Ms. Diane Nicoll 7th Grade History Unit 5: Lesson 2 

Name: Malia Malden

Date: 2/23/28

Class: 7th Grade - Medieval World History

 
Slides and Notes 
Slide Student Notes

Title  ☆ MesoAmerican Geography ☆

Study the locations, landforms, and climates of
Mexico, Central America, and South America and their
Goal 
effects on Mayan, Aztec, and Incan economies, trade,
and development of urban societies.

Define: 
The complex societies of Central and South America
MesoAmerican
that developed before the arrival of the Europeans.
Civilizations

The Mayans  
Tropical rainforests of the Yucatan Peninsula ​which
Jungles  today is the Southern tip of Mexico and parts of Belize, Honduras,
Guatemala and Nicaragua.

Food?

The rainforest provided a very diverse food supply,

and fresh water. The ocean provided fish.

What are cenotes?

Food and Water  Large sinkholes in the middle of the jungle with fresh
water.

How did the Mayans feel about cenotes?

These cenotes were so important to the development of Maya

civilization that they were seen as homes of the gods and
sacrifices were often made to the cenotes.

 
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Ms. Diane Nicoll 7th Grade History Unit 5: Lesson 2 

Isolated urban centers called, city-states.

Why was this area isolated?

Isolated 
Geography. ​The dense, thick jungle kept the Maya cities
naturally isolated from each other, so each one maintained an
independent identity

The Aztecs  
Wide, high valley in the mountains of Central Mexico.
Mexico 
Called themselves the Mexica.

Why is agriculture important?

It lets people live in one place, develop a surplus and

grow in population.

Lake soil is very fertile

Fertile Soil 
What are Chinampas?

Long platforms of soil floating on shallow rafts, which

the Aztec used to grew crops. ​Chinampas were very
efficient means of agriculture, and the Aztecs were able to
harvest their crops up to seven times in a single year.

Lakes?

The valley had many lakes. The Aztec Capital, was

located in the middle of lake Texcoco which sat 7,336
ft. above sea level and was surrounded by mountains.
Natural Defenses 
Very difficult to attack

Mountains?

10,00 ft. taller than the city

The Incas  
High Mountains  Which mountain range?

 
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Ms. Diane Nicoll 7th Grade History Unit 5: Lesson 2 

South America 
The Andes in South America

Why defensible?
Defenses 
It was so high up that barely anyone could get to it to
attack it.

Human ingenuity created roads, aqueducts, and

terraces to solve problems.
Terraces 
Roads solved the problem of communication.
Aqueducts solved the problem of water.
Terraces solved the problem of agriculture.

Video 

Video Summary Paragraph Starter:

The Mayan, Aztec, and Incan civilizations shared

values of education, engineering and creative
thinking. Geography has played an important role in
every civilization. For example, Geography has
planned an important role in every civilization. As a
result of geography, the Mayans, Aztecs and Incans
needed to get creative on how they grew crops and
MesoAmerica  protected their people.
Geography​ Video 
T​he Maya found jungles that protected them from invaders with
fresh water sinkholes called cenotes. These jungles also kept the
Maya cities isolated, and they never developed a single Maya
identity. The Aztecs settled in the Valley of Mexico, in a high
mountain lake with fertile soil and natural defenses. The Inca
chose the high, abundant peaks of the Andes Mountains in South
America, where they learned to build platforms with retaining
walls called terraces for agriculture.

 
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