What group of people came before the Maya and would have an influence on their culture?

Olmecs

Explanation:

In short, the Maya came first, and settled in modern-day Mexico. Next came the Olmecs, who also settled Mexico. They didn't build any major cities, but they were widespread and prosperous. They were followed by the Inca in modern-day Peru, and finally the Aztecs, also in modern-day Mexico.

Anthropologists generally fall into two groups when considering the beginnings of the Mayans, arguing either that the civilization developed independently or that the Mayans were influenced largely by the older Olmec civilization.

Anthropologists generally fall into two groups when considering the beginnings of the Mayans, arguing either that the civilization developed independently or that the Mayans were influenced largely by the older Olmec civilization.

answer; the period of time known as the middle ages;

radioactive dating, also known as  radioisotope dating  is a process that in  estimating the approximate  age  of  rocks. these data can be analyzed from  the studies dealing with the  decay of the radioactive elements that are present in these rocks. in nature, there are a few types of materials or atoms which are quite unstable and they spontaneously decay or breakdown to form other kinds of atoms.