Olmecs and the Mayans

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by Beth Mendenhall

​Who were the Olmecs?

​The Olmecs developed civilizations in Mesoamerica around 1200 BC. They are considered a "mother culture" because they influenced later civilizations in the area, including the Maya. The Olmecs built pyramids and played a game using a rubber ball, and are best known for the gigantic "colossal" heads carved out of volcanic rock.

Multiple Choice

Based on what you just read, what do you think a "mother culture" is? 

• A culture that is unique and never repeated

• A culture that influences later cultures

• a culture that is influenced by earlier cultures

• a culture that changes based on trading patterns

​Who were the Maya?

The Maya farmed​ where Mexico and parts of Guatemala are now, in Mesoamerica. Like the Olmecs, they built pyramids and played a game with a rubber ball.

​The Maya were very advanced. They had a complex calendar, created reservoirs to hold and conserve water, and got the most out of their agriculture by intercropping, or growing certain plants together.

​Mayan Accomplishments

​The Maya had great cities with pyramids, temples, palaces and stadium. Their calendar had 365 days, and they had a writing system.

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They played a game with rubber balls and stone hoops on walls. Sometimes the players that lost were sacrificed, or killed.

Multiple Choice

How do we know the Mayans were advanced with technology? 

• They had an accurate calendar

• they sacrificed the players that lost the ball game

• they believed their kings descended from the hero twins

• they grew corn and beans

​The Aztecs

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​The Aztecs organized into a complex civilization around 1200. They were also very advanced, and built a huge city, called Tenochtitlan, where Mexico City is today. Like the Maya, the Aztecs had writing and a complex calendar.

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Like the Maya, the Aztecs practiced human sacrifice. Instead of sacrificing their own people, the Aztecs captured people from other villages.

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​Chinampas

​The Aztec built floating gardens in the marshy wetlands and were able to feed their growing population. They built rafts that held soil in the water and grew corn, tomatoes, beans, squash and other crops. Willow trees kept the floating rafts in place.

Open Ended

How do we know the Aztecs were a complex civilization? 

​The Incas

​While the Mayan and Aztec civilizations flourished in Mesoamerica, the Incas prospered in South America. At its height in the 1100s, more than a million people were part of the Inca empire. They built terraced gardens in the Andes mountains, and had a road system and aqueducts carrying water.

Inca accomplishments​

​The Inca used a system of knotted strings to record taxes and other information. Many of their structures still stand today.

​The city of Machu Picchu, on top of a mountain, is proof of their engineering expertise.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is a feature of the Inca civilization? 

• terraced gardens in the Andes mountains

• Chinampas

• Mayan Calendar

• Colossal Heads

​The Renaissance

​The Renaissance, which means "rebirth" was a time of growth in arts in Europe. One of the reasons is because the Black Death caused the population to drop and there were more resources with fewer people, and increased trade led to a middle class. Some rich people sponsored art.

​RENAISSANCE

​A "Renaissance Man" was someone who was good at many things, like Leonardo da Vinci.

​Artists developed a method of making things in the background smaller, which added perspective.

​Intellectuals began studying the works of ancient Greeks and Romans. Reliance on these texts and points of view was known as humanism and was a contrast to the superstition and religious dogma that had dominated the Middle Ages.

​Printing Press

​Johannes Gutenberg built on the block printing and paper that had earlier been invented by the Chinese to create a printing press. Suddenly, the printed word could be produced much faster which led to increased literacy (more people learned how to read) and the spread of ideas---sometimes these ideas were radical!

Open Ended

Why was the Printing Press an important invention?