Sixty per cent of the modern population of Guatemala is estimated to be Maya, concentrated in the central and western highlands. The eastern portion of the country was the object of intense Spanish migration and hispanicization. Guatemalan society is divided into a class system largely based on race, with Maya peasants and artisans at the bottom, the mixed-race ladino salaried workers and bureaucrats forming the middle and lower class and above them the creole elite of pure European ancestry. Some indigenous elites such as the Xajil did manage to maintain a level of status into the colonial period; a prominent Kaqchikel noble family, they chronicled the history of their region. Notes Citations References Further reading Guatemala Maya Contact Period History of Guatemala History of Mesoamerica History of New Spain Colonial Central America 16th-century conflicts 17th-century conflicts 16th century in the Maya civilization 17th century in the Maya civilization 16th century in Guatemala 17th century in Guatemala 1520s in North America 16th century in Central America 17th century in Central America 1520s in Central America 1530s in Central America 1590s in Central America 16th century in New Spain 17th century in New Spain Guatemala–Spain relations History of Guatemala by period Wars involving Guatemala Wars involving Spain Guatemala