1507 Map = Amerigo Vespucci

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Columbus’ Voyages

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The Columbian Exchange "Columbian exchange" movement of plants, food,

crops, diseases and people

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• Origins

Theories concerning peopling of the Americas

• Crossing of land bridge (Bering Strait)

• Australian Origin

• Native beliefs

Mesoamerica • The term Mesoamerica – literally, “middle America“

in Greek

• The term was coined by Paul Kirchhoff, UCLA.

• Olmecs first complex culture

• 5000 B.C.E. Mesoamericans develop agriculture

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Similarities in Mesoamerica

• Mesoamerica means Middle America

• Sedentary cultures

• Cultivation of maize

• 260 day ritual calendar

• A number system base on the number 20

• writing system

• Forms of sacrifice

Olmecs Pre-Classic 1500 B.C.E to 200 C.E.

• Olmecs spoke possibly a “Mayan” tongue

• Ceremonial Centers: San Lorenzo, La Venta, Tres Zapotes

• Worship: Jaguar revered as the supreme god

• Political organization: authoritarian

• Olmec Legacy: ball game, calendar, practice of human sacrifice, and hieroglyphic writing system.

San Lorenzo: Olmec Heads

Olmec exhibit at LACMA 2010

Olmec Cascajal Slab 1990s 62 characters, 1000 B.C.E (San Andres)

La Venta

Tres Zapotes

Were-Jaguars

Oxtotitlan Cave, Guerrero

http://www.famsi.org/spanish/research/grove/section06.htm

Cipactli (feathered serpent)

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Secrets of the Ancients The Olmecs BBC

12mins

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UU82oGdU7fY

Classic Period 200-900

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Topics • Teotihuacan

Sun Pyramid in Teotihuacán

Built over several centuries, this pyramid remained the largest structure in

the Americas until after the Spanish arrived.

Sun Pyramid in Teotihuacán

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Teotihuacan Classic 200 C.E. to 900 C.E.

Teotihuacan: means the “birthplace of the gods.”

Possibly multi-ethnic state

Center of trade and religion

Theocracy, based on paintings. Priest had crucial role in society, since they were in charge of the ritual calendar.

Artifacts: known for its obsidian artifacts.

Temple of Quetzalcoatl feathered-Serpent

Architectural style: Talud-tablero

650-750 C.E. Collapse: foreign invaders, climate change, drought

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Talud-Tablero

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Quetzalcoatl in Teotihuacan The deity Quetzalcoatl represented in Teotihuacan

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Duality: Tlaloc: god of rain

Quetzalcoatl: feathered-serpent

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Video Clip

• Mystery of Teotihuacan - Pyramids Mexico "The Birthplace Of Gods“

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkAVJVzKuZY

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Mayan City-State =Cah • Society

• Calendar System

2006 Apocalypto

• Apocalypto Sacrifice Scene • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG8WqEyXIyc

Tlactli Ball game

Article

Discussion Questions

• Pgs237-238 in Sources of World Societies

• When was it written? Who is the author?

• What do we know about the author? Possible bias?

• What is the religious significance of the ball game?

• How are the winners of the ball game rewarded?

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Classic Maya collapse theories Engineering an Empire - The Maya – pt1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GavXBTWZP2g

Classic Maya collapse theories

• Foreign invasion

• Environmental

– Catastrophic event: earthquakes, hurricanes.

– Epidemic diseases

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Post-Classic 900-1521 Tzompantli (skull rack)

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Toltecs: Valley of Mexico

• Tula ( 8th Century C.E) – Militant state

– Revered by the Aztecs

– 987 C.E. Topiltzin-Quetzalcoatl

– v.s. Tezcatlipoca struggle

– Legacy: Cult of Quetzalcoatl

– Ancient Mexico - Toltecs to Aztecs – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgeXsx_IncE

–

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Chichen Itza

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Post-Classic Mayan Chichen Izta

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Dresden Codex Nahuatl: Quetzalcoatl

Mayan: Kulkulcan

•information on rainy seasons, floods, illness and medicine.

The Aztec Migration from Aztlan 1111?

The Boturini Codex was painted by an unknown Aztec author some time between 1530 and 1541.

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Huitzilopochtli

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Codice Durano/Dresde

Founding of T enochtitlan 1325

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Aztecs Tenochtitlan 1325 capital

• Aztec Empire 1428-1521 – Triple Alliance: Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan

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Tiene el nopal en la frente He has a cactus on his forehead

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The Aztec Stone of the Five Eras

• Unearthed 1790

• Solar deity Tonatiuh

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Tribute List from Codex Mendoza

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• Altepetl: ethnic-city state, society • Social Structure

– Huey Tlatoani – Macehualli (commoners) – Tlacotli (slaves) – Oztomeca (spies)

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The Great Temple at Tenochtitlán

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

The Great Temple at Tenochtitlán

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These city-states ruled the area in and around the Valley of Mexico

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Aztec Punishments

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New Fire Ceremony

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V. The Incas

A. Earlier Peruvian Cultures

B. Inca Imperialism and Its Religious Basis

C. The Clan-Based Structure of Inca Society

–1200 B.C.E. Poverty Point emerges on the Mississippi River, LA

–Cahokia –1200 C.E., largest city until Philly 1800

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