Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica Regionalization Era (Pre-Classic)

1150-900 BCE

common religious ideologies, production technologies, architecture, etc. spread across Mesoamerica

Olmec Civilization

Monumental architecture, rich religious ideology & deities, contributed to later Maya & Aztec (sites like San Lorenzo, La Venta)

Mesoamerica Integration Era (Classic Period)

250-700 AD

Early state-level complexity begins w/ Monte Alban; shared iconography & ideology

Corporate mode of organization

"group rule"

Network mode of organization

Individualistic leaders

Monte Alban, Oaxaca, Mexico

500 BCE - 700 AD Major urban center; increasingly network-oriented (palaces, elaborate tombs)

Teotihuacan State

Important ritual & trade center w/ pyramidal mounds (Pyramid of the Sun); corporate mode after 200 AD; decentralization after ~550 AD

Maya State

Network mode, writing essential to elite rule

Tikal: largest Classic Maya site; trade center w/ Teotihuacan talud-tablero architecture, cyclical warfare