Mesoamerica: Olmecs, Maya, & Aztecs
Feb 24, 2016
Mesoamerica: Olmecs, Maya, & Aztecs
Olmecs
• The “mother civilization”
• 1400 BCE – 300 BCE• Located in tropical
lowlands of Mexico• Invented Rubber Ball
game
The Maya• 200 – 900 CE• Located in Yucatan
peninsula, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras
• Invented Mayan Calendar
Tikal
Chichen Itza
Bloodletting & Human Sacrifice
Chichimeca Migration• Came from Aztlan• Chichimecas first left in 900 CE
Aztec Empire
• Mexica migrated to Lake Texcoco in 1325 CE• Worshipped Huitzilopchtli• 1 million people total
Tenochtitlan
• Aztec capital, founded in 1325 CE
Chinampas “Floating Gardens”
Pulque
Moctezuma
• Became Aztec emperor in 1500
• Waited for return of Quetzalcoatl