The Mesoamerican Era

​Many of the cultures that we have today have evolved from past events. Such as language it was something that became known throughout the years. Some of the languages that came from that were English, Spanish, German, and Latin to name a few. These languages were derived more past civilizations. One important civilization that is known for having great success is the Mayan civilization. The Mayan civilization is known for many things like they fully developed written language, art, architecture, math and some other factors. Historians have said that they don’t know an exact date of when this civilization rose up but they do mention that it flourished for about 2000 years. Although staring in 250 AD it is said that it was the start of their high point and it continued until the arrival of the Spanish in 1524. The Maya area covers southern Mexico and northwestern Central America. According to Sharer the area is divided into three regions: the Pacific coastal plain to the south, the highlands in the center, and the lowlands to the north. Even though these three regions were under the same civilization they all practiced different religious rituals. Religion plays a big role in every civilization. Some civilizations tend to praise more than one god and they always mention that what they have is thanks to their god. When they see things going wrong they often say that their god is punishing them because they did something that the god/s did not like. This tends to be the same

Aside from the great temples and pyramids the Mayas also had city states spread throughout. Unlike the Aztecs in Mexico, the Maya were never a unified empire ruled by a single ruler from a single place. The Maya’s were a series of smaller city states who ruled their immediate vicinity. Each city was different in its own unique way. Although they had their differences they tended to share certain characteristics as well, such as their general layout. The Maya’s laid out their cities similarly to the Aztecs and built around a central plaza. In the center of the cities were the important public buildings such as temples, palaces and a ball court. Residential areas radiated out from the city center, growing sparser the further they got from the center. Raised stone walkways linked the residential areas with each other and the center as well. Something important to note is that these plazas were rarely neat and orderly, and this is because the Maya’s

The Mexica, better known as Aztecs, were Indians who lived in what we call today Mexico. They were very powerful people and dominated most of Middle America. Because warfare was consider sacred, Aztecs would wound their enemies and present them as sacrifices to their gods. The Aztecs also built a beautiful and elaborate empire, improved farming techniques, and even built a political structure. However, they were demolished by the Spanish empire. Later on during the 16th Century, the Iroquois League was formed in North America. They consisted of 5 Iroquois nations that decided to form an

b. To what extent has the history of Mesoamerica been taught from a Eurocentric perspective? What theories, ideas, and/or terminology are problematic when trying to assert an Indigenous perspective? (For example: Bering Strait, Malintzin, Cuauhtemoc, Human Sacrifice...there are many more examples!)

The Maya were a people from Middle America, which includes modern Guatemala, Southern Mexico, and Northern Belize (Editors). The Maya civilization was considered to be “one of the most dominant indigenous societies of Mesoamerica,” (Maya). “The Maya excelled at agriculture, pottery, hieroglyph writing, calendar-making, and mathematics, and left behind an astonishing amount of impressive architecture and symbolic artwork,” (Maya). They also gave mankind the modern calendar (Jarus, Maya). The Mayans were a very advanced people, but one of the most important things in the Mayan culture was their religion/god worshipping rituals.

The ancient Maya once occupied a vast geographic area in Central America. Their civilization inhabited an area that encompasses Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and parts of the states of Chiapas and Tabasco, as well as Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. "From the third to the ninth century, Maya civilization produced awe-inspiring temples and pyramids, highly accurate calendars, mathematics and hieroglyphics, and a complex social and political order" ("Collapse..." 1). Urban centers were important to the Maya during the Classic period; they offered the Mayans a central place to practice religion.

The Aztec and Maya were both American Indian people. The Aztec were ruled by a mighty empire in Mexico during the 1400's and early 1500's. The Maya however, developed a magnificent civilization in Central America and Southern Mexico. Both civilizations contributed a great deal to the modern world and invented items that are still used today.

