At the very beginning of the Mayan civilization creative intelligence was hard at work. Celestial observations were central to the development of the Sun Stone. Mankind's first calendar. Numbers were invented that included the concept zero. That s what made the later geometric architecture and social order possible.
Sophisticated organization requires some knowledge of mathematics.
The greater that knowledge is, the more sophisticated the civilization becomes. Such was the case with the various Mayan cultures. It seems to me that is very important news. But it is always over shadowed by more sensational examples of ancient architecture. Very impressive how, for over three-thousand years, one generation has passed not written but verbal, and to some extent visual information to another generation, especially in the realm of habitat.