1. Introduction to
Mesoamerica

2.  Native Americans were the people who lived on the North American continent thousands of years before the European settlers started their voyages in the fifteenth century. Most scientists agree that the Native Americans crossed this land bridge from Asia through the Bering Strait during several series of migrations or movements.

3. Early Human Migrations
Land Routes
Water Routes

4. The Hunters followed Game
When: circa 20,000 B.C.E B.C.E.
Clovis Hunters and the Pleistocene Extinctions
Hunter-gathering societies
Nomadism
Band structure
Egalitarianism
Population diffusion

5. Major Pre-Columbian Civilizations
Olmecs
Maya
Aztecs
Incas

6. The Olmecs

7. Veracruz
The Olmec inhabited the region 1,200 years ago, and remained here until the beginning of the Christian era.
Olmec” was not what the people called themselves
It means “rubber people” and comes from the rubber trees that flourish in the region

8. Where?
Among the various Mesoamerican Pre-Classic period (1200 BCE-400 BCE) groups, the Olmecs are the most well-known.
About 3,000 years ago the Olmecs lived along the Gulf of Mexico coast in what is now southern Mexico. The area is now known as Veracruz.

9. Culture
The word "Olmec" also refers to the rubber balls used for their ancient ball game.
Olmec were a highly developed and well organized group with a complex calendar, hereditary elite, hieroglyphic writing system, and maize cultivation.
They also created unique art objects and sculptures.
A quintessential Olmec piece that displays a clefted head, the typical were-jaguar mouth and the so-called flaming eyebrows, the original use of this remarkable piece was probably religious in nature.

10. The Mayans

11. Lands of the Mayans
The Yucatan Peninsula

12. Important city-state: Chichen-Itza

13. Chichen-Itza - Ball Court

14. Overview of Tikal (Guatemala)
Temple of the Masks

15. Mayan Cultivation of Maize
Chac, God of Rain 

16. Mayan Drinking Cup for Chocolate

17. Mayan Glyphs used in their writing system
sky king house child city
Mayan Mathematics
Developed a number system
Understood the concept of zero. (similar to India advance).

18. Pakal: The Maya Astronaut

19. Tikal: Temple of the Masks
Monumental Building:
Tikal: Temple of the Masks

20. The Aztecs

21. Lands of the Aztecs

22. Tenochtitlan: The “Venice” of the Americas

23. Aztec Chinampa or Floating Garden: 15ft. to 30ft. wide

24. Aztec Sun Stone - Calendar

25. Aztec Writing
Aztec Math

26. Aztec Codex (15c Manuscript)

27. Aztecs Sacrifice Neighboring Tribes to the Sun God

28. The Aztecs were Fierce Warriors

29. The Incas

30. Lands of the Incas- Peru

31. Incan Suspension Bridges

32. Incan Digging Sticks

33. Over 100 Different Types of Potatoes Cultivated by the Incans

34. Produce from a Typical Incan Market

35. Incan Terrace Farming

36. The Quipu: An Incan Database

37. Machu Picchu