Mesoamerica Lecture Notes

Flashcards generated from lecture notes on Mesoamerica, covering key concepts, sites, and figures.

Where is Mesoamerica located?

Central Mexico, the Gulf Coast, and the Maya areas.

Name some of the groups of people who lived in Mesoamerica.

Mayans, Olmec, and Teotihuacan.

What resources were important in Mesoamerica?

Jade, feathers, cotton, and shells.

What were Mesoamerican resources used for?

Rituals, trade, and political economy.

How did the shape of ball courts vary in Mesoamerica?

Varies depending on the culture; I-shape in Maya and Mexica, oval-shaped in Hohokam.

Where is the furthest north ball court located?

Northern Arizona.

What does a female figurine holding a mirror represent in La Venta?

Represents she is an important individual.

What is La Venta?

Olmec site and sacred place.

What does Offering 4 in La Venta consist of?

Basalt figurines with a jade-referenced center, arranged in a circle.

What do cap headdresses on Olmec heads symbolize?

Leadershio.

What are Chalchihuitl?

Stone or jadeite figurines, some with caps.

What does a celt represent in Mesoamerican symbolism?

Represents pillars and corn, symbolizing fertility.

What does the Kunz Axe represent?

Looks like a baby and represents a deity.

What is Arroyo Pesquero?

A point where saltwater and freshwater come together.

What is depicted on the incised celt found in Arroyo Pesquero?

An elite leader holding a rain god, with 4 directions on the corners representing the axis mundi (cusco).

What does the Las Limas figurine depict?

Shows an Olmec rain deity being cared for by a male figure.

According to Las Limas figurine what are human responsibilities?

Humans responsibility is to care for the rain deity.

What is Monument 9?

Represents the earth deity who the leader of Chalcatzingo has to care for.

What is Lidar?

Uses lasers to measure distances and create detailed 3D maps.

What do the San Bartolo Murals describe?

Tell the story of the creation of the world according to the Mayan mythology

What is Corbel Vault?

A way to make framework lean against another.

What is Tikal?

A site located in what is now Guatemala.

What are the carved stone monuments in Tikal called?

Stelas.

What is the Maize God connected to?

Mythical fish.

Who is Lady K'abal Xok (Lady Xoc)?

Shield's Jaguar's wife.

What is Lady Xoc giving Shield Jaguar on a lintel seen as?

Political dynasty.

Who was Shield Jaguar the 4th?

Last ruler in Yaxchilan.

What is Structure 23 known as?

The Queen's Temple.

What did the lintels in the Queen's temples consist of?

Each lintel has significant years and the scenes feature a shield jaguar and his wife

What is Dos Pilas?

A staircase at a temple Dos pilas in Calakmul.

Who was the Calakmul dynasty fighting with?

Was in conflict with Tikal.

Name structures found in Teotihuacan?

Temple of the feathered serpent, the pyramids of the sun and moon, burials and the architecture style called “talued- tablero”.

Why was Teotihuacan considered to be an urban city?

The marketplace, apartments, and temples were planned to be constructed.

Who archaeolgists found living in apartment complexes?

People from Oaxaca were living in apartment complexes that followed a strict structure.

Who is Tlaloc?

The god of storms seen wearing teo goggles

What is Tenochtitlan known as?

Located in Northern Mexico, the largest city in the world.

What is the Florentine Codex?

An Aztec book or codices with information not destroyed by the Spanish.

What is Uto-Aztecan Language family?

Family language southwest to mesoamerica.

What does Ancestral Puebloan consist of?

It includes Hohokam, Mogollon, Pataya, and Sinagua.

Give examples of Ballcourt shapes and what traditions they are found in.

I-Shape courts could be found in the Maya and Mexica tradition. Oval-shaped court balls would be found in the Hohokam tradition.

What is Kiva?

Great Kiva are ceremonial features of Chaco sites and they are circular structures below the surface.

What is Cacao used for?

A long tradition as ritual beverage in Mesoamerica and eventually a caffeinated beverage.

What is Macaw?

Are native to southern Mexico and northern South America and they are valued birds often referenced in murals and ceramics.

Feather Work was used a…

Thank you present sent to the pope

What consists of Mostly feathers and gold including quetzal, humming and macaw?

The Feather Mosaic

What are Casas Grandes?

Located in New Mexico and they are known for their great houses from the Ancestral Puebloan tradition.

Shell beads acted as…

Acted as trade currency between the southwest and chumash.

What are Tomols?

Canoes used by the Chumash community.

Basketry would either twine for materials and coil for materials.

Dry materials; beverages

Maya Calendar system is 365 days long and depicts the passage of time and seasons of the solar year…

It is short with only 13 number and 20 day signs.

Ceremonial objects are considered to be..

Ceremonial celts that were carved by the olmec, in the form of greenstone figures.

What is a portable object

A celt made of jadeite and it depicts an elite leader holding a rain god with 4 directions on the corners to represent the axis mundi.

What part of the world is Chalcatzingo located in?

Mexico

What represented references to sacred caves

Caves were seen and liminal spaces where rulers would connect.

What objects were found in Topoxte?

Cite was an important maya city where objects like the Losaic god of death, mosaic of bird and Hu’unal objects or portable objects were found.

Hu’unal…

Headdress ornament

Structure 20 consisted of….

lintel 15,16 and 17 that tells us the story of when shield jaguar and his wife prepared for his.

Chik Nahb Complex Murals, Calakmul

ancient Mayan mural paintings found within a substructure of Building 1 on the acropolis.

These murals offer a unique glimpse into….

daily life in the Mayan city

Who shares an appearance of a figure holding a spear and owl-like features

Spearthrower Owl was a ruler of Teotihuacan

The arrival of Sihyaj K’ahk’ is….

Seen as a time of increased cultural exchange and influence from Teotihuacan in the Maya region

Who is Yax Nuun Ayiin?

Son of Spearthrower owl and becomes the new king of Tikal.

Who is Siyaj Chan K’awil?

Grandson of Spearthrower owl

Stela 31 depicts?

Yax Nuun Ayiin dressed as a teo warrior

Stela 32 shows?

representation of Tlaloc

K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo

founder and first ruler, kʼul ajaw, of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization polity centered at Copán

the Talud-Tablero style involves?

a sloping wall (talud) supporting a rectangular panel or structure (tablero).

Quetzallãpanecayōtl is known as a?

headdress made of quetzal feathers.

Kopili Ketzalli is the aztec name of the Moctezuma's what?

headdress made of quetzal feathers

Pictographs?

a pictorial symbol for a word or phrase

What does mexica mean?

Means aztec

Tenochitilan, Talcopan and Texaco made up what?

Aztec Empire

what is the primary language spoken by the Nahua?

Nahuatl language

What did Huitzilopochti represent?

Patron deity who migrated from Aztlan and chicomoztoc and this is depicted in pictography and is known as the sun god

Coatlicue also known as?

Snakes her skirt

Who is Coyolxauhqui?

She who has facial painting with bells

Where did the Aztec practice their religion?

The aztec templo Mayor was the main temple for the mexica people. Huitzilopochtli, the sun and war god, and other celestial bodies. Coatlicue was also associated with childbirth, fertility, and the cyclical nature of life and death.

Where is Paquime located?

A city that is located in northern Mexico.

What is located in the Copan

Site in what is now honduras