Landforms of Mesoamerica

1. Landforms of Mesoamerica • Mesoamerica = Middle America is between the US and South America • Varying elevations – Mexican Plateau, mountains, coastal plains, lowlands: Yucatan Peninsula • Volcanoes – over 12 still active, mountains, etc.

2. Climate and Vegitation • Tropics – hot, wet, rain forests, rich grasslands • Elevations – higher = cooler • Tierra Helada – mountain grasses, animals grazing • Tierra Fria – natural vegetation, wheat, potatoes • Tierra Templada – wet forest, corn, beans, squash, cotton, coffee • Tierra Caliente – dry forest, cacao, bananas, sugar cane

3. Geography and Life • Natural resources – jade, obsidian, seashells, sharks teeth, sacred bird feathers (clothing etc.) • Slash and burn agriculture – cut trees and burned, used ash for fertilizer • Crops – corn, beans, peppers, squash, cacao • Trade – goods, luxury goods traded between regions, also by water (rivers, ocean) • Common culture created among regions due to trade

4. OLMEC CIVILIZATION Began 3,000 years ago, Southern Mexico Alluvial soil – fertile land for agriculture, steady food Growth of labor, specialization = growth of cities Cities – plazas for gatherings, large stone sculpture for religion; San Lorenzo 900 BC La Venta became central city for Olmec

5. OLMEC CULTURE Much of their life a mystery, but did invent ball game with many spectators Farmers and fishermen, city dwellers were mostly the elite priests and nobles: large stone houses, jewelry, fancy clothes Commoners, craft workers: some in cities, smaller homes mud and stones Art, religion, and education: large stone heads out of basalt (represent?), mystery how they got the rock, jade, pottery, cave paintings, glyph writing, calendar and astronomy, several gods, main was jaguar

6. OLMEC LEGACY Trade: cities= trade centers stone, iron ore, obsidian, knowledge and ideas 500 BC: Olmec began to abandon cities, by 400 BC mostly gone Considered a mother culture to Mesoamerica Other civilizations: Zapotec, Teotihuacan, Aztec, and Maya

7. MAYA 1500 BC villages established in highlands and lowlands Farming thrived so villages grew to cities Crafts developed, priests, teachers, also division of labor 4 social classes: kings and family; nobility including scholars, architects, merchants; peasants = farmers and laborers; slaves, criminals and captured peoples PEASANT FARMERS – small villages, most peasants, grew – corn, beans, squash, chili peppers, avocadoes, cacao NOBILITY – houses of stone, decorated with murals, fancy clothes, jaguar skins, headdresses with feathers, jewelry: jade, seashells: ate better than peasants, chocolate

8. MAYAN RELIGION AND LEARNING Religion – over 160 gods, ItzamNa is main god People prayed, fasted, and offered sacrifices (mostly animals) to gain favor – sometimes a human sacrifice Rulers expected to communicate to gods Believed afterlife unhappy Many festivals, ceremonies; ball game – sport but also religious meaning and to celebrate history Writing = glyphs; codex was a paper fold (book) only a few still exist Math – based on 20, first to use 0, advances in astronomy – eclipses, farming, calendar system

9. MAYAN CITIES AND DECLINE Peak of the Maya – 250-900AD Classical Period Over 40 cities, magnificent architecture, plazas, palaces, ball courts, and pyramids Large stone monuments – steles; glyphs with dates and events A king governed each city, war on a neighboring city to gain political or economic power; could get tribute from other cities Mystery – downfall: 800’s began to abandon cities, populations declined, over farming? Disease? War? By 1400 all cities abandoned