Americas

  • Think about how trade was a form of movement

  • A story of the development of agriculture

    • Maize/corn and Cassava/manioc

  • Maize in mesoamerica

    • They developed the milpa system

    • Use corn as anchor because it is adaptable to environments and it matures quickly and stores well

    • They plant the corn alongside a lot of other food because corn by itslef is not enough it also encourages cross polliniation

  • Olmec civilization

    • domesticated dogs cultivated maize and had irrigation systems

    • Had big settlements with big towns and temples ( San lorenzo

    • Famous for jade artifacts

    • Don’t know exactly what happened to them

  • The mountain range causes microregions in close proximity to each other

    • Trade became super important

      • Chalcatzingo is the gateway to the islands to deposits of greenstone and serpentine

      • Trade causes movement of culture and mix of culture

      • Trade meant they coexist peacefully for the most part ( Zapotec, Teotihuacan, and maya for example)

      • Maya is a society of cities where different rulers rule certain parts

  • Teotihucan

    • A city with 200,000 people

    • Trade is important; they trade obsidian also not just food

    • They are not completely peaceful did like sacrifices( We found mass grave sites)

    • Evidence that there is a constant presence of Maya ( makes sense not to go to war because of the importance of trade)

    • Pyramid style of architecture was adopted by multiple cultures

  • Mayans

    • Poor soil with a tropical climate. Downpours and droughts happen

    • They built complex and extensive canals and irrigations chanels

    • Built raised fields and ditches ( learn how it’s built)

    • They grew crops with milpa system (milpa cycle)

  • the succes of mayans

    • Their techniques were used across a large region

    • Mayans are not one people; they are a culture with multiple languages

  • The serpent god Teotihuacan

    • Learn about this god and the story of Popol Vuh

    • man was created out of mud in the story didnt work

    • then the two gods try to make men out of wood and that didnt work

    • Then they tried to make them out of corn and this try was succesful so they think man was made out of corn

  • Trade and Religion was tied up tg

    • Gods of trade are gods of the underworld

    • God M and God L

  • Mayans dont have wheels becasue of their land type