Section 1: Civilizations of Mesoamerica

1 Section 1: Civilizations of Mesoamerica Civilizations OF THE AMERICAS. PEOPLE SETTLE IN THE AMERICAS. People first migrated to the Americas sometime between 60,000 and 18,000 They may have crossed a land bridge into Alaska or come by boat. They domesticated plants and animals sometime between 8500 and 2000 By 3000 in South America and 1500 in Mesoamerica , farmers began settling in villages. CIVILIZATION ARISES WITH THE OLMECS. The earliest American civilization was that of the Olmecs along Mexico's Gulf Coast. This civilization arose in 1500 and influenced a wide area through trade. They invented a calendar and wrote with hieroglyphs. THE MAYA BUILD WIDESPREAD CIVILIZATION. By 300 , Mayan cities such as El Mirador were appearing. The cities were mostly independent, although some were more powerful than others and carried great influence.

2 Most Maya were farmers, who also worked on construction projects, Merchants, nobles, and rulers could grow rich through trade between city-states. CULTURAL LIFE OF THE MAYA. Maya culture included advances in the arts, writing, astronomy, and mathematics. Maya cities centered around stone temples and palaces with sculptures on many of the buildings. The Maya system of writing told their history and described astronomical events and the rituals that were timed by them. Maya priests developed a 365- day calendar and used the concept of zero in their numbering system. THE AZTEC EMPIRE FORMS IN MEXICO. Around 1200, nomadic peoples who spoke the same language began to settle in the Valley of Mexico. We call these tribes the Aztecs. They founded their capital, Tenochtitl n, on an island in Lake Texcoco.

3 They built floating gardens and created canals for transportation. The city was linked to the mainland by stone causeways. Aztec rule eventually spread across most of Mexico. AZTEC SOCIETY TAKES SHAPE. A single ruler reigned over the Aztec empire. Society had a class structure that valued nobles, priests, military leaders, and warriors. Traders became a powerful middle class, while farmers and slaves held the lowest status levels. Aztecs believed in many gods and performed human sacrifices in their honor. Aztec God of Death (picture). LOOKING AHEAD. Not all of the people who had been conquered by the Aztecs were happy to be part of the empire. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived, they found many ready allies among the native peoples