Civilizations of Mesoamerica

Essential Questions

• Where and when did the first people settle the Americas?

• What were the main characteristics of the Olmec, Maya, Aztec, and Inca Civilizations?

• How did groups of people adapt their ways of life to live in the different geographic regions of the Americas?

The First People

• Probably between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago, the first people came to the Americas (which includes North and South America)

• Two possible theories:– During the last ice age, much of the oceans froze

and exposed a land bridge that connected Asia to Alaska, allowing people to cross

– People possibly migrated earlier by small boat

Settling and Adapting• The Americas are full of diverse environments that new settlers had

to either adapt to or leave– Deserts -- Mountains– Cold, barren tundras -- Rainforests

• Just as in the “Old World,” people in the Americas started out hunting and gathering but improved their lives when they domesticated plants and animals (agricultural or Neolithic revolution) between 8,500 BC and 2,000 BC– Common crops were beans, sweet potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, squash,

and maize (early corn)– Incas domesticated the llama to use it for its wool

• Farmers settled into villages between 3,000 BC and 1,500 BC• Great cities and civilizations in Mesoamerica (middle) and South

America then grew

Civilizations of Mesoamerica• Olmecs: The “Mother Culture” of Mesoamerica• 1,500 BC-400 BC• Somewhat of a mystery to archeologists; don’t know

where they came from or even what they called themselves

• Had a powerful class of priests and nobles• Created 14 giant stone heads (and moved them without

the help of animals or wheels)• Carved jade and other stone and traded with other areas• Created a calendar and used a form of hieroglyphic

writing

The Maya

• Civilization rose up on the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico• Were thriving and reached a golden age by 250 AD• Adapted to their environment by innovating farming

techniques (and then could produce enough food to support a large population)– Cutting down and burning forests, then using the land until

the nutrients were gone– Raising up fields higher than the flood waters would reach

• Developed individual city-states like Greece and Sumer rather than a powerful, united empire like Rome

Mayan Culture• Polytheistic belief system• Also believed that each person’s spirit was associated with

a particular animal• Built huge pyramids, temples, and palaces in the cities in

which the priests did rituals and kings/nobles were buried• Kept detailed records of rulers, events, and their scientific

(especially astronomy) discoveries by carving hieroglyphs in stone (later bark paper, though few of those examples survive)

• A ball game was popular that had ritual importance; the losing team was sacrificed to keep the sun and stars in motion

Decline of the Maya• The Maya abandoned many of their large, flourishing

cities by 900 AD• When the Spanish explorers arrived in the 1500s, most

of the Maya lived in small farming villages• No one knows for sure why this change occurred– Was there too much warfare?– Did exhaustion of the soil mean that farmers couldn’t support

the population?– Did chopping down the forests cause droughts?

• About 2 million Maya still live in Guatemala and Southern Mexico today