where his civilizations, including our own

Actually, in seventh grade, we did a mayan unit. We played this simulation game where we traded qetzal feathers and stuff. We didn't write our name in Mayan like we did with the Egypt unit, though, but my impression (at the time) was just that Mayan was too much more complicated. Of course in both of these units the information on the language and writing was only cursory. I'm almost 20, so I'm not too much younger than you, and I'm also in CA. I doubt those two-or-three years made much of a difference. I've actually learned a lot more about indiginous cultures of the Americas than I have about Egypt, though probably less than I've learned about more recent European history. I wouldn't be surprised if the east coast learned less about native Americans, though.