HISTORY: Mesoamerican Architecture 1.0

History of Architecture 1
Report by: Ampil + Faustino
De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde
School of Design & Arts
Architecture Program
1st Term S.Y. 2016-17
December 2016

1. MAYA & AZTEC HISTARC1

2. MAYA CIVILIZATION MESOAMERICA

3. THE MAYA Indigenous people of Mexico and Central America (MESOAMERICA.)

4. 3 DIFFERENT SUB-AREAS N orthern Maya lowlands on the Yucatan Peninsula ; S outhern lowlands in the Peten district of northern Guatemala and adjacent portions of Mexico, Belize and western Honduras; Southern Maya highlands, in the mountainous region of southern Guatemala

5. SOUTHERN LOWLANDS

6. EARLY MAYA (PRECLASSIC PERIOD) 1800 B.C. TO A.D. 250

7. EARLY MAYA (PRECLASSIC PERIOD) AGRICULTURE

8. EARLY MAYA (PRECLASSIC PERIOD) CULTURE

9. CLASSIC MAYA: CITIES OF STONE A.D. 250-900

10. CLASSIC MAYA: CITIES OF STONE A.D. 250-900 Unearthed plazas, palaces, temples and pyramids, as well as courts for playing the ball games that were ritually and politically significant to Maya culture.

11. CLASSIC MAYA: PYRAMIDS A.D. 250-900 Stepped pyramid shape, decorating them with elaborate reliefs and inscriptions. These structures have earned the Maya their reputation as the great artists of Mesoamerica.

12. CLASSIC MAYA: RELIGION A.D. 250-900 Worshiped various gods related to nature, including the gods of the sun, the moon, rain and corn. At the top of Maya society were the kings , or “ kuhul ajaw ” (holy lords), who claimed to be related to gods and followed a hereditary succession.

13. MAYA: LIFE IN THE RAINFORESET The lowlands were environmentally diverse. L imestone (for construction), the volcanic rock obsidian (for tools and weapons) and salt . Treasures including jade, quetzal feathers (used to decorate the elaborate costumes of Maya nobility) and marine shells, which were used as trumpets in ceremonies and warfare.

14. MAYA: THE FALL The reason for the decline of the Classic Maya civilization is unknown. Scholar developed several theories: 1. overpopulation and overuse of the land, 2. endemic warfare and 3. drought On the other hand, In the highlands of the Yucatan, a few Maya cities–such as Chichén Itzá , Uxmal and Mayapán –continued to flourish in the Post-Classic Period (A.D. 900-1500) A.D. 900

15. ARCHITECTURE MAYA CIVILIZATION

16. ARCHITECTURE: CITY LAYOUT In the center of the cities were the important public buildings such as temples, palaces and the ball court. Residential areas radiated out from the city center, growing sparser the further they got from the center.

17. ARCHITECTURE: CITY LAYOUT

18. ARCHITECTURE: HOMES The Maya kings lived in stone palaces in the city center near the temples. T he common Maya lived in small houses outside the city center. The Maya tended to build up a mound or base and then build upon it: as the wood and thatch wore away or rotted they would tear it down and build again on the same foundation.

19. ARCHITECTURE: HOMES

20. ARCHITECTURE: TEMPLES Maya temples were built of stone, with platforms on the top where wooden and thatch structures could be built. Temples tended to be pyramids, with steep stone steps leading to the top, where important ceremonies and sacrifices took place . Many temples are graced by elaborate stone carvings and glyphs.

21. ARCHITECTURE: TEMPLES CHICHEN ITZA

22. ARCHITECTURE: TEMPLES THE HEIROGLYPHIC STAIRWAY AT COPAN

23. ARCHITECTURE: TEMPLES Temples were often built with astronomy in mind: certain temples are aligned to the movements of Venus, the sun or moon. LOST WORLD COMPLEX, TIKAL

24. ARCHITECTURE: PALACES The Palaces were large, multi-storied buildings which were home to the king and royal family. They tended to be made of stone with wooden structures on top. Roofs were made of thatch . Includes courtyards, different structures that were possibly homes, patios, towers, etc .

25. ARCHITECTURE: TEMPLES PALACE AT PALENQUE

26. ARCHITECTURE: TEMPLES PALACE AT PALENQUE

27. ARCHITECTURE: BALL COURTS The ceremonial ball game was an important part of Maya life. Common and noble people alike played for fun and recreation, but some games had important religious and spiritual significance. Ball courts, which were rectangular with sloped walls on either side, were prominently placed in Maya cities.

