Mexican Maya

Cultural remnants found on the Yucatan Peninsula are strongly Maya and the are many.
Ancient gods and rites persist. Hach Chac Yum, Akyantho, Usukum, Kakich, and other gods are remembered. Pilgrimages are still made. Offerings are often and copal is still burnt. Prayers are made and purifications carried out.
When you decide to visit the land of the Maya the Mexican state of Tabasco can be a good place to start. In the region of the Chontalpa (Putun-Maya) is the town of Cardenas. If you want to see ruins, Comalcalco is not far.
Comalcalco is of interest to some as a place of debunking. As a student you may have learned that Arabs brought bricks to Spain, and that Spaniards brought therm to Mexico. At Comacalco are found pre-Colombian sun dried blocks of clay with no known connection to Arab or Spaniard. Stucco made of oyster and other shells were used to cover and ornament those bricks.
From Cardenas you might drive to Villahermosa and then on to Palenque in Chiapas. I don't mean to turn this history essay into a travel log. Still they often seem to go together, don't they? As for history, La Venta Park may be a good place to meet the Olmec, the Maya's predecessors.
I stop here to allow you to remember what you will of incomparable Palenque.