Throughout the previous time, pre-European civilizations in the Americas, the Aztec and Inca empires were separate and distinct civilizations. The two civilizations stayed with no question very progressed and had their own intricated but very efficient society. Polytheism (who beliefs in multiple gods) dominated both empires. They adored ideals broadly and fascinatingly, the Sun God maintained the high place in mutually civilizations. However, both civilizations shared some similarities, there were remarkable differences among the two empires. These contrasts and similarities could be observed in many significant ways.

During the Post Classical Era, from 600 CE to 1450 CE, new empires rose through the combination of aspects such as social structure and religion from the classical era and globalization as well as expansion of religious and technological ideas from the modern era in order to form the Post Classical Era. Trade took on new roles through connecting areas and spreading goods, ideas, and disease. Ideas that were often spread was religion, such as Islam and Buddhism, thus leading to global awareness and conflict. Though Post Classical Mesoamerica was not included in the global trade route linking Eurasia and Africa, Mesoamerica still enjoyed its own advances during this time period. Through the Post Classical Era, Mesoamerica continued to celebrate religion because of its combination with everyday life, however they began trading because of the introduction of conquest, and developed farming techniques that played roles in trade and religion.

The Maya city state of Tikal and Teotihuacan were two of indigenous civilizations during the early Classic period (A.D. 250-450) and late classic period (A.D. 450-900) history of these tribes dating back to the 3rd century. As a result, of both tribes established a civilization around the same century. They both happen to share a verity of similar societal characteristics those being: economic trade, design pyramids for the gods, a fascination with astrology, ritual calendar system, religious ceremonies, temple and home architecture, agriculture, similar art material used to make sculptures, pottery, and complex social hierarchy system. In fact, economic trade was an important part of daily life for the Maya and city of Teotihuacan. A clear similarity was the products both cultures traded amongst each other. The popular items both civilizations would trade would be cacao seeds, corn, clothing, pottery, salt, and obsidian tools. Strangely enough even though gold was a resource in those times both empires did not use it as a form of currency when trade occurred preferably they used cacao seeds (chocolate) a drink that meant nobility. In the same way, trade built networking connections so did religion. Religion is seen as the foundation revolving around both civilizations daily lives both the Mayan people and Teotihuacan believed in a higher power the sun god Kinich Ahau (Maya) and Quetzalcóatl (Teotihuacan). Furthermore, both gods had been publicly praised all over

Massive temples hidden in the jungles of the Yucatan, mysterious stone stelas, and cryptic calendars eluding to advanced knowledge of the stars and mathematics are just some of the artifacts originating from the “Classic Maya” period (200 CE-900 CE). However, these popular items should not be the only defining characteristics of a society that dominated the Mesoamerican region for nearly a millennia. Dynastic lines, similar to those found in European houses, were important elements during this period in places like Palenque, Tikal, and Calakmul. Additionally, the Maya experienced violent and consistent warfare between localized powers and the backbone of their society, agriculture, suffered through several multi-year droughts. These factors

     The Maya civilization can be divided into three main periods: Pre-Classic, Classic, and Post-Classic. Their greatest accomplishments most likely took place in the Classic period. This period occurred between 250 and 910AD. An extensive trade network was in place during this period that allowed the civilization to grow as large as sixty separate kingdoms. Other technological advances also took place during this time.

The breathtaking splendor of ornate cites, the beautifully constructed grand temples, and the ingeniously developed and advanced caledretics, mathematics, and astronomy easily mark one of the most interesting and prosperous periods in Latin American history. Over period spanning approximately six centuries, the Maya of Central America reached artistic and intellectual heights that no other group in the New World had seen

The Mayan history consisted of three main phases. The Preclassic period, the Classic period, and the Late Classic period. With each period containing several subdivisions. The Preclassic period started at the time civilization first emerged in Mesoamerica, around 1500 B.C., to about A.D. 250/300. The Preclassic period phase contained three subdivisions. The Early Preclassic, the

This refers to a period when the Mayan civilization flourished, and extended from 300 to roughly 900 A.D (Miller 52). Because of our image of classical antiquity, the word “Classic” implies the heights of cultured accomplishment. In the classic period, we envision musicians