1. Chapter 5 - Lesson 2 Creating a Mexican Culture
Mexico

2. The Olmecs pg
Civilization – a culture that has a complex economic, governing, and social system as well as advanced technology
The earliest Mexican civilization was the Olmecs
The Olmecs first settled along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in what are now the states of Veracruz and Tabasco

3. The Olmecs pg
Innovation – new ways of doing things
By the early 1200s B.C., the Olmecs were living along coastal rivers in villages of small houses made of reeds and straw and farming and fishing for food
The Olmecs developed an early counting system and a calendar to keep track of the flood season
They also used a form of picture writing to keep record of important events
Olmec

4. The Olmecs pg

5. The Olmecs pg
The Olmecs culture spread through trade with other tribes
Olmec artworks were made for religious purposes
The Olmecs based their religion on the forces of nature that affected the growing of crops
They worshipped many different gods, but the most important was a god in the form of a jaguar that they believed brought rain
In the middle of each Olmec city
was a temple for worship
Because all civilizations in the
future would borrow ideas from
the Olmecs, they are called the
“Mother Civilization of the
Americas”
Olmec Civilization

6. The Maya pg 178 The Maya civilization came about just before 500 B.C.
Reclaimed – taken back
The Maya civilization came about just before 500 B.C.
They were in present day Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Southern Mexico
They began borrowing many Olmec culture traits, by clearinf forests and creating farm land and started building cities with great temples
The largest Mayan city
was Tikal, with more than
100,000 people, it was
located on the Yucatan
Peninsula

7. The Maya pg 178
The Temples of the Maya were in the shape of pyramids and made of limestone with four sloping sides that came to a flat surface with a carved jaguar statue at the top
Again, borrowing from the Olmec, the Mayan people worshipped similar gods
The Maya improved upon the Olmec’s calendar making it 365 days
The Mayans also came up with
a symbol for zero and picture
representations
The Mayan civilization lasted
600 years and in A.D. 900
Mayan cities were reclaimed
by the surrounding forests
Maya People

8. The Aztecs pg
The Aztec civilization developed in A.D when the people settled in the Valley of Mexico
The Aztecs were very much like the Mayans: they used a calendar and mathematics to help with their crops, they also used pictures to write and developed large cities and temples

9. The Aztecs pg
The Aztec civilization’s largest city was Tenochtitlan
By the 1400s it had more than 300,000 people and became the capital city of a huge Aztec civilization

10. The Aztecs pg
The Aztec Empire may have had as many as 5 million people, including the civilizations they conquered
Tenochtitlan saw more than 60,000 people from other parts of the Aztec Empire trade and exchange ideas each day in the marketplace

11. The Aztecs pg 179 - 181 Aztec God: Quetzalcoatl Quetzalcoatl Canto
Tenochtitlan

12. The Aztecs pg
Some of the contributions that the Aztec culture had on present-day Mexico are in the language, Nahuatl
Many Mexican cities, people and the name Mexico come from Nahuatl
Mexican foods also come from Aztec culture: the main food of the Aztecs was a thin cornmeal pancake called tlaxcalli, the Spanish later called it a tortilla.
The Aztecs used these tlaxcalli to scoop up other food or wrap bits of meat and vegetables to make a sort of taco

13. The Spanish pg
Missionaries – religious teachers
Between 1519 and 1521, Spanish explorers led by Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztec Empire and claimed the land for Spain
They started forming colonies in New Spain, the capital was Tenochtitlan now renamed Mexico City
Eventually, New Spain became all of the land that is present-day Mexico
Mexico remained a Spanish colony for 300 years and that is why today the people of Mexico speak Spanish and it is the official language of Mexico
The Spanish people practiced the Roman Catholic religion as a result of the missionaries that went from nation to nation in the 1500s
This is why most Mexicans are Roman Catholic and at one point the government did not allow any other religion

14. The Spanish pg
Fiesta – festival
Mestizos – the children of Native Mexicans and Spanish colonists
Every Mexican city and town holds a yearly, fiesta to honor the Catholic saints
Guadalupe Day is the most important Mexican religious holiday as it honors Mary the mother of Jesus Christ on Dec 12
Spanish influences in architecture can also be seen on the churches and buildings of Mexico
Today most people of Mexico are mestizos, which are children of Native Mexicans and Spanish colonists

15. How did Olmec culture traits spread to other cultures? (pg.178)
How was the Olmec civilization important to the Maya? (pg. 178)
What Aztec cultural contributions are found in present-day Mexico? (pg. 181)
What traits of Spanish culture are seen in present-day Mexico? (pg. 182)

16. Remember
Reclaim
Missionaries
Fiesta
Innovations
Civilization
mestizos

17. Activity