Olmecs and Mayans

Olmecs Earliest known ceremonial centers of the ancient Americas appeared near modern day Veracruz around 1200 B.C. Served as the nerve center for the first complex society of the Americas, the Olmecs “Olmec” was not what the people called themselves It means “rubber people” and comes from the rubber trees that flourish in the region

Characteristics of Olmec Civilization Intensive agricultural techniques Area received abundant rainfall so extensive irrigation systems were unnecessary Still the Olmecs built elaborate drainage systems to divert waters that might otherwise have caused floods Specialization of labor Jade craftsmen Cities Built around ceremonial centers at San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Tres Zapotes A social hierarchy Society was probably authoritarian Common subjects provided labor and tribute to the elite Intensive agricultural techniques, such as the use of animal power, crop rotation, and irrigation. This enables farmers to produce a surplus of food that will not be needed for their own subsistence. A significant portion of the population that does not devote most of its time to producing food. They can go into other occupations and trade for the food they need. This is called "specialization of labor." It is possible because of the food surplus described above. The gathering of these non-food producers into permanent settlements, called cities. A social hierarchy. This can be a chiefdom, in which the chieftain of one noble family or clan rules the people; or a state society, in which the ruling class is supported by a government or bureaucracy. Political power is concentrated in the cities. The establishment of complex, formal social institutions such as organized religion and education, as opposed to the less formal traditions of other societies. Development of complex forms of economic exchange. This includes the expansion of trade and may lead to the creation of money and markets. The accumulation of more material possessions than in simpler societies. Development of new technologies by people who are not busy producing food. In many early civilizations, metallurgy was an important advancement. Advanced development of the arts by those who don't have to farm for a living. This can include writing.

Characteristics of Olmec Civilization Organized religion and education Ceremonial centers, priests, temples, altars, and human sacrifice Development of complex forms of economic exchange Imported jade and obsidian and exported small jade, basalt, and ceramic works of art Development of new technologies Excellent astronomers and mathematicians who developed a calendar Advanced development of the arts. (This can include writing.) Created colossal human heads sculpted from basalt rock Intensive agricultural techniques, such as the use of animal power, crop rotation, and irrigation. This enables farmers to produce a surplus of food that will not be needed for their own subsistence. A significant portion of the population that does not devote most of its time to producing food. They can go into other occupations and trade for the food they need. This is called "specialization of labor." It is possible because of the food surplus described above. The gathering of these non-food producers into permanent settlements, called cities. A social hierarchy. This can be a chiefdom, in which the chieftain of one noble family or clan rules the people; or a state society, in which the ruling class is supported by a government or bureaucracy. Political power is concentrated in the cities. The establishment of complex, formal social institutions such as organized religion and education, as opposed to the less formal traditions of other societies. Development of complex forms of economic exchange. This includes the expansion of trade and may lead to the creation of money and markets. The accumulation of more material possessions than in simpler societies. Development of new technologies by people who are not busy producing food. In many early civilizations, metallurgy was an important advancement. Advanced development of the arts by those who don't have to farm for a living. This can include writing.

Olmec Head at La Venta

Decline of the Olmec Olmecs systematically destroyed their ceremonial centers at both San Lorenzo and La Venta and then deserted the sites Statues were broken and buried, monuments defaced, and capitals burned No one knows why, but some speculate reasons involving civil conflicts or doubts about the effectiveness or legitimacy of the ruling classes By about 400 B.C., Olmec society had fallen on hard times and other societies soon eclipsed it

Mayans Began to develop around 300 A.D. in what is now southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador Known as “The People of the Jaguar”

Olmec Influence on the Mayans Maize Ceremonial centers with temple pyramids Calendar based on the Olmec one Ball games Rituals involving human sacrifice

Characteristics of a Civilization Intensive agricultural techniques Specialization of labor Cities A social hierarchy Organized religion and education Development of complex forms of economic exchange Development of new technologies Advanced development of the arts. (This can include writing.) Intensive agricultural techniques, such as the use of animal power, crop rotation, and irrigation. This enables farmers to produce a surplus of food that will not be needed for their own subsistence. A significant portion of the population that does not devote most of its time to producing food. They can go into other occupations and trade for the food they need. This is called "specialization of labor." It is possible because of the food surplus described above. The gathering of these non-food producers into permanent settlements, called cities. A social hierarchy. This can be a chiefdom, in which the chieftain of one noble family or clan rules the people; or a state society, in which the ruling class is supported by a government or bureaucracy. Political power is concentrated in the cities. The establishment of complex, formal social institutions such as organized religion and education, as opposed to the less formal traditions of other societies. Development of complex forms of economic exchange. This includes the expansion of trade and may lead to the creation of money and markets. The accumulation of more material possessions than in simpler societies. Development of new technologies by people who are not busy producing food. In many early civilizations, metallurgy was an important advancement. Advanced development of the arts by those who don't have to farm for a living. This can include writing.