28. ARCHITECTURE: BALL COURTS

29. AZTEC CIVILIZATION MESOAMERICA

30. THE AZTECS Originated as a nomadic tribe in northern Mexico Arrived in Mesoamerica around the beginning of the 13th century. From their magnificent capital city, Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs emerged as the dominant force in central Mexico, developing an intricate social, political, religious and commercial organization that brought many of the region’s city-states under their control by the 15th century.

31. THE AZTECS

32. THE AZTECS Originated as a nomadic tribe in northern Mexico Arrived in Mesoamerica around the beginning of the 13th century. From their magnificent capital city, Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs emerged as the dominant force in central Mexico, developing an intricate social, political, religious and commercial organization that brought many of the region’s city-states under their control by the 15th century.

33. AZTECS: HISTORY The Aztecs appeared in Mesoamerica–as the south-central region of pre-Columbian Mexico is known–in the early 13th century. Their arrival came just after, or perhaps helped bring about, the fall of the previously dominant Mesoamerican civilization, the Toltecs . They drained the swampy land, constructed artificial islands on which they could plant gardens and established the foundations of their capital city, Tenochtitlán , in 1325 A.D.

34. AZTECS: HISTORY

35. AZTECS: HISTORY Their relatively sophisticated system of agriculture (including intensive cultivation of land and irrigation methods) and a powerful military tradition would enable the Aztecs to build a successful state, and later an empire.

36. AZTECS: THE FALL The first European to visit Mexican territory was Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, who arrived in Yucatan from Cuba with three ships and about 100 men in early 1517. Cordobars reports on his return to Cuba prompted the Spanish governor there, Diego Velasquez, to send a larger force back to Mexico under the command of Hernan Cortes.

37. AZTECS: HISTORY

38. AZTECS: THE FALL In November 1519, Cortes and his men arrived in Tenochtitlan, where Montezuma and his people greeted them as honored guests according to Aztec custom (partially due to Cortes’ physical resemblance to the light-skinned Quetzalcoatl, whose return was prophesied in Aztec legend). Though the Aztecs had superior numbers, their weapons were inferior, and Cortes was able to immediately take Montezuma and his entourage of lords hostage, gaining control of Tenochtitla .

39. AZTECS: THE FALL The Spaniards then murdered thousands of Aztec nobles during a ritual dance ceremony, and Montezuma died under uncertain circumstances while in custody . Cuauhtemoc , his young nephew, took over as emperor, and the Aztecs drove the Spaniards from the city. With the help of the Aztecs’ native rivals, Cortes mounted an offensive against Tenochtitlan, finally defeating Cuauhtemoc’s resistance on August 13, 1521 . In all, some 240,000 people were believed to have died in the city’s conquest, which effectively ended the Aztec civilization. After his victory, Cortes razed Tenochtitla and built Mexico City on its ruins; it quickly became the premier European center in the New World.

40. ARCHITECTURE AZTEC CIVILIZATION

41. ARCHITECTURE: CITY LAYOUT Tenochtitlan, Aztec’s capital city, was built around the hustle and bustle of the centre , their public plaza. The plaza was then surrounded by temples, shrines and pyramids as you move out from the centre , and then further out scattered in the outskirts were the Aztec homes, their ball courts, and their garden and farming land.

42. ARCHITECTURE: TEMPLES XOCHICALCO

43. ARCHITECTURE: TEMPLES SANTA CECILIA ACTITLAN

44. ARCHITECTURE: PALACES The emperor and ruler of the Aztecs would have a very large palace. It had a very large courtyard and had two stories. Gold panels, paintings and carvings cover the walls . There would be numerous rooms, each dedicated to a specific use. A large staircase is located in the centre of the grand home.

45. ARCHITECTURE: BALL COURTS

46. ARCHITECTURE: CHINAMPAS

47. ARCHITECTURE: CHINAMPAS Artificial islands that were created by building up extensions of soil into bodies of water. The long raised beds had ditches in between them, giving plants continuous access to water and making crops grown there independent of rainfall . Chinampas were separated by channels wide enough for a canoe to pass.

48. ARCHITECTURE: CHINAMPAS