Mexico: Maya & Aztec empires

Large Indian empires controlled Mexico in ancient times. Some are so ancient that we can only guess who they were. Teotehuacán, central Mexico

We know the Maya controlled southern Mexico (including the Yucatan peninsula) and Guatemala.

Large Mayan cities dotted southern Mexico and Guatemala.

The Maya are remembered for their tall pyramids with steep steps up the sides. The pyramids had small temples on top.

The Mayan writing system used “glyphs” or “hieroglyphs.”

But Mayan cities were abandoned long before Europeans arrived in the Americas. No one is sure why.

The next group to become powerful in Mexico was the Aztecs.

They were not in the same exact area as the Maya. The Aztecs settled in central Mexico, where Mexico City is now.

The Aztecs moved into central Mexico from the north. Tribes already living there fought them.

Aztec legend said they would find their final home when they saw an eagle eating a snake and sitting on a cactus. And Aztec leaders said they saw this eagle on the island in the center of the lake.

Guided by their legends, they settled on a swampy island in Lake Texcoco. The Aztecs ended up with land nobody else wanted.

They built that swampy island into a powerful city.

The Aztecs eventually conquered the neighbors that had not welcomed them, and they built a large empire.

The Aztecs ruled central Mexico for 100 years before they were conquered by Spanish invaders.

The Spanish conquerors used the Indian populations as slave labor in construction, mining, and farming. From a mural by Diego Rivera

Within 200 years, overwork and European disease cut the Indian population of Mexico from 12 million to only 1 million people

Today, downtown Mexico City is built on the ruins of Aztec palaces and pyramids.

Mexico City’s downtown plaza used to be the center of the Aztec capitol.

There are still many full-blood Indians in Mexico, such as this Mayan family.

But over half of Mexico’s population is a mixture of Indian and Spanish descent. Mestizo = Mixed Indian & Spanish ancestry

Mexico’s culture is a mixture of Indian and Spanish traditions, including food, holidays, and sports.

Mexico’s modern national flag honors their Aztec heritage, showing the eagle standing on a cactus with a snake in its mouth.

Image Sources Mexico/graficos/Tenochtitlan jpg %2006.jpg