MESOAMERICA

Group 2

A. Maya civilization ( 250 CE - 900 CE )

- One of Mesoamerica's most powerful indigenous societies
- It spanned Central America and reached its zenith

1. Mayan Calendar - dating system of the ancient Mayan civilization and the basis
for all other calendars used by Mesoamerican civilization. They used 20-day
months, and had 2 calendar years:

● Tzolkin (Divine Calendar) - 260-day Sacred

Round Days numbering 1 through 13 in a
continuous cycle, for 20 cycles throughout the
year. It marks religious and ceremonial
events.

● Haab (Civil Calendar) - 365-day Vague Year

It is similar to our modern calendar, consisting of 18
months of 20 days each, with an unlucky five-day
period at the end.

2. Temples (Pyramid) - 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.

3. Hydraulic System - This aqueduct from the 16th century is

located on the Central Mexican Plateau between the states of
Mexico and Hidalgo. Many cities employed the hydraulic
system to successfully deliver water throughout their large
regions which made it easier for the Mayans to farm and was a
significant invention in Mesoamerica as a whole.

4. Looms (textile) - Textiles were valued second only to gold in

many ancient Mesoamerican cultures. They were also utilized
 for ritual purposes, such as marking stages of life, representing social position, or
indicating region.

5. Hieroglyphics - an advanced form of writing

with a combination of pictographs. They also
utilize symbols which are called glyphs, in order
to illustrate words, sounds, or objects. They
used black ink made from coal and quills which
are made from the turkey feathers in order to
write.

6. Vigesimal number system - a Mayan Number System where they use

the The Base 20 System which mesoamericans counted in 20s using their
fingers and toes. It was the Maya who used “shell” (a true zero symbol) to
advance their mathematics to a new level. The Mayan number system
made addition and subtraction relatively simple since only symbols had to
be manipulated instead of doing the actual calculations.

B. Aztec civilization ( 1345 - 1521 ) -

- is known for being the last great Mesoamerican culture before the arrival of the
Europeans.

1. Mandatory education - The Aztec children are all

required to attend school, as stated in their law. This
includes not just the rich Aztec children, but also the
slaves and the girls. (boys and girls are in separate
schools)
 BOYS GIRLS
- Farm - Cook
- Crafting (pottery) - Make clothing

Both boys and girls were taught religion which includes dancing, and ritual songs. The
children were also instructed about manners and correct behavior. It was necessary
for the Aztec children not to complain, and not make fun of the old or sick people.

2. Chocolates - It is significant to them because of the

sense of godly aura, referred to as “food from the
gods”. They believe the cacao beans were gifts from
Quetzalcoatl, the God of Wisdom. They would also
give xocoátl (the bitter chocolate drink) as a
sacrifice. Additionally they believed that cacao was a
suitable form of currency, as it increased the overall value of this crop.

3. Antispasmodic medication - They utilized the

passion flower as an antispasmodic treatment to
avoid muscular spasms and relax muscles, which
could have been useful during surgery. The
passion flower is still used as a herbal medicine
for sleeplessness, epilepsy, and high blood
pressure.

4. Chinampa (floating garden) - it is

constructed by pilling up mud into raft-like
structures to make it look like an island; these
islands were usually made side by side with
canals in between them. These lands
appeared to be “floating” on water because of
the canals, hence the name “floating garden”.
They are built to grow plants and vegetables
for consumption and to sell in the market.
 5. Aztec Calendar - The Aztecs of
ancient Mexico measured time
with a sophisticated and
interconnected triple calendar
system which followed the
movements of the celestial
bodies and provided a
comprehensive list of important
religious festivals and sacred dates. Each day in the calendar was given a
unique combination of a name and a number. The Aztec calendar
consisted of a ritual cycle of 260 days and a 365-day civil cycle.

6. Canoe - A dugout canoe was very

useful for navigating the canals and
lake surrounding Tenochtitlan. These
canoes were made from hollowed-out
logs burned by fire. Aztec carpenters
also made a flat-bottomed boat
similar to a raft, consisting of planks
of wood tied together with tight fibers.
From this knowledge, the Aztecs built
an impressive array of tools,
structures, and systems to help their society thrive.

C. Inca civilization ( 1400’s - 1530’s)

- the largest empire ever seen in the Americas and, at the time, the largest in the
world.

1. Stone free highways - also known as 'Qhapaq an', which translates to

"royal road. he Incas used the road system for a number of objectives,
including military and religious ones in addition to providing transit for
people passing through the Empire.
2. Inca stone structure - The Inca people are
known for stonemasonry which is
characteristic of the structures they built,
especially retaining walls for terraces,
buildings, roads, and forts. This technique has
helped their buildings overcome natural
challenges such as steep mountain slopes,
difficulty for invading forces, and speeding up
the communication.

3. Suspension bridge
- First Suspension Bridge: (Believed to be) During 13th Centuries
- Overall Suspension Bridges during Inca Empire: was estimated to
be Over 200 bridges in total.
- The Andean Region, a huge part of the Inca Empire, has one of the
world's most demanding and difficult landscapes.
- establishing the grandest and longest suspension bridges in the
Inca Civilization was a significant part of history books.
- Traditionally, ichu grass, ropes, leather ties, and other materials are
used to build these bridges

4. Inca Textile - The fabrics used by the Incas were either fashioned from
highland mammals like llamas and alpacas or from lowland plants like
cotton traded by coastal and Amazonian peoples. Textiles represented
wealth and status to the Incas. Even more precious than gold or silver, the
finest textiles were among the most valuable of all possessions. Red, for
instance, is associated with bloodshed, tyranny, and invasion. Rain,
ancestors, and rainforests are all symbolized by the color green. Yellow
 may often symbolize gold or corn, whereas black denotes both creation
and death. Purple, which appears in the rainbow, was thought to be the
original hue and was connected to Mama Oclla, the Incas' founding
mother. Blue, on the other side, represents water, life, and energy.

5. Quipu (knot) - The use of this method dates

back to 2600 BCE up until 1532 CE. Since,
number of knots, type of knots, the length, is
said to carry various potential meanings that is
why the process of deciphering these systems is
still ongoing.

6. Inca calendar - The Incas apparently used two different calendars, one
for daytime and one for nighttime. The daytime calendar was based on the
solar cycle and was approximately 365 days long. It was used for
economic activities such as agriculture, mining,
warfare, and construction. The movement of the
sun was particularly important to the Inca
agricultural calendar, being used to fix the days
of planting. Zuidema suggests that the Incas’
nighttime calendar was developed to mark
important ceremonies to the moon and stars,
which were sacred deities of the Incas. It had
only 328 days, which equals twelve months of
27.33 days each