STS MESO

• What does Mesoamerica mean?

  Meso = middle

  America = North and South America
• Where is it located?

  Mesoamerica is the region that is now Mexico and Central America.
• Mesoamerica includes the Region in North America and central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras El Salvador, and northern Costa Rica
• Within this region pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries where they caused mass genocide of the people there
• 4 CIVILIZATIONS - Olmec, Maya, Aztec & Incan
• Olmec - 1200 B.C. – 600 A.D.

  First known civilization to form in Central and Latin America.
• Maya 250 A.D. – 900 A.D.

  Developed in what is now called the Yucatan Peninsula.
• Aztec 1200 A.D. – 1521 A.D.

  Built their capital on what is now Mexico City.
• Inca 1438 A.D. – 1533 A.D.

  Developed in the Andes Mountains in what is now Peru.
• Mesoamerican Contribution to Science and Technology

  ▪ Calendars

  ▪ Mathematics

  ▪ Architectural Wonders

  ▪ Agriculture

  ▪ Engineering/Hydrology

  ▪ Chocolates

  ▪ Medicine
• Both the Maya and the Aztecs were influenced by the Olmec civilization, the earliest known civilization in Mesoamerica.
• The Olmec are known for the immense stone heads they carved from a volcanic rock called basalt. Archaeological evidence also suggests that they originated the Mesoamerican practices of the Mesoamerican Ballgame—a popular game in the pre-Columbian Americas played with balls made from solid rubber—and that they may have practiced ritual bloodletting.
• Olmec prosperity was initially based on exploiting the fertile and well-watered coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico to grow such crops as corn and beans (often twice-yearly) which allowed for an agricultural surplus
• By c. 1200 BCE significant urban centers developed at San Lorenzo (the earliest), La Venta, Laguna de los Cerros, Tres Zapotes and Las Limas.
• San Lorenzo reached its peak of prosperity and influence between 1200 and 900 BCE when its strategic position safe from

  flooding allowed it to control local trade.
• The three sites of San Lorenzo, La Venta and Laguna de los Cerros all had a bilateral symmetry in their planning
• La Venta the first pyramid in Mesoamerica was constructed.
• Typical Olmec trade goods included obsidian, jade, serpentine, mica, rubber, pottery, feathers and polished mirrors of ilmenite and magnetite.
• Trading helped the Olmec build their urban centers of San Lorenzo and La Venta. These cities, however, were used predominantly for ceremonial purposes and elite activity; most people lived in small villages.
• 8 OLMEC DEITIES

  The Olmec Dragon

  The Bird Monster

  The Fish Monster

  The Banded-eye God

  The Maize God

  The Water God

  The Were-jaguar

  The Feathered Serpent
• The Olmec culture was defined and unified by a specific art style. Crafted in a variety of materials—jade, clay, basalt, and greenstone.
• The Olmec brought these boulders from the Sierra de los Tuxtlas mountains of Veracruz.
• The Olmec are considered a “cultural hearth” by historians
• The Olmec population declined sharply between 400 and 350 BCE