Problem: Stevens was born in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of nine, when his family moved to Petoskey, in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. He was raised by his father Rasjid and his stepmother Pat, only occasionally visiting his mother, Carrie, in Oregon after she married her second husband Lowell Brams. His mother is deceased. Brams later became the head of Stevens' record label Asthmatic Kitty.

On January 12, 2015, Asthmatic Kitty Records announced that Stevens would release a new LP called Carrie & Lowell on March 31, 2015 (Europe: March 30, 2015). On 16 February 2015, Stevens shared the first single from the record, 'No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross'. The album met with critical acclaim on release, receiving a 9.3 from Pitchfork under "best new music", and an initial score of 90 from Metacritic. UK retailer HMV named it the best album of 2015. The album follows the nuances and trials of life with Stevens' mother, Carrie, who was diagnosed bipolar and schizophrenic, suffered from drug addiction and substance abuse, and abandoned him when he was a year old; it also includes Stevens' stepfather, Lowell Brams. On January 26, 2015, Asthmatic Kitty Records announced a tour of North America, which began in April 2015, to coincide with the new album. Stevens also headlined the End of the Road Festival in the United Kingdom in September. On July 21, a second set of U.S. tour dates, which took place in October and November 2015, was announced. On April 28, 2017, a live album and concert film, Carrie & Lowell Live was released, featuring new interpretations, re-workings and expansions of the songs from Carrie & Lowell. In addition to the live album, Sufjan has announced another Carrie & Lowell companion piece. The Greatest Gift Mixtape -- Outtakes, Remixes, & Demos from Carrie & Lowell -- was released on November 24. It includes unreleased songs from the album sessions, as well as iPhone recordings and remixes from Helado Negro, Doveman, and more.

who were carrie and lowell?

Answer with quotes: On January 12, 2015, Asthmatic Kitty Records announced that Stevens would release a new LP called Carrie & Lowell on March 31, 2015

Problem: The Maya civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization developed by the Maya peoples, and noted for its hieroglyphic script--the only known fully developed writing system of the pre-Columbian Americas--as well as for its art, architecture, mathematics, calendar, and astronomical system. The Maya civilization developed in an area that encompasses southeastern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador. This region consists of the northern lowlands encompassing the Yucatan Peninsula, and the highlands of the Sierra Madre, running from the Mexican state of Chiapas, across southern Guatemala and onwards into El Salvador, and the southern lowlands of the Pacific littoral plain. The Archaic period, prior to 2000 BC, saw the first developments in agriculture and the earliest villages.

The Maya developed their first civilization in the Preclassic period. Scholars continue to discuss when this era of Maya civilization began. Maya occupation at Cuello (modern-day Belize) has been carbon dated to around 2600 BC. Settlements were established around 1800 BC in the Soconusco region of the Pacific coast, and the Maya were already cultivating the staple crops of maize, beans, squash, and chili pepper. This period was characterized by sedentary communities and the introduction of pottery and fired clay figurines. During the Middle Preclassic Period, small villages began to grow to form cities. Nakbe in the Peten department of Guatemala is the earliest well-documented city in the Maya lowlands, where large structures have been dated to around 750 BC. The northern lowlands of Yucatan were widely settled by the Middle Preclassic. By approximately 400 BC, early Maya rulers were raising stelae. A developed script was already being used in Peten by the 3rd century BC. In the Late Preclassic Period, the enormous city of El Mirador grew to cover approximately 16 square kilometres (6.2 sq mi). Although not as large, Tikal was already a significant city by around 350 BC. In the highlands, Kaminaljuyu emerged as a principal centre in the Late Preclassic. Takalik Abaj and Chocola were two of the most important cities on the Pacific coastal plain, and Komchen grew to become an important site in northern Yucatan. The Late Preclassic cultural florescence collapsed in the 1st century AD and many of the great Maya cities of the epoch were abandoned; the cause of this collapse is unknown.

Is there anything else important about the preclassic period?

Answer with quotes:
In the highlands, Kaminaljuyu emerged as a principal centre in the Late Preclassic.