Similarities Between Africa And American Empires

The Olmec civilization was a complex society and learned to overcome challenges through trade. The Olmec civilization was a center for trade, helped the development of other complex societies through trade and influenced the culture of surrounding civilizations. The Olmec’s could get the things they needed, such as food and pottery, themselves, so they traded more fundamental items for luxuries they could not produce. The Olmec’s had many skilled artisans and their products were popular in trade. In exchange, they got jadeite, salt, animal products, and cocoa. Trade helped the Olmec survive and overcome challenges by getting supplies that helped the people function. The Olmecs traded with surrounding villages and other complex societies to

The Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacan which is located northeast of present day Mexico City is known for being one of largest and most advanced urban centres in the ancient world. For centuries, tourists have been captivated by the ancient site of Teotihuacan that acts as the home to impressive pyramids, an influential culture and many secrets that even archaeologists today have been unable to discover.

The Olmecs were farmers, traders, artists… innovators. The Olmec culture first emerged in the Isthmus region of Tehuantepec. The site of San Lorenzo, which sits on the Coatzacoalcos River, sheds the most light on this mysterious culture. During this time period, The Initail Formative, food surplus sparked an increase in population and career specialization. With the increase of specialization and sedentism came the environment for complex culture.

The Olmec lived off the gulf of Mexico.They didn’t just live in one place they lived several places on the Gulf of Mexico. They lived in the middle of South West Mexico by several rivers.They mostly lived there because it had easy water access and access to draining rain water. Their houses were built on artificial hills to avoid flooding in their house, they made their houses out of stone, clay, and logs. Their Towns are usually built around the temple, to show their religion is the center of their life.

The Mesoamerican world was heavily influenced by the Olmec religion. Religion was a very strong and important in the Olmec’s culture. There were many Gods like the Maize God also known as the

Throughout Mesoamerica, we’ve noticed a common thread throughout the various civilizations; which include; divine kingship, common deities, and similar rituals. But two of these civilizations stand apart from the others because of their divergent way of living. The Zapotec civilization was located in Monte Alban celebrated death by generating elaborate burial sites; by creating immense wall motifs and placing countless amounts of detailed censers in the likeness of the departed, for example the Seated Deity with Glyph C Headdress. For the inhabitants of Teotihuacan, unity was a major part of living, which is clearly depicted in their living compounds. In every living compound there was an open courtyard where the multiple families living there would practice rituals and socialize with one another. Every courtyard held a ceramic depiction of a deity who they would worship, for instance, the Censer would be an illustration of this. Both the Seated Deity with Glyph C Headdress and the Censer may appear similar in medium, but are of great contrast in technique and subject matter.

The Olmec civilization: Starting from 1400 B.C to an abrupt end to 300 B.C. Many mysteries lie in the Olmec civilization and seem to never be recovered. But, there is a small portion of evidence supporting the existence of a civilization. The history of the civilization this is really broken up. They lived in the tropical lowlands in Mexico known today as Veracruz and Tabasco. They were known as “the rubber people” because they were known for their discovery on natural rubber. They started out like most civilizations: mostly hunting and the only thing they farmed was corn, beans and squash. Later on, they cultivate many more plants. The time of the Olmecs will be divided into four different ages: The Pre-Olmec, the

The Olmec civilization will baffle archaeologists and academic scholars today, with neither able to uncover, and solve the enigma surrounding the mysterious race that called themselves the Olmec, meaning the ‘rubber people’ in Aztec because of the lack of historical, and archaeological evidence to geologically

In the Continent of Cultures, it was stated how and why the first people reach to the Mesoamerica. Learning about the different people from Olmec to the Aztecs in the (Cultures of Ancient Mexico) on page four of the text. Each group had their significant of their tribe. In example the Olmec build big statues that weight a ton, so that is saying they were great at architectural work. The Maya was great at reading the sky, so they derived a calendar that new America took for our calendar. The Aztec was powerful people and great at trading. (In The Plenty of the Pacific Northwest) it states that this environment is very rich in natural things. They were able to use things from nature to make whatever they need such as red alder to carved bowls

Located in a valley in central Mexico, lies one of the world’s most spectacular archaeological sites named Teotihuacan. Teotihuacan is the largest ancient city in the new world. This ancient city is said to have begun around 200 B.C. It is enormous covering about eight square miles. The city is organized in a grid style focused around three main monuments. Around these structures were homes for the mass population that lived there. These homes were laid out in a grid like fashion that could be compared to an apartment complex. The grid system for its time was a complex organized system, this showed the social control Teotihuacan had.

As an archeologist, solving the puzzle about our past generations isn’t easy to analyze without written forms of communication. In a perfect world, every important aspect of each and every culture before us would be well documented in written texts. We can however, make inferences and analyze the artifacts and other forms of communication that are excavated from various sties around the globe. There are many different forms of important artifacts from the mesoamerican culture that shaped state authority and control. Mesoamerica is a culture and region in Mexico/northern South America, that existed from 3500 BCE to 1697 AD. Two important cultures within mesoamerica are the Aztec and Maya. More specifically, three examples of these important artifacts are the Templo Mayor, the Maya stelae and the ritual of bloodletting. These are great examples because each presents a different type of artifact and contributes to different aspects of state authority.

Teotihuacan emerged immediately after the fall of Olmec back in the 150 BCE and existed until 750 CE. Teotihuacan, “the place where the gods were created,” is located in the central section of the Valley of Teotihuacan. The Valley is located in the Northeast of the Basin of Mexico. During 150 BCE, and 450 CE it was regarded as the greatest and largest pre-Columbian city. The city had three main pyramids called “Pyramid of the Sun,” “Pyramid of the Moon,” and the “Feathered Serpent Pyramid.” The central axis that connected three of them is the Avenue of the Dead.

Pre-1600s civilizations in Africa, gain, consolidate, and maintain power by these 3 civilizations: Ghana, Mali and Songhai. In Ghana’s part, society was used as technology, trading and independance. In Mali’s part, Wealth was used for valuing survival, education, and money (gold). In Songhai’s part, Economics was used for controlling and province. Also pre-1600s in Americans, gain, consolidate, and maintain power by these 3 civilizations: Aztecs, Mayas, and The Incas and they all had different religions. In Aztecs part, Enterprise was used for resources

From the films, "500 Nations: Ancestors", “Engineering an Empire: Maya” and “Engineering an Empire: Aztec” they have included examples of urban planning, their advances in agriculture, water management, and Architecture. This has facilitated the growth of the Anasazi, Mississippian Mound Builders, Mayans and the Aztecs. The Anasazi were located in the American southwest in Arizona and New Mexico. Their architecture consisted of stone masonry to build their structures which included the Kiva, where rituals would be conducted by the natives. They also built homes underground to decrease contact from the heat of the

The class system that developed after the Olmec was a result of the pyramid and monument construction. Those in power did not build but they could tell those beneath them to (Byers and Campbell 2014). Due to an increase in trade among the Mesoamerican civilizations an unspoken diplomacy was formed between trading cities. For example, the Mayans and The Aztecs with 500 miles of different obstacles between them, the two still found a way to trade with one another (Mann 1973: 221). Because of the knowledge many of the citizens had regarding the production of certain items the common man or woman made the product, much like how it is today. In the case of the Mayans housewives would weave, anyone by the coast could collect salt and it was common for families to raise bees (Mann 1973: 222). Product were collected and then sold and while those who created the product may receive a payment (usually in the form of Cacao beans), the payment was non-comparable to what those who sold the final product received, but this may be due to the fact anyone could make tradable goods (Mann 1973: