Transcript Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica
A Proper Tribute to a
Long-Gone Civilization
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerican Timeline
 PRE-CLASSIC (2000-100 BC)
 CLASSIC (100 BC-900 AD)
 POST-CLASSIC (900 AD-Present Day)
 This lecture will be dealing with only the
Pre-Classic Period
 Rise of Mayan Culture
 Giant Statues of Olmec Kings
 Daily Life in Mesoamerica
First “American” Civilization
 The OLMEC precede
later Mesoamerican
civilizations such as the
Toltec, Maya, and Aztec
 The name "Olmec"
means "rubber people"
in Nahuatl, the language
of the Aztec people
 Later accounts seem to
refer to their ancient
name as "Tamoanchan"
Giant Olmec Statues
 The heads range in
size from the Rancho
La Corbata head, at
3.4m high, to the pair
at Tres Zapotes, at
1.47m
 Almost all of these
colossal heads bear
the same features flattened nose, wide
lips, and capping
headpiece
The Calendar Round
 Variously known as the tzolkin or tonalamatl, a
period of 52 years would elapse before the 260day calendar would come back into phase with the
365-day calendar
Glyphic Writing
 GLYPHIC writing refers
specifically to the letters or
characters within a writing
system and may or may not be
attached to particular sounds
 Most Mesoamerican
glyphics are only
pictographic symbols
used to express ideas
The Ballgame
 The “ball” was made
from hardened rubber
from the sap of a fig
tree, used specifically
for its ability to bounce
 There were versions
played only with the
hands, others which
used the hips and the
elbows, and another in
which a bat was used
A World of Indifference
 French word for it is
Caoutchouc and it
comes from a South
American Indian word
meaning “the wood that
weeps”
 Juice is found in the
bark of the hevea
brasiliensis tree, the
source of most of the
world’s natural rubber
Mayan Traditions
 The Maya developed a complex, hierarchical
society divided into classes and professions
headed by kings who ruled territories with clearly
defined boundaries in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize,
Honduras, and El Salvador
Old-Time Religion
 The name Popol Vuh
means "The Collection
of Written Leaves“
 The book begins with
the Maya civilization's
creation myth followed
by the history of the
Quiché kingdom
 It was composed in the
form in which we now
possess it by a
Christianized native of
Guatemala
Xocolatl of the Gods
 The word chocolate is
derived from the
Nahuatl language of
Mexico
 xocolli (bitter)
 atl (water)
 Chocolate is made
from the fermented,
roasted, and ground
beans taken from the
pod of the Theobroma
cacao tree
Teotihuacan
 The name is from the
Nahuatl language and
means “place of
becoming gods”
 The Avenue of the
Dead was the main
street of Teotihuacan
and ran for more than
2.5 km
 The avenue divided the
city into two sections,
with pyramids on both
sides of the avenue
Decline of Mayan Culture
 The decline and disappearance of the
Mayan culture of Mesoamerica makes them
difficult to understand
 Mayans believed that the world has been
created five times and destroyed four times
This description became the fundamental
basis of Mesoamerican religion from 900 AD
onwards when it was adopted by the Toltecs