Mesoamerica

• Mesoamerica was a pre-Spanish (pre-Columbian) cultural region in the present Central and South America, one of the cradles of civilization
• Contributions of Mesoamerican civilizations


  • Development of complex societies, cities, astronomy, agriculture, Math, writing system, calendrical systems and Stone Age technology
• Mesoamerican civilizations


  • Maya
  • Aztec
  • Inca
• Native Americans experienced their own Neolithic Revolution and several complex civilizations emerged in Mesoamerica (called pre-Columbian civilizations)
• These civilizations did not emerge in river valley, but in warm and humid rain forests, supported by farming corn and used creative farming techniques adapted to their environments
• Present-day countries of Mesoamerica

  • Mexico
  • Belize
  • Guatemala
  • El Salvador
  • Honduras
• Contributions of Mesoamerican civilizations

  • Writing
  • Astronomy
  • Agriculture - method of shifting cultivation to produce staples such as maize, beans, squashes
  • Domestication of dogs - for hunting
  • Engineering - Stonemasons and plasterers which utilizes stones, firebricks, volcanic tuffs
• The Maya


  400 BC to about 900 CE (AD)
• What the Mayans looked like

  • Short with straight, black hair, painted bodies, tattoos, crossed eyes, flattened foreheads
• Maya cities


  • They did not have metal tools - they used stone, bone, and wood tools to build hundreds of magnificent cities
  • Cities were centers of religion and learning - they studied art, mathematics, architecture, medicine, and music
  • Every Maya city had a palace for its ruler, a marketplace, an open-air plaza, at least one huge pyramid, a large temple, and one pok-a-tok ball court
  • People came to town to shop, to worship, and to watch ball games
• Two of the largest Maya cities

  • Tikal (in Guatemala, population around 50,000)
  • Copan (in Honduras)
• Accomplishments of the Mayans

  • Developed system of mathematics & number system
  • Created accurate calendar with 365 days that could accurately predict eclipses & finding the day of the week many thousands of years in the past or future
  • Had exact knowledge of phases of the moon & cycle of Venus
  • Developed hieroglyphic-style writing to record astronomical observations, calendar, calculations, & historical information
• Maya number system


  The Maya invented the idea of the number zero, which made their calendar accurate
• Mayan calendars


  • One was sacred (religious), the other was for planning
  • The Mayan Calendar had a solar year of 365 days, divided into 18 months of 20 days each, followed by a five-day period that was highly unlucky
• Maya religion


  • They worshipped the gods of nature, such as the god of Rain, god of Maize, and the god of Sun
  • They believed that without the help of these important gods, there would be no crops and everyone would starve
  • To get help from the gods, the Maya fasted, prayed, and offered sacrifices, mostly animals but occasionally human sacrifices
  • The Maya had many religious ceremonies, performed by priests, on top of the pyramids
  • Priests were the most powerful people in the Maya civilization, deciding when to plant crops and when people could marry
• The legend of mirrors

  The Maya believed that one could communicate with a god by looking into a mirror, and warriors going into battle wore mirrors on their backs to protect themselves
• Around 800 CE the Maya began to abandon their cities and their population declined, for reasons that are still a mystery, possibly due to food shortages, disease, or wars
• Aspects of Mayan civilization

  • Polytheistic rituals
  • Treated all people, objects, and animals with dignity
  • Made sacrifices to gods
  • Stepped pyramids
  • 2 calendars: 260 day & 365 day
  • Math and number system
  • Astronomical calendar with phases of moon
  • Art
  • Architecture - pyramid building
  • Pok a Tok ball game
  • Rulers, nobles, priests, merchants, artisans, peasants, slaves
  • Good farmers of corn/maize, using slash and burn style
  • Chocolate
  • City-states run by one ruler
  • Fully developed writing system of glyphs and symbols
  • Wrote books called Codex made of bark paper and folded like an accordion
• The Aztec tribe lived in ancient Mexico for about 400 years, and for the first 200 years were constantly on the move as no one wanted them as neighbors
• The Aztecs practiced human sacrifice, believing that if their gods were not fed, they would not do their jobs and the sun god would not bring up the sun, causing everyone to die
• The Aztec tribe lived in southern Mexico from about 900 CE (AD) to 1521, settling in the Valley of Mexico on the swampy shores of Lake Texcoco and on a small island in the lake, naming this place Tenochtitlan which became the capital of their civilization
• Tenochtitlan


