MESOAMERICA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MAYAN ACHIEVEMENTS

• Sophisticated mathematics– Understood concept

of zero– Developed “place-

value” system

• Developed elaborate but accurate calendar

• Literate but little of their writing survives

COLLAPSE OF MAYAN STATES

• Mayan states collapsed around 900 AD– Perhaps due to

natural catastrophe

• Left behind impressive ruins, achievements in sciences, and language

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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