Over 760,000 sq. miles 5 th Largest country in the Americas 31 States with D.F. = Mexico City as the capital city

Characteristics of a Civilization Permanent settlements A system of government Social Classes Manufacturing and Trade Written Communication A Shared system of religious beliefs

Determining What Came Before For Indian people, history did not begin when Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas in 1492 What Columbus “discovered” was not a “new world” but another old world, rich in diverse peoples, histories, communities, and cultures Pre-contact Population was extensive Creation Stories & Migration Theories Glimpses of Precontact Societies

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica means Middle America or “between Americas” a name proposed by anthropologist Paul Kirschhoff Ancient Mesoamerica was located what is now present day Mexico and Central America Mesoamerica has been divided into six (6) areas of culture

Central Plateau – Valley of Mexico, Puebla, Toluca Western Mexico – Jalisco, Nayarit, Colima, Sinaloa Gulf Coast – Veracruz and parts of Tabasco Oaxaca Maya Area – Yucatan, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, Guatemala, Honduras South Pacific – El Salvador, Coast of Guatemala

Mesoamerica Time Periods Pre-Classical 1500 B.C. – 100 B.C. Classical 100 B.C. – 900 A.D. Historical 900 A.D. –1519 A.D.

Highlands & Lowlands Mesoamerica has tropical forests, snow capped volcanoes, mountains, deserts, and swamplands The people of Mesoamerica lived in the highlands, lowlands, and coastal plains between the Gulf of Mexico & the Pacific Ocean

Life in Mesoamerica Food staples were maize, beans, and squash also included wild turkey and hairless dogs, fish, turtles Maguey plants Theocratic Governments Social Classes: Nobility, Priests, Commoners, and Slaves Polytheistic Religion

MAIZE BEANS SQUASH

Maguey Plant

Chinampas

Glyphs and Learning Mesoamericans invented their own language and writing system The Maya and Aztecs created a writing system of hieroglyphs, a number system, and a calendar Manuscripts Codices Book Making

Mesoamerican Manuscripts

Mesoamerican Art Depicted what life was like for rulers, priests, and nobles Around 300 A.D., Mesoamericans began creating large, rectangular stone panels called “stelae” Precious Stones – jade, diopside, serpentine Body piercing and tattoos

Obsidian Rock Basalt Jade

Architecture Extraordinary cities and ceremonial centers were constructed in Mesoamerica These ceremonial centers served for religious, political, and administrative purposes They were built with stone, clay, stucco Pyramids were constructed carefully following the constellations El Castillo – The Castle PyramidEl Caracol – The Observatory