historic voyage to the Americas in 1492 a regional rivalry had developed between Spain and its closest neighbor as the Portuguese began to establish a colony in Brazil and push its boundaries southwards. However while the Portuguese and Spanish grappled over South America the Spanish began colonizing the Yucatan in the 16th century after defeating various Mesoamerican groups most notably Hernan Corts conquest of the Aztec Empire.Spanish accounts and Mesoamerican ruins have ensured that 500 years later people remain fascinated by civilizations like the Maya and Aztec as well as sites such as Chichen Itza and Tikal. What is often overlooked is that the Maya and Aztec established kingdoms on lands that had been inhabited for millennia before them and ancient cultures had not only left ruins but also influenced the civilizations that came after them.