1. Mesoamerica Unit

2. Mesoamerican Civilizations –
The Maya

3. The Land of the Maya Answer the following questions as you read:
What modern countries are the remains of the Mayan civilization found in?
What crop was an important part of Mayan life?
What two subjects were the Maya very skilled in?
About what year did Mayan civilization begin to decline?
What two things killed as many as 90% of the Maya?
What evidence do we have of Mayan civilization today?

4. Exit Slip
Write one question from today’s lesson you feel should be on the quiz at the end of the week.

5. Bell Work
Choose one of the four pictures below and briefly explain how it reflects your culture:

6. Bell Work
How can you use the sky to keep track of time?

8. Mayan Calendar

9. Bell Work
How do the sports we play reflect our culture?

10. Mesoamerican Ball Game

11. Quiz YOU MAY USE YOUR CLASS NOTEBOOKS What is an ajaw?
Name at least one of the modern countries where the Maya civilization was located.
Name 2 subjects the Maya were very skilled in.
What did the Maya develop to keep track of time?
Describe the sport played by the Maya. (What equipment did they use? How could they score?)

12. The Aztec Empire

13. The Aztecs’ Journey Read the article.
Underline all of the important dates regarding Aztec settlement.

14. The Origin of the Aztecs

15. Bell Work
Does the way we build our houses, churches, and other structures reflect our culture? Why or why not?

16. Aztec Architecture The Aztecs were very skilled builders.
They shared a lot of building techniques in common with the Maya (e.g. – pyramids).

17. Aztec Architecture
The main difference between Aztec and Mayan architecture is the way they built their cities.
Aztecs built their cities on a grid whereas the Maya had no set layout for their cities.
The city was built around a central square where temples, palaces, barracks, and the ball court would be located.

19. Aztec Architecture
The Aztecs also built a series of aqueducts to carry water into their cities.

20. Aztec Architecture
They also built causeways to connect their island cities to the main land.

21. City Planners Work with a partner and plan an Aztec city.
It needs to have the following:
A city square:
At least two temples
A palace
Places for priests and soldiers to live
A ball court
Places for people to live and shop.
At least one causeway
At least one aqueduct.

22. Bell Work
What is something you think other people would find strange about your religion if they had never heard of it before?

23. Reading Review
Why did the Aztecs believe human sacrifices were necessary?
Was being chosen as a sacrifice a punishment or an honor? Why?
How did an Aztec learn to become a priest?
What were three responsibilities of the priests?
Which priests performed the human sacrifices?

24. Bell Work
Make a list of things that you know have more than one name (e.g. soccer – football, pop - soda). Write down both names you know.

25. Aztec Hieroglyphs
Aztecs spoke a different language than the Mayans, but used a similar system of writing.
Both systems were based on glyphs that represented both complete words and sounds.

26. Aztec Hieroglyphs

27. Aztec Calendar
The Aztec Calendar was virtually identical to the Mayan Calendar.
Both were based on ceremonial cycles and solar cycles.
Each had 20 day months, with a 5 day short month at the end of the year.
The primary difference between the calendars was the names of their days and the glyphs used for them.

28. Aztec Calendar
The Aztec Calendar was virtually identical to the Mayan Calendar.
Both were based on ceremonial cycles and solar cycles.
Each had 20 day months, with a 5 day short month at the end of the year.
The primary difference between the calendars was the names of their days and the glyphs used for them.

29. Aztec Calendar
Aztec Day Names
Mayan Day Names

31. Quiz
Did Aztec civilization develop before or after Mayan civilization?
According to legend, what did the Aztecs see that told them where to build their capital city?
In what way was Aztec architecture similar to Mayan architecture?
What is an aqueduct?
What was at the center of every Aztec city?
What was similar about the Aztecs and Mayans way of writing?
Although the Aztec and Mayan calendars were very similar, what was different about them?
How many days are in a month in the Mayan and Aztec calendars?