  • Had broad avenues, beautiful plazas, markets, temples, and palaces
• Aztec schools


  • The Aztecs set up a system of public schools to train engineers, builders, and other specialists
  • All Aztec children went to school where they learned Aztec history, religion, and a specialized profession
• Aztec social classes


  • Upper class "Pipiltin" - King, nobility, warriors, priests
  • Commoners "Mayeques" - Peasants/Slaves
  • Lower class "Tlacotin"
• Aztec girls' school


  • Girls learned about religion and were trained to be good wives and mothers, learning how to cook, sew, care for children, and make beautiful woven textiles
• Aztec nobles' school


  • Sons of the upper class and wealthy traders/merchants studied law, writing (hieroglyphics), medicine, engineering and building, interpretation of dreams and omens, and self-expression, as well as history and religious beliefs. It was a tough school that humiliated and tormented the boys to toughen them up.
• Aztec commoners' school


  • Trained warriors and farmers, also teaching history, religion, manners, correct behavior, important rituals, singing and dancing
• Aztec children were trained to be specialists in areas like farming, trading, engineering, building, astronomy, and medicine
• Aztec life and farming

  • At first life was hard on the swampy land, but the Aztec gradually built up the city, building causeways and bridges to connect the island to the mainland
  • To grow more food, the Aztec built chinampas - "floating" gardens built on rafts anchored to the lake bed, growing crops like chili peppers, squash, corn, tomatoes, and beans
• Aztec religion


  • They believed human sacrifice was necessary to feed their gods, including the sun god Huitzilopochtli, and that if the gods were not fed they would not do their jobs
• War was an important part of Aztec life, as they conquered over 400 cities in Mexico, often using prisoners as slaves or human sacrifices
• In 1521, Spanish conquistadors and their Native American partners defeated the Aztec and ended their empire, destroying Tenochtitlan and building Mexico City on top of the ruins
• Aspects of Aztec civilization

  • Polytheistic
  • Made human sacrifices to feed their gods
  • Skilled craftsmen
  • Skilled traders
  • Art, music, and poetry (song)
  • Schools
  • Built causeways
  • Mix of different tribes in Mesoamerica with similar language
  • Great warriors
  • Played Tlachtli (pok-a-tok) ball game, with losers put to death
  • Skilled farmers of corn, beans, tomatoes, chili peppers, squash
  • Built Chinampas
  • Settled in Valley of Mexico
  • Triple Alliance cities of Texacoco, Tenochtitlan, Tlacopan
  • King Moctezuma II welcomed Cortez
  • Common language is Nahuatl
  • Wrote in hieroglyphics, made Codex books
• The Incas were a small tribe of South American Indians who lived in the city of Cuzco, high in the Andes Mountains of Peru, and around 1400 CE began expanding into an empire that covered much of modern-day Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina
• Inca government


  • Had a strong central government where everybody worked for the state and the state looked after everybody
  • The Sapa Inca (head of government) was all-powerful and ruled by putting his relatives in positions of power
  • Punishment was harsh and swift, so almost no one broke the law
  • The common people had no freedom, with the law dictating where they should work and when, and local officials having power over their lives
• Inca service tax


  Common people had to pay a tax each year in physical labor - serving in the army, working in the mines, or building roads, temples, and palaces
• Inca geography


  • The empire had three main geographical regions - the Andes Mountains, the Amazon jungle, and the coastal desert - each a natural barrier that helped the Incas expand rapidly
• Famous Inca city


  • Machu Picchu
• Andes Mountains


  • The snow-capped Andes run north to south with sharp peaks and deep gorges, which the Incas crossed with bridges made of rope, reed boats, and vines
• Inca roads


  • They connected their empire with 14,000 miles of well-built roads, some over 24 feet wide and even paved, with stone walls along steep sections to prevent falls
  • The roads belonged to the government and required special permission to travel