Pre-Colonial Period to 1500s Mesoamerica Pre-Colonial Period to 1500s

First Migration - Beringia

Mesoamerica Middle America, refers to Central and Southern Mexico Source: www.britannica.com

Similarities of Indigenous Empires Source: huffingtonpost.com Intensive farming systems Maize Sedentary life Rise of towns and cities

Similarities of Indigenous Empires Advanced architecture Pyramids and temples Hierarchical political structure City-states and empires Militaristic Raised armies

Ancient History Archaic (- 1800 BC) Early Preclassic (1800-1200 BC) Middle Preclassic (1200-400 BC) Olmec Late Preclassic (400 BC–150 AD) Teotihuacan Hunting, gathering, origins of village life, pottery, figurines Egalitarian tribal societies with subsistence agriculture Agriculture more complex, development of irrigation, greater productive specialization & social stratification Invention of the Long Count calendar, building of the Pyramid of the Sun, advanced city planning

Ancient History Classic (150-650 AD) Epiclassic (650-900 AD) Maya Epiclassic (650-900 AD) Early Post-classic (900-1200 AD) Toltec Late Post-classic (1200-1521) Aztec Height of Teotihuacan influence Competing regional capitals Aztecs reach the valley of Mexico Formation of the Aztec Triple Alliance, Spanish conquest, and fall of Tenochtitlan

Olmec Emerge around 1500 BC Patriarchal society Urbanization Multiple city-states Power based on intermarriage Engaged in trade Source: wikipedia.org

Olmec Maize Pottery Stone heads Decline

Teotihuacan Emerge around 400 BC City of gods North of Mexico City Population of 150,000-200,000 Architectural settlement Power based on territory & trade Strong central government

Maya Begin to gain dominance around 250 AD Largest of Mesoamerican groups State of relatively constant warfare Tributaries Major urbanization Chichen Itza Source: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mayamap.png

Maya Writing Ritual activity Conception of the number zero Hieroglyphs Calendar Codices Ritual activity Ball game Blood sacrifice Conception of the number zero Source: www.livescience.com/25662-how-mayan-calendar-works.html

Competing Regional Capitals Zapoteca Oaxaca Mixteca Tarascan Toltec

Toltec Present day Michoacan Descendants of the Chicimecas Capital of Tula Quetzalcoatl “feathered serpent” Source: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Quetzalcoatl_telleriano2.jpg#/media/File:Quetzalcoatl_telleriano2.jpg

Aztec Origin story Mexica Tenochtitlan Advanced empire Triple alliance Serpent and snake Mexica Tenochtitlan Advanced empire Conquest not absorption Triple alliance Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, Tlacopan Source: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_Tenochtitlan,_1524.jpg

Aztec Education Patriarchal society Human sacrifice Huitzilopochtli God of war Quinto Sol Source: www.crystalinks.com/aztecalendar.html