Mesoamerican Prehistory Review Unit 1

Name two modern countries included in the Mesoamerican region.

Mexico (central and southern states); Belize; Guatemala; El Salvador; Honduras (western regions); Nicaragua (parts); Costa Rica (parts)

True or false: The domestication of maize took thousands of years.

True – began around 10,000 years ago, but first agricultural villages don’t show up until ca. 1500 BCE

What were the two main centers of Olmec civilization?

San Lorenzo and La Venta

Which of these does not belong? San José Mogote, Veracruz, Zapotec, Oaxaca, Monte Albán

Veracruz – the rest are linked to Zapotec origins and culture

Where did the names Avenue of the Dead, Pyramid of the Sun, and Pyramid of the Moon come from?

The Aztec gave these names to Teotihuacan’s monuments

Mesoamerican societies share an agricultural and belief system based in what plant?

Maize – the staple food as well as the foundation for Mesoamerican ideas about the nature of being

What is Hoyo Negro and what was found there?

Hoyo Negro = flooded caves in Quintana Roo, Mexico; findings include Naia (teenage Paleoamerican skeleton) and remains of 26+ large mammals including a saber-toothed tiger

What was the environmental setting of the Olmec culture?

Low-lying riverine and estuarine zones in Veracruz and Tabasco; high dependence on aquatic resources

What site was San José Mogote’s main rival?

San Martin Tilcajete

What was the relationship between Teotihuacan and Monte Albán like?

Peaceful diplomacy; exchanged goods/gifts; ambassadors (e.g., Lápida de Bazán); Zapotec barrio in Teotihuacan shows cultural exchange

Describe some of the shared principles of Mesoamerican site planning.

Framed by four directions; ritual buildings (ball courts, temples, observatories); embedded cosmological order

Describe what life was like for Archaic Mesoamericans.

Mobile hunter-gatherer-foragers experimenting with agriculture; dry season = small family groups in caves/camps, plant collection, hunting; wet season = large camps, rituals (dancing, cannibalism, sacrifice, courtship); seasonal mobility

What are werejaguars?

Divine human-jaguar hybrids in Olmec art with almond eyes, downturned mouth, cleft forehead

Give an example of a marker of social inequality in San José Mogote.

Restricted public buildings; earth/sky pottery iconography; jadeite earlobe; iron ore mirrors

What was found inside the Ciudadela at Teotihuacan?

Temple of the Feathered Serpent with ~200 sacrificial burials, some identified as warriors with trophies (human teeth/jaws)

What are the recognized chronological periods in Mesoamerican archaeology?

Archaic; Formative (Preclassic); Classic; Postclassic; Colonial

How did Mesoamericans transform wild teosinte into domesticated maize?

Repeated selection for traits: tougher rachis (cob), soft seeds, double rows, starch mutation for tortillas → permanent genetic change, fully reliant on humans

What is the significance of babies in Olmec art?

Symbol of lineage, rebirth, and ties to maize; recurring motif in Olmec art

What activities do archaeologists think occurred in the men’s houses of San José Mogote?

Ritual drug use (tobacco + lime, hallucinogens), raid planning, ceremonies

Name three crafts/goods produced in the workshops of Teotihuacan apartment compounds.

Examples: pottery, textiles, obsidian tools, figurines, basketry, cosmetics, lapidary/shell work, rabbit breeding, possible pulque production

Name two elements of Mesoamerican "high culture."

Elite nobility with exclusive practices; valuable materials (jade, feathers, textiles); writing, astronomy, calendars; dynastic histories

What do Naia’s teeth tell us about her life, diet, and health?

She had periodontal disease; little wear (soft food diet like fruit/honey); possible meat; chipped front teeth used as tools; evidence of pregnancy late in life

What do the colossal heads tell us about Olmec society?

Two interpretations: rulers with control over resources, or cooperative projects symbolizing ancestors/heroes tied to shared religion

What does Monument 3 depict and why is it significant?

Depicts a captive’s corpse with heart removed + glyph (early writing); commemorates chiefly rival’s sacrifice; linked to Zapotec state formation before Monte Albán (580–510 BCE)

Describe Teotihuacan’s apartment compounds.

Multifamily units (2000+); private family rooms with shared spaces; social practices tied residents to state (rituals, burials, crafts, ethnic identity, kinship)