1200 B.C.E Southern Mexico
“Mother Civilization”
Cultivation and irrigation techniques, fine art, stone monuments, pictographs (first written language in Western Hemisphere)
150 C.E Guatemala
Conquered other kingdoms (first city-states) required tax but left to govern themselves
Pyramid, temples, palaces, complicated calendar system based on crops
Hierarchical
150 C.E Valley of Mexico
Teotihuacán carefully built in grid pattern: was religious and trading center.
Pyramid of the Sun (third largest pyramid in the word)
7th century Valley of Mexico
Took over as power declined due to food shortages (Toltecs returned before Aztecs)
Build island city Tenochtitlán in Lake Texcoco with
complex political, military, and religious bureaucracy
tax collectors, courts of justice, and mail service
Aztecs require humans from city-states for labor, sacrifices for political intimidation
Fine arts, massive stone statues, royal library with books documentary society
excavated silver from mines in the north,
worked on haciendas (large estates given to wealthy Spaniards by the Spanish crown),
transported goods across the country as porters,
built New Spain’s cities with the stone from indigenous buildings.
Culture mixed between indigenous, Spanish, and African creating new musical styles, dances, and cultural and religious practices.
Landowners adopted indigenous customs
The indigenous, after losing land, moved to the city and adopted Spanish customs.
Intermarriages also created new racial categories
Practices were merged and 90% of Mexicans now are Catholic
Provided education, manly for white males
Place to loan money in absence of banks
Gifts of money from elite allow church to own lots of land.
Voting rights
Representative Government
More money from New Spain
Instability
Disease killed 600,000
Mining, agriculture, and industry suffered
Wealthy peninsular and colonial administrators left taking money and skills.
Silver mines flooded and machinery was ruined.
No infrastructure like roads, bridges, and ports.