12.38 – 12.39 Mesoamerican Civilizations I & II

Mesoamerica

• City states remain important through the entire period and common cultural remain important during the entire period 

• Definition: Historical region in a cultural area that we identify as taking up present day countries of central America & much of Mexico prior to Spanish colonization in the 1500s 

• Civilizations: Indigenous or holy roman cultures prior to European conquests 

What effected how Mesoamerican civilization evolved: 

• Not having domesticated animals 

• The wheel was invented – used for easier traveling with things (wagon wheel) 

Olmec civilization

• Time of the rise of chariots kingdoms & Shang Dynasty (1500 BCE) 

• First complex society in Mesoamerica 

• Mysteriously decline around 500 BCE 

• What came after is important – later Mesoamerican cultural grow out from them  

  • They were either an ancient mother culture or one of the ancient sister cultures 

city-state 

• Definition: A political organization based on the authority of a single large city that control outline territories; very competitive with each other 

• Lived in scattered farm developments that turned into city states 

• In Mesoamerica city states were a common form of social and political organizations 

Valley of Mexico 

• Fertile region in central Mexico 

• Largest city states tended to develop here 

Teotihuacán 

• First major community to emerge after the Olmecs; city state 

• 100-200,000 residents 

• Pyramid of the Sun & Pyramid of the Moon, Temple of the Feather Serpent, Street of the Death 

• We actually don’t know how the city state was ruled

• Able to use military to expand over the whole valley of Mexico 

• How does it connect people: socially and politically  

  • Entire valley of Mexico under control of one city 

  • Cultural and economic influence went beyond the valley 

 

Common Culture: Mayans (250 – 800 CE) 

• Trade with Teotihuacán 

• Based somethings off of the Olmec cultural 

Mayans 

• Shared a Mayan language 

• Lived in agrarian societies 

Yucatán peninsula 

Where the Mayans developed 

Political and social structure 

• K'uhul ajaw = king 

  • If you wanted to communicate with the gods this is who does it 

• Great Plaza of Tikal (Guatemala) 

• Cities being sprawling, open spaces (used to grow food), very green area 

• Pyramid like: 

  • Nobility 10-15% of Mayan society 

    • Warriors, artists, royal family, writers 

Writing, mathematics, architecture 

• Glyphic script 

  • Mayan writing 

  • Class of scribes who trained to write for the civilizations communication with others 

  • Developed to record dates to make calendars (used math and astronomy to make) 

  • Used dates to predict the future and keep track of events that occurred 

  • Wrote books 

• Built architecture 

  • Flat top pyramids 

Ex/ ballcourts 

• The Great Ballcourt of Chichen Itza 

• Teams had 1-7 players 

• Had to hit ball with your hip 

• Games took place at important moments 

• The courts were huge  

• Games were tied to rituals in the Mayan calendar & culture 

Aztecs 

• Start out as migrate people, came from the north to valley of Mexico 

• Around 13^th century CE arrive in Mexico 

• Created the island city of Tenochtitlan 

• 1430 CE – 3 city league formed, expanded through the valley 

Valley of Mexico (aztecs)

Largest city-states of Mesoamerica 

Aztec empire (tribute system & military)

• Tied to culture 

• Dominated because of military ability, but actually they had a tribute system 

  • Key to keeping the empire together 

  • Send people or goods to a greater power 

  • Aztecs would force people to pay tribute  

• Elites would reinforce other elites in the empire 

• Common elite culture across the aztec empire 

• Military was used to conquer 

• Nobility: warrior class (elite) 

  • Trained as a boy 

  • Don’t use iron weapons 

  • Called upon as needed 

  • Warfare was a big part of their culture 

Huitzilopochtli (sun god) 

• His act was to kill his sister and 400 other siblings 

• Patton god of the Aztecs 

• To keep burning he needed offerings of human hearts & blood 

• Ramp up these practices, constants military campaigns to provide bodies for human sacrifices  

Flowery wars 

• Warfare was highly ritualized

• Aztecs ramp up this practice which creates pressure

• Campaigns that were undertaken just for captured people to be sacrificed

• Called this because the warriors would be decorated in elaborate decorations

• All done to obtains sacrificed warriors

Afro-Eurasia to Mesoamerica: 

• Similarities

• Diverse cultures 

• Cultural influences 

• Powerful political  

Afro-Eurasia to Mesoamerica:

• differences

• Lack of large animals in Mesoamerica 

• Limited transportation 

• Armies 

• Size of trading networks 

• Uses of technologies 

• Impacts on disease, people were less exposed to other 

• Without horses 

• No pastoral nomads to pass along