Agriculture Maize Cacao

Agriculture Soil in Mesoamerican lowlands was thin and quickly lost fertility Mayans built terraces to retain the silt and therefore greatly improved agricultural production Raised maize, cotton, and cacao Cacao was a precious commodity consumed mostly by nobles and even used as money Cacao tree

Cities

Cities: Tikal From about 300 to 900, the Maya built more than eight large ceremonial centers All had pyramids, palaces, and temples Some of the larger ones attracted dense populations and evolved into genuine cities The most important was Tikal Small city-kingdoms served as the means of Mayan political organization

Cities: Tikal Tikal was the most important Mayan political center between the 4th and 9th Centuries Reached its peak between 600 and 800 with a population of nearly 40,000 The Temple of the Jaguar dominated the skyline and represented Tikal’s control over the surrounding region which had a population of about 500,000

Tikal: Temple of the Jaguar 154 feet high Served as funerary pyramid for Lord Cacao, Maya ruler of the late 6th and early 7th centuries

Social Hierarchy A Mayan Warrior A Mayan Priest

Social Hierarchy King and ruling family Priests Hereditary nobility (from which came the merchant class) Warriors Professionals and artisans Peasants Slaves

Social Hierarchy King and ruling family Ruled from the city-kingdoms such as Tikal Ruled by semi-divine right and believed their connection with the gods was maintained by ritual human sacrifice Often had names associated with the jaguar Priests Maintained an elaborate calendar and transmitted knowledge of writing, astronomy, and mathematics A Mayan King

Social Hierarchy Hereditary nobility (from which came the merchant class) Owned most of the land and cooperated with the kings and priests by organizing military forces and participating in religious rituals Warriors Mayan kingdoms fought constantly with each other and warriors won tremendous prestige by capturing high-ranking enemies Captives were usually made slaves, humiliated, tortured, and ritually sacrificed

Social Hierarchy Professionals and artisans Peasants Slaves Architects and sculptors supervised construction of the large monuments and public buildings Peasants Fed the entire society Slaves Provided physical labor for the construction of cities and monuments Often had been captured in battle

Specialization

Specialization Astronomers Mathematicians Warriors Architects and sculptors Potters Tool manufacturers Textile makers

Religion and Education Human Sacrifice and Bloodletting Ritual

Religion: Importance of Agriculture Mayan religion reflected the fundamental role of agriculture in their society Popol Vuh, was the Mayan creation myth that taught that the gods had created human beings out of maize and water Gods kept the world in order and maintained the agricultural cycle in exchange for honors and sacrifices

Religion: Bloodletting Rituals Mayans believed the shedding of human blood would prompt the gods to send rain to water the maize Bloodletting involved both war captives and Mayan royals Mayan queen holds a bowl filled with strips of paper used to collect blood.

Religion: Bloodletting A popular bloodletting ritual was for a Mayan to pierce his own tongue and thread a thin rope through the hole, thus letting the blood run down the rope

Religion: The Ball Game Mayans inherited a ball game from the Olmecs that was an important part of Mayan political and religious festivals High-ranking captives were forced to play the game for their very lives The losers became sacrificial victims and faced torture and execution immediately following the match Object of the game was to propel an 8 inch ball of solid baked rubber through a ring or onto a marker without using your hands

Mayan Ball Court

Mayan symbol for movement Economic Exchange Mayan symbol for movement

Economic Exchange Traveling merchants served not just as traders but also as ambassadors to neighboring lands and allied people Traded mainly in exotic and luxury goods such as rare animal skins, cacao beans, and finely crafted works of art which rulers coveted as signs of special status Cacao used as money

Observatory at El Caracol New Technologies Mayan Calendar Observatory at El Caracol

Mayan numerical system New Technologies Excelled in astronomy and mathematics Could plot planetary cycles and predict eclipses of the sun and moon Invented the concept of zero and used a symbol to represent zero mathematically, which facilitated the manipulation of large numbers By combining astronomy and mathematics, calculated the length of the solar year at 365.242 days– about 17 seconds shorter than the figure reached by modern astronomers Mayan numerical system

New Technologies: Calendar Mayan priests developed the most elaborate calendar of the ancient Americas Interwove two kinds of year A solar year of 365 days governed the agricultural cycle A ritual year of 260 days governed daily affairs by organizing time into twenty “months” of thirteen days each Believed each day derived certain characteristics from its position on both the solar and ritual calendars and carefully studied the combinations Lucky and unlucky days

Art and Writing Mayan writing

Writing Expanded on Olmec tradition to create the most flexible and sophisticated of all early American systems of writing Contained both ideographic elements and symbols for syllables Used to write works of history, poetry, and myth and keep genealogical, administrative, and astronomical records

Mayan Decline By about 800, most Mayan populations had begun to desert their cities Full scale decline followed everywhere but in the northern Yucatan Possible causes include foreign invasion, internal dissension and civil war, failure of the water control system leading to agricultural disaster, ecological problems caused by destruction of the forests, epidemic diseases, and natural disasters