Early Mexico Mesoamerica

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Early Mexico Mesoamerica

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The Olmec
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Olmec 1400 BC to about 400 BC.

• 1. 1st ancient Pre-Columbian people living in
  the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico.
• 2. Farmed on Ejidos Common food plots, mixture
  of crops
• 3. The Olmec practiced ritual bloodletting.
• 4. Artwork Colossal Heads
• 5. Created Mesoamerican Ball Game

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• The most familiar aspect of the Olmecs is their
  artwork, particularly the colossal heads.
• In fact, the Olmec civilization was first defined
  through artifacts purchased on the pre-Columbian
  art market in the late 19th and early 20th
  centuries. Olmec artworks are considered among
  ancient America's most striking and beautiful,
  and among the world's masterpieces.

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Facemask made of Jade
The Wrestler Known for Beauty and realism
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Mayan Civilization
1000 B.C. - 900 AD)
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The Maya

• 1. Settled in Yucatan Peninsula depended on
  cenotes or sinkholes for water
• 2. Only known fully developed written language of
  the pre-Columbian Americas.
• 3. Art, architecture - Temples
• 4. Mathematical and astronomical systems
• 5. Calendar2012!

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Cenotes, sinkholes
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Mayan Numeral System
Mayan hieroglyphics
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• A painted stucco relief in the museum at
  Palenque, This panel depicts king Upakal K'inich,
  from the 8th century A.D.

A jade mask. Its design representing the Rain God
Chaac
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• Ball courts
• As an integral aspect of the Mesoamerican
  lifestyle, the courts for their ritual ball-game
  were constructed throughout the Maya realm and
  often on a grand scale. Enclosed on two sides by
  stepped ramps that led to ceremonial platforms or
  small temples, the ball court itself was of a
  capital "I" shape and could be found in all but
  the smallest of Maya cities.

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The Palace, Palenque Ruins
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http//www.adishakti.org/mayan_end_times_prophecy_
12-21-2012.htm

• The Year - 2012
• The end of days?

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• The 2012 phenomenon comprises a range of beliefs
  that cataclysmic or transformative events will
  occur on December 21, 2012, which is said to be
  the end-date of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the
  Mayan Long calendar. Various astronomical
  alignments related to this date have been
  proposed, but are not final. Scenarios for the
  end of the world include the Earth's collision
  with a passing planet or black hole.
• Another interpretation of this transition is that
  the Earth and its inhabitants may undergo a
  positive physical or spiritual transformation,
  and that 2012 may mark the beginning of a new
  era.
• Scholars from various disciplines have dismissed
  the idea that a catastrophe will happen in 2012,
  stating that predictions of impending doom are
  found neither in classic Maya accounts nor in
  contemporary science. The modern Maya, on the
  whole, have not attached much significance to the
  date, and the classical sources on the subject
  are scarce and contradictory, suggesting that
  there was little if any universal agreement among
  them about what, if anything, the date might
  mean.

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Jade jewel of the Mayans/AztecsMask and
Serpent Necklace made of Jade
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Ritual HUMAN Sacrifice
While human sacrifice was practiced throughout
Mesoamerica, the Aztecs, if their own accounts
are to be believed, brought this practice to an
unprecedented level. During the dedication of the
Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, the Aztecs
reported that they sacrificed 84,400 prisoners
over the course of four days, actual numbers were
probably closer to 2000 though.
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The Aztecs1325 AD1521

• 1. Mesoamerican group who encountered the Spanish
  conquistador Hernán Cortés.
• 2. Extreme Blood letting, human sacrifice.
• 3. Settled in Mexican Plateau - City of
  Tenochtitlan built on islands in Lake Texcoco,
  present day Mexico City

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Artist depiction of the city looking east

• Tenochtitlan
• Capital city of Aztecs, surrounded by Lake
  Texcoco.

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The Beginning of the End for Aztecs
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How were the Spanish able to conquer the Aztecs
so easily?

1. Aztecs saw the Spanish as Gods (at first)
2. Spanish had superior weapons - guns
3. Spanish allied with Aztec enemies
4. Aztecs had no immunity to Spanish disease Small
   Pox
5. Spanish killed leader, Montezuma

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Small Pox

• In 15201521, an outbreak of smallpox swept
  through the population of Tenochtitlan and was
  decisive in the fall of the city.
• The population before the time of the conquest is
  unknown and hotly contested, but disease is known
  to have ravaged the region thus, the indigenous
  population of the Valley of Mexico is estimated
  to have declined by more than 80 in the course
  of about 60 years!

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Montezuma was captured and then assassinated by
Cortes Engraving of Hernan Cortes and Montezuma
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Mexico City Monument celebrating Aztec founding
of Tenochtitlan
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Montezumas Revenge?