Chapter

11
Early Mesoamerican
Civiliza6ons

Landforms of Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica, or Middle America, is located
between present-day United States and
South America.
Mesoamerica includes the present-day
countries of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala,
Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa
Rica, and Panama.
The Yucatan Peninsula in Mesoamerica
divides the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of
Mexico.
More than a dozen volcanoes are ac6ve in
Mesoamerica.
Craters of inac6ve volcanoes have lled
with water to form highland lakes.
WATCH Lonely Planet Yucatan Peninsula

Climate and Vegeta4on

Much of Mesoamerica is located between
the Tropic of Cancer at about 23 degree
north la6tude and Tropic of Capricorn at
about 23 degree south la6tude.

Between the Tropic of Cancer and
Capricorn the climate is hot and wet
(about 80 degree Fahrenheit and 80
inches of rain every year).
There are rain forest between the tropics
because of the heat and moisture.
The northern part of Mesoamerica is
mostly desert because it is hot and dry.
LABEL 1) Prime Meridian, 2) Equator, 3)
Tropic of Cancer, and 4) Tropic of Capricorn

Eleva4on and Climate in Central

America
Eleva4on is the height of the land above sea
level. The higher the eleva6on, the cooler the
climate (3.5 degrees Fahrenheit for every
1,000 feet).
Tierra Helada (Very Cold Land) 4,000 feet
eleva6on animal grazing

Tierra Fria (Cold Land) 3,000 feet eleva6on
wheat, potatoes
Tierra Emplada (Temperate Land) 2,000
feet eleva6on corn, beans, squash,
co\on, coee
Tierra Caliente (Hot Land) 1,000 feet
eleva6on - cacao, bananas, sugar cane

Geography Shapes Mesoamerican Life

Jade and obsidian were found in the
mountains of Mesoamerica, and were used
to make jewelry.
Seashells and sharks teeth from the coastal
regions were used to make jewelry.
Feathers from the quetzal were used to
decorate clothing.
Farmers would cut down trees and burn the
trees to use the ashes to fer6lize the soil, a
method called slash-and-burn agriculture.
Mesoamericans grew maize (a type of
corn), beans, peppers, squash, and cacao.
WATCH Na6onal Geographic Mayan Pyramids

Chichen Itza Ques4ons

1) Chichen Itza was built in the ________ Peninsula.
Chichn Itz fue construido en la Pennsula.
2) What was thrown in the wells as a sacrice to the rain god Chaac?
Qu fue arrojado en los pozos como un sacricio al dios de la lluvia Chaac?
3) From what building did the Mayan watch and study the stars (astronomy)?
De qu edicio los mayas observaron y estudiaron las estrellas (astronoma)?
4) What did the Spanish call the pyramid?
Qu llamaban los espaoles a la pirmide?
5) How many total steps to the top of the pyramid?
Cuntos escalones totales a la parte superior de la pirmide?
6) What happens during the spring and autumn equinox?
Qu sucede durante el equinoccio de primavera y otoo?
7) What happens to the losing team of the ball game (pok-a-tok)?
Qu sucede con el equipo perdedor del juego de pelota (pok-a-tok)?
8) Why did the people of Chichen Itza abandon the city for the jungle?
8) DISCUTIR Por qu la gente de Chichn Itz abandon la ciudad por la selva?

Olmec Civiliza4on
About 3,000 years ago a group of people
called the Olmec lived near the Gulf of Mexico.
The area where the Olmec lived received a lot
of rain, and the rivers would onen ood.
The oodwaters len behind a layer of alluvial
soil on the land near the rivers, which helped
crops grow.
With a steady food supply the popula6on of
the Olmec people increased, and villages grew
into ci6es.
San Lorenzo and La Venta were important
ci6es for religion and trade to Olmec.
DISCUSS How and why did the Olmec made the
huge stone heads?

Olmec Culture

Olmec made the head statues with basalt, a kind of

volcanic rock.

Olmec traded precious stones, iron ore, and obsidian.

The Olmec used an early form of glyph wri6ng to

record events, dates, and tell stories.

The Olmec studied astronomy, and developed an

accurate calendar.

The Olmec were polytheists, and the chief god was the
jaguar.

At around 500 B.C.E., the Olmec began to abandon

their ci6es.

Olmec is considered the mother culture for

Mesoamerica, which strongly inuenced later cultures.

DISCUSS How bad do you want to be successful???

The Mayan Civiliza4on

The Mayan civiliza6on dates back to 2000 B.C.E.
At around 1500 B.C.E. the Mayan began to
establish village in the highlands and lowlands.
The Mayans were located in fer6le lands in what is
today Guatemala, Belize, and the Yucatan
Peninsula.
In the fer6le lands the Mayans were able to grow
more food, and the popula6on of the Mayans
increased.
With a food surplus the Mayans could do jobs other
than farming.
Mayans grew maize, beans, squash, chili peppers,
avocados, pineapples, and cacao
WATCH Tikal Mayan City and Discovering Mayan
Culture

Mayan Farming Techniques

The Mayan Life

Mayan had 4 social classes:

1) Ruling class were the kings and their families.
The kings performed the religious du6es of
priests.
2) Nobility included scholars, architects, and
merchants. Nobles were educated and
wealthy. Most of the Mayan warriors were
nobles.
3) Peasants included farmers and laborers. The
majority of the Mayan popula6on were
peasants.
4) Slaves were criminals and people captured in
war. Some6mes orphaned children would
become slaves.
WATCH Movie trailer APOCALYPTO

Mayan Religious Beliefs

The Mayans believed they had been created out
of maize.
Only the nobles were allowed to drink chocolate
from the cacao.
The Mayans worshiped more than 160 gods and
goddesses.

The main Mayan god was called ItzamNa.
To get help from the gods the Mayan fasted,
prayed, and oered sacrices.
The Ancient Egyp6ans looked forward to life aner
death, but the Mayans believed the anerlife was
an unhappy existence.
SHOW Mayan Calendars
WATCH 2012 Movie Trailer

Glory and Decline

The Mayan reached their peak between 250 and 900

C.E., which was known as the Classical Period.

The Mayan built more than 40 ci6es including Copan,

Tikal, Palenque, Bonampak, and Chichen Itza.

A king governed a Mayan city and it surrounding area.

Some6mes kings would declare war on neighboring
ci6es to gain poli6cal or economic advantages.

By the 800s C.E. the Maya began to abandon their ci6es

in the southern lowlands, and by the 1400s C.E. Mayans
also abandoned their ci6es in the northern lowlands
and highlands.

The reasons why Maya abandoned their ci6es remain a

mystery (overfarming, disease, war, peasant revolts).

WATCH Excava6ng A Mayan City

READ King Tut and Pacal II of Palenque

Advances in Learning
The Maya developed a wri6ng system that used
glyph, and recorded important informa6on in a
book called codex.

The Maya developed a mathema6cal system based
on the number 20.
The Maya used a dot to represent 1 and a bar to
represent 5. The Maya were also the rst to use the
zero.
By using math, the Maya learned a about
astronomy.
The Maya could predict 1) solar eclipses, 2) knew
the best 6me to plant seeds and harvest crops, 3)
help kings make important poli6cal decisions, and 4)
could keep precise records of events.
WATCH Maya Calendar and Mural