MESOAMERICA

1. MESOAMERICA

2. MOST LIKELY THEORY • First Americans originated in Gobi Desert • Some migrated to Siberia around 15,000 years ago • Crossed Bering Strait in Alaska • Land bridge probably existed at the time • Gradually dispersed throughout North and South America

3. NEW THEORY • Ancestors of modern Native Americans originated in Europe • Ice Age extended shorelines of North America, Europe, and Greenland far into the Atlantic • Prehistoric people traveled along shoreline hunting and crossed over • Settled here and gradually dispersed through hemisphere • Exterminated by Central Asian immigrants who came later

4. EMERGENCE OF INDIAN CIVILIZATION • Indians developed different cultures depending on the ecology of the region where they settled • Some developed true civilizations • Those in southern Mexico, northern Central America, and the Andes Mountains in Peru

5. OLMEC CIVILIZATION • Appeared around 1200 BCE • In swampy region along the Gulf of Mexico near modern-day Vera Cruz • Not in a river valley • Three major cities • San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Très Zapotes

6. OLMEC ACHIEVEMENTS • Talented engineers and architects • Built underground sewer system at San Lorenzo • Built pyramids and palaces from stone • Also carved giant stone heads • Largest is 9 feet tall and weighs 15 tons • No one knows their exact function • Also developed a writing system and a system to record calendar dates

7. OLMEC RELIGION • Polytheistic • Most important god portrayed as half man/half jaguar • Believed that certain people could turn into jaguars at will • Variation of the “were-wolf” myth

8. TEOTIHUACÁN • Olmec civilization faded around 900 BCE but influenced later civilizations • Teotihuacán • 200-700 AD • Giant city containing 200,000 people • Two giant pyramids • Pyramid of the Sun • Pyramid of the Moon • Hundreds of other buildings

9. MAYANS • Located in Yucatan, Honduras, and Guatemala • 300-900 AD • Sophisticated agriculture • Two to three harvests a year • Supported population of 2 million people • Divided into a number of small states • Never a single united state

10. MAYAN CITIES • Semi-urban people • Built huge ceremonial centers that resembled cities • Contained pyramids, plazas, wide streets • Only used during religious celebrations • Most Mayans lived in small villages that surrounded centers • Moved to centers for celebration and then returned to their villages when it was over

11. MAYAN RELIGION • Extraordinarily complex • Chief god was Itzamná • Creator of human beings and inventor of art and science • Countless other gods below him • 13 levels of heaven and 9 levels of hell

12. MAYAN ACHIEVEMENTS • Sophisticated mathematics • Understood concept of zero • Developed “place-value” system • Developed elaborate but accurate calendar • Literate but little of their writing survives

13. COLLAPSE OF MAYAN STATES • Mayan states collapsed around 900 AD • Perhaps due to natural catastrophe • Left behind impressive ruins, achievements in sciences, and language

14. TOLTECS • Moved into southern Mexico from north around time of Mayan collapse • Took over and expanded Mayan centers • Built capital city of Tula using Mayan architectural and construction techniques

15. MORE ON TOLTECS • Developed impressive metal-working industry • Specialized in jewelry • Established trade network which stretched into northern South America • Civilization flourished for around 100 years • Empire eventually fragmented into small states, constantly fighting among themselves

16. THE AZTECS ARRIVE • Also known as Mexicas • Originally a nomadic tribe from north • Looking for “promised land” • Found it in 1325 AD on island in middle of Lake Texcoco in central Mexico • Built capital city on island • Tenochtitlán

17. RISE OF THE AZTECS • Rich mud of island home ideally suited for agriculture • Produced abundant crops • Standard of living increased dramatically • Were in high demand as mercenaries in wars between post-Toltec states • Rose rapidly • Stepped into power vacuum and took over much of central and coastal Mexico and northern Central America

18. TENOCHTITLÁN • Grew wealthy from tribute from conquered territory • Turned city into magnificent place • Canals served as arteries of transportation • Aqueduct system for fresh water and sophisticated waste removal system • Huge temples and places • Brightly colored art

19. AZTEC RELIGION • Two sets of gods • Nature gods • Worshipped by farmers • Had shape of the item the god controlled • Great gods of state • Usually portrayed as half human/half animal or as monster • Chief god was Huitzilopochtli • God of the sun

20. HUMAN SACRIFICE • Believed that the world had passed through four previous stages (“suns”) • Each one destroyed by catastrophe • To prevent destruction of fifth “sun”, Huitzilopochtli had to be appeased • By feeding him human hearts • Aztecs therefore sacrificed victims by ripping out their hearts and holding them up for Huitzilopochtli to symbolically eat

21. HOW OFTEN DID THEY DO IT? • Spanish claimed that sacrifice was performed on a daily basis and that thousands were sacrificed on religious holidays • Historians have used this information to argue that it was the need to get victims that motivated Aztec conquests and their harsh legal code • Others claim Spanish exaggerated number of sacrifices to justify their conquest and destruction of Aztec civilization

22. END OF THE AZTECS • Spanish conquistador, Hernando Cortez, destroyed Aztec civilization in 1519 • Very tragic act • Wiped out a rich and vigorous culture off the face of the map • Enormous loss to all civilized human beings