mesoamerica

mesoamerica

1. MESOAMERICA

2. The term Mesoamerica is derived from the Greek and means "Middle America." It refers to a geographical and cultural area which extends from northern Mexico down through Central America, including the territory which is now made up of the countries of Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador. It is therefore seen as partly in North America, and encompassing most of Central America. Many important ancient civilizations developed in this area, including the Olmecs,  Mayas, and Aztecs. Mesoamerica

3. Mesoamerica is commonly divided into five different cultural areas: West Mexico, the Central Highlands, Oaxaca, the Gulf region, and the Maya area. The term Mesoamerica was originally coined by Paul Kirchhoff, a German-Mexican anthropologist, in 1943. His definition was based on geographic limits, ethnic composition, and cultural characteristics at the time of the conquest. The term Mesoamerica is mainly used by cultural anthropologists and archaeologists, but it is very useful for visitors to Mexico to be familiar with it when trying to grasp an understanding of how Mexico developed over time.

4. 3 ancient civilizations

5. Olmecs A member of a prehistoric people inhabiting the coast of Veracruz and western Tabasco on the Gulf of Mexico ( c. 1200–400 BC), who established what was probably the first Meso -American civilization.

6.   Olmec colossal The  Olmec colossal heads  are stone representations of human  heads  sculpted from large basalt boulders. The heads  date from at least 900 BC and are a distinctive feature of the  Olmec  civilization of ancient Mesoamerica   Olmec colossal

7. Mayas The Maya civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization developed by the Maya peoples, and noted for its hieroglyphic script—the only known fully developed writing system of the pre-Columbian Americas—as well as for its art, architecture, mathematics, calendar, and astronomical system

8. Haab The Mayan calendar (Haab) is to date one of the most accurate calendars ever created. The Haab consist of eighteen months of twenty days and one month of fivedays

9. Aztecs Aztec. Aztec, self name Culhua -Mexica, Nahuatl-speaking people who in the 15th and early 16th centuries ruled a large empire in what is now central and southern Mexico. The Aztecs are so called from Aztlán (“White Land”), an allusion to their origins, probably in northern Mexico.

10. Aztec Canoe The macuahuitl was a club made of wood that paralyzed enemies. Aztecs also made canoes that allowed them to carry goods through waterways in the empire. 

11. Aztec Herbs used for medicine   Aztec medical advancements were also an astonishing part of Aztec society. Doctors had cures for sickness and injuries and also had ways to prevent them. Some of the illness' and injuries that doctors treated were fevers, earaches, broken bones, and colds. Doctors even had procedures for women to go through when they were pregnant, such as having a women carry wood ash if she goes out past dawn to ward off evil spirits that could harm her fetus.

12. 3 Major Periods of Mesoamerica

13. The Pre-Classic period stretches from 1500 B.C. to 200 A.D. During this period there was a refinement of agricultural techniques which allowed for larger populations, division of labor and the social stratification necessary for civilizations to develop. The Olmec civilization, which is sometimes referred to as the "mother culture" of Mesoamerica, developed during this period. The Pre-Classic Period

14. The Classic Period The Classic period, from 200 to 900 A.D., saw the development of great urban centers with centralization of power. Some of these major ancient cities include Monte Alban in Oaxaca, Teotihuacan in central Mexico and the Mayan centers of Tikal, Palenque and Copan. Teotihuacan was one of the largest metropoles in the world at the time, and its influence stretched over much of Mesoamerica.

15. The Post Classic Period The Post-Classic period, from 900 A.D. to the arrival of the Spaniards in the early 1500s, was characterized by city-states and greater emphasis on war and sacrifice. In the Maya area, Chichén Itza was a major political and economic center, and in the central plateau. In the 1300s, towards the end of this period, the Aztecs (also called the Mexica) emerged. The Aztecs had previously been a nomadic tribe, but they settled in central Mexico and founded their capital city Tenochtitlan in 1325, and rapidly came to dominate most of Mesoamerica.