• 800-400 B.C.E.

• Economy:

- Farming: maize, tomatoes, beans, chili peppers, avocadoes, squashes, gourds

- Trade

2 major cities:- La Venta- Tres Zapotes- San Lorenzo

Olmec society Trade in jade and obsidian Decline and fall of Olmec society The cause remains a mystery The Olmecs systematically destroyed their ceremonial centers Most likely, civil conflict ruined their society By 400 B.C.E., other societies eclipsed the Olmecs Influence of Olmec traditions Maize, ceremonial centers were common to later societies Other legacies: Calendar, rituals of human sacrifice, ballgame Olmecs did not leave written records

• Authoritarian in nature • Stratified• The colossal human heads -

possibly likenesses of rulers • Rulers' power as shown in

construction of huge pyramids • Adornment & clothing possibly

indicated social status

• Jade

• Obsidian

• Maize

• Beans

• Squash

• Peanuts

Polytheistic

• shamanism

• animal deities

• Possibly a jaguar god that represented rain, earth, fertility, or maize

Massive stone statues as big as 6’, 12-40 tons

• Scientific research = accurate and impressive calendars

• Large pyramids

• Didn’t raise large animals

• No writing system

• No wheeled vehicles

• They left a powerful religious & cultural influence on other Native American civilizations

• The Olmecs disappeared without a trace around 400 B.C.E.

How did they move these massive heads?????

Teotihuacan

- 1st Century = the 1st major civilization of central Mexico

- City-state near Mexico City

- Built pyramids, apartment-block houses

- Thriving trade network from Mexico to Central America

- Abandoned by 750

Pyramid of the Sun

300-900 C.E.

• Yucatan Peninsula

• City-states

Complex society- Rulers claimed divine right to rule- Heredity ruling class

- Scribes = possible priests- skilled artisans, officials, merchants- peasant farmers- slaves

Very aggressive -- waged war for slaves and conquest

Cities centered around a ceremonial pyramid

• Itzamna = Supreme god

• Jaguar = evil god of the night

Human sacrifice

Chac-Xib-Chac, god of blood sacrifice

Solve the equation:

. = 1

= 57 + 12 = 19

1. Mathematics

2. Astronomy

3. Medicine

4. Pyramids

5. Hieroglyphic Writing

• Based on hieroglyphs

• Codices were made of bark covered with jaguar skin, jade, clay, bone, & stone monuments

• Spanish thought the writing was evil

• Spanish burnt several books

• 4 bark books remain

• In the 800’s, the Maya suddenly abandoned several cities

• Theories: increased warfare, economic hardship, over-farming exhausted the land, famine, or disease

• By 1500, Maya was divided

• Popol Vuh –

- describes the Highland Maya’s version of creation

- Written after Spanish contact

“Before the world was created, Calm and Silence were the great kings that ruled… Nothing existed, there was nothing… Then let the emptiness fill they said. Let the water weave its way downward so the earth can show its face! Let the sky fill up with the yellow light of dawn! Let our glory be a man walking on a path through the trees! ‘Earth!’ The Creators called. They called only once, and it was there, from a mist from a cloud of dust, the mountains appeared instantly.”

Excerpt from the Popul Vuh, McDougall Littell, World History Patterns of Interaction, 449

Creation Illustration for Popol Vuh by Diego Garcia, 1931

rules are unknown

some indication that players couldn’t use hands or feet

losing team possibly beheaded or sacrificed

Mayan society was patriarchal