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Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica. Mesoamerica . Name used for areas of Mexico and Central America that were populated prior to the arrival of the Spaniards Civilization appeared at around 1200 BC around the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico in the swampy Mexican lowlands . Olmec.

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Mesoamerica

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  1. Mesoamerica

  2. Mesoamerica • Name used for areas of Mexico and Central America that were populated prior to the arrival of the Spaniards • Civilization appeared at around 1200 BC around the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico in the swampy Mexican lowlands

  3. Olmec • Farmed the muddy riverbanks of lowland Mexico • Established large cities that served as religious centers more then anything else • Also carved large stone heads probably representing their gods.

  4. Teotihucan(tay-oh-tee-wuh-KAHN) • “Place of the Gods” • First major city to be founded in Mesoamerica • Capital of the Teotihucano Kingdom which arose in 250 BC • The Teotihucano kingdom collapsed sometime in 800s

  5. Teotihucan • Most inhabitants were farmers, but the city became a major trade city. • Teotihucano merchants traded with other American Indians as far as the Comanche and Pueblo Indians of the Southwestern United States

  6. Temple of the sun Teotihuacan • Built near modern day Mexico City • Population: 200,000 • Temples and palaces were located along the avenue of the dead, dominated by the temples of the sun and the moon Avenue of the Dead Temple of the Moon

  7. Teotihuacan • Mysteriously the Teotihuacano Kingdom simply vanished • Later other Mesoamerican Civilizations adopted Teotihuacan as a holy city. • Though it is unclear if any civilization claimed the city as their own • Mesoamerican belief is that the Gods were born at that site.

  8. The Maya

  9. 2012

  10. 2012 • Scholars are bristling at attempts to link the ancient Maya with trends in contemporary spirituality. Maya civilization, known for advanced writing, mathematics and astronomy, flourished for centuries in Mesoamerica, especially between A.D. 300 and 900. Its Long Count calendar, which was discontinued under Spanish colonization, tracks more than 5,000 years, then resets at year zero.

  11. 2012 • "For the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle," says Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies in Crystal River, Fla. To render Dec. 21, 2012, as a doomsday or moment of cosmic shifting, she says, is "a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in." • G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Special to USA TODAY

  12. 2012 • The sun will align with the center of the milky way • The eight planets in our solar system (since Pluto no longer counts) are supposed to line up with the sun as well.

  13. The Maya • Between 300 and 900 AD the highly sophisticated Maya peoples settled in Guatemala and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula • Here the Maya built splendid Temples and Pyramids and developed a very complicated calendar

  14. Mayan Calendar • Cyclical view of time • History repeats itself • Broken into three parts • Outer Ring-365 day solar year • Middle Ring-20 day Month • Center Ring- 13 week • All based on a 52 year cycle. A Mayan century

  15. Mayan Calendar • Long count ends Dec 21, 2012. • Current cycle began: Aug 31, 3112 B.C. • Founding of first human civilization in the middle east Kingdom of Sumer ~4800-3000 BC

  16. Maya Politics • Predominately the Maya were more a confederation than an empire • Among the great rulers of the Maya was Pacal the Great. King of Palenque

  17. Pacal the Great • Assumed the throne of Palenque at age 12 • Initiated the largest building programs for his kingdom • During this golden age for the Maya some of the greatest works of Mayan art and architecture were developed

  18. Temple of Inscriptions

  19. Mayan Religion • Polytheistic • Primary God: Itzamna-God of Fire and the Hearth • Important Gods: • Kukulkan the Feathered Serpent (adopted later by the Aztec and Toltec) • Chac-Tlalaac: God of Rain and Lightning • BolonTzalcab: God of Royal Decent

  20. Mayan Religion • Mayan rulers were seen as intermediaries between mortals and the Mayan gods, most were considered semi-divine themselves • Science and religion were one in the same to the Maya • Developed the concept of zero, centuries before the people of Persia and India (the first in the old world to do so)

  21. Mayan’s and Time • The Maya were obsessed with time and through this became obsessed with astronomy as well • Accurately calculated a solar year • Composed precise tables for positions of the moon and Venus • Were able to predict solar eclipses • To the Maya, really all Mesoamerican cultures, time was cyclical and history repeats itself

  22. Chichen Itza

  23. Mayan Ball Game

  24. The Aztec

  25. The Aztec • The Aztec, also known as the Mexica, are arguably the most well known of the Mesoamerican tribes. • A very warlike race the Aztec entered the Valley of Mexico in the 12th century (the same century as the European Crusades 1,2, and 3) • Tried, unsuccessfully, to conquer established tribes along Lake Texcoco

  26. Rise of the Aztec

  27. Tenochtitlan

  28. Alliances • Since it would be difficult to conquer the other tribes around the lake the Aztec opted to ally with three other tribes to dominate the region • Tlacopan • Texcoco • Tlateloloco

  29. Aztec Dominance • With aid from their allied cities the Aztec become the dominate Mesoamerican culture in what is today Mexico • To please there gods and maintain their dominance they Aztec demanded tributes to be sacrificed to their gods to keep the sun burning.

  30. Aztec Religion • Polytheistic • Chief God: Quezalcoatl-The Feathered Serpent • Other important gods • Huitzilopotchli: God of the Sun and of War • Tezcatlipoca: God of Night and Sorcery • XipeTotec: God of Agriculture and Fertility • Tlaloc: God of Rain

  31. Aztec Religion Like other civilizations of the area and time, in order to keep the world going the Aztec Gods demanded human sacrifice. These same Aztec went as far as to plan their wars around the movements of the sun, the moon and the planet Venus

  32. Montezuma’s Epic Fail • In one of the most critical errors in history, Montezuma mistook the coming of Hernan Cortez as the return of the Aztec’s Chief god Quezalcoatl

  33. Montezuma’s Epic Fail • Many cosmic signs pointed to the return of Quezalcoatl • key signs • Quezalcoatl’s return would be heralded by a sign of an arrow piercing a tree at its center • Appear with pale skin and shining cloths

  34. Fall of the Aztec • Eventually the Aztec begin to mistrust the Spaniards • This mistrust leads to a riot where Montezuma is killed • The Spanish are then run out of town. • Many Spaniards die in the escape as they chose to try and swim the mile to the shore while being weighed down with gold

  35. Fall of the Aztec • However many Aztec begin to die from contact with European diseases like Smallpox • Cortes gains fresh troops from Spain as well as Native Allies • 1520: after a four month siege the Spanish take Tenochtitlan • Loot the city, level the temples and palaces, and fill in the rivers and canals

  36. Fall of the Aztec The Spanish then build Mexico City on the ruins of Tenochtitlan

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