L ANDFORMS OF M ESOAMERICA  Mesoamerica = Middle America is between the US and South America  Varying elevations – Mexican Plateau, mountains, coastal plains, lowlands: Yucatan Peninsula  Volcanoes – over 12 still active, mountains, etc.

C LIMATE AND V EGITATION  Tropics – hot, wet, rain forests, rich grasslands  Elevations – higher = cooler  Tierra Helada – mountain grasses, animals grazing  Tierra Fria – natural vegetation, wheat, potatoes  Tierra Templada – wet forest, corn, beans, squash, cotton, coffee  Tierra Caliente – dry forest, cacao, bananas, sugar cane

G EOGRAPHY AND L IFE  Natural resources – jade, obsidian, seashells, sharks teeth, sacred bird feathers (clothing etc.)  Slash and burn agriculture – cut trees and burned, used ash for fertilizer  Crops – corn, beans, peppers, squash, cacao  Trade – goods, luxury goods traded between regions, also by water (rivers, ocean)  Common culture created among regions due to trade

OLMEC CIVILIZATION Began 3,000 years ago, Southern Mexico Alluvial soil – fertile land for agriculture, steady food Growth of labor, specialization = growth of cities Cities – plazas for gatherings, large stone sculpture for religion; San Lorenzo 900 BC La Venta became central city for Olmec

OLMEC CULTURE Much of their life a mystery, but did invent ball game with many spectators Farmers and fishermen, city dwellers were mostly the elite priests and nobles: large stone houses, jewelry, fancy clothes Commoners, craft workers: some in cities, smaller homes mud and stones Art, religion, and education: large stone heads out of basalt (represent?), mystery how they got the rock, jade, pottery, cave paintings, glyph writing, calendar and astronomy, several gods, main was jaguar

OLMEC LEGACY Trade: cities= trade centers stone, iron ore, obsidian, knowledge and ideas 500 BC: Olmec began to abandon cities, by 400 BC mostly gone Considered a mother culture to Mesoamerica Other civilizations: Zapotec, Teotihuacan, Aztec, and Maya

MAYA 1500 BC villages established in highlands and lowlands Farming thrived so villages grew to cities Crafts developed, priests, teachers, also division of labor 4 social classes: kings and family; nobility including scholars, architects, merchants; peasants = farmers and laborers; slaves, criminals and captured peoples PEASANT FARMERS – small villages, most peasants, grew – corn, beans, squash, chili peppers, avocadoes, cacao NOBILITY – houses of stone, decorated with murals, fancy clothes, jaguar skins, headdresses with feathers, jewelry: jade, seashells: ate better than peasants, chocolate

MAYAN RELIGION AND LEARNING Religion – over 160 gods, ItzamNa is main god People prayed, fasted, and offered sacrifices (mostly animals) to gain favor – sometimes a human sacrifice Rulers expected to communicate to gods Believed afterlife unhappy Many festivals, ceremonies; ball game – sport but also religious meaning and to celebrate history Writing = glyphs; codex was a paper fold (book) only a few still exist Math – based on 20, first to use 0, advances in astronomy – eclipses, farming, calendar system

MAYAN CITIES AND DECLINE Peak of the Maya – AD Classical Period Over 40 cities, magnificent architecture, plazas, palaces, ball courts, and pyramids Large stone monuments – steles; glyphs with dates and events A king governed each city, war on a neighboring city to gain political or economic power; could get tribute from other cities Mystery – downfall: 800’s began to abandon cities, populations declined, over farming? Disease? War? By 1400 all cities abandoned