Mesoamerica & Andean South American PERSIAN Chart Key
ERA: 600 BCE 600CE
POLITICAL
 Leaders/groups
 Forms of government
 Empires
 State building/expansion
 Political structures
 Courts/laws
 Nationalism/nations
 Revolts/revolutions
Maya
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ECONOMIC
 Agricultural, pastoral
 Economic systems
 Labor systems/
organizations
 Industrialization
 Technology/industry
 Capital/money
 Business organizations
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RELIGIOUS
 Belief systems/
teachings
 Philosophy
 Holy books
 Conversion
 Key figures
 Deities
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SOCIAL
 Family/ kinship
 Gender roles/relations
 Social and economic
classes
 Racial/ ethnic factors
 Entertainment
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Never unified politically
Divided into a variety of (about 12) kingdoms or states with shifting borders
and rulers (similar to Greek city-states)
Some towns modeled city-state with hinterlands, similar to Mesopotamian citystates (Palenque, Copan, & Piedras Negras); politically sovereign, but culturally
and economically interconnected.
Larger towns became substantial sprawling cities with dependent provinces
(Tikal & Kaminaljuyu); had ambitious leaders.
Ruled by a theocracy
Kingdoms expanded and contracted due to warfare among states.
Chichen Itza organized a loose empire that brought a measure of political
stability
Later wars resulted in larger armies and greater sacrifices; crops were ruined;
people fled cities; food supplies decreased; Mayan cities and states fell apart,
civil war, spread of epidemic disease, natural disasters such as earthquakes – all
factors for decline
No single catastrophic – abandonment
Agrarian villages (maize, cocoa beans, and squash as well as sweet potatoes and
manioc when possible)
Subsistence economy
Used crop rotation to prevent soil depletion
Created terraces and drained fields where possible combined with slash and
burn (swidden) agriculture in the dense jungle areas
Cotton – basic fiber and textile
States/kingdoms connected by trade
Theocracy; ruler part god (ancestry)
Shared religious beliefs
Cities – dominated by platforms and pyramids for religious functions; centers of
religious ritual and spiritual experience (Kaminaljuyu)
Spilling blood – way to pay homage to gods and prompt the gods to send rain
and water to their crops of maize
Rulers shed blood at intervals set by the calendar; royal wives drew blood from
their tongues; some centered on war captives; most by decapitation; men
pierced penis with stingray spine or sharpened bone; all examples of
bloodletting
Highly stratified w/ elaborate class structure
Shamanistic king – extolled lineage, which reached back to a founding father
and the gods; promoted public ceremonies to honor him and his ancestors
Large priestly ruling class who maintained an elaborate calendar and
transmitted knowledge of writing, astronomy, and mathematics.
Hereditary nobility owned most land and organized military forces and
participated in religious rituals
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Mesoamerica & Andean South American PERSIAN Chart Key
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Lifestyles
“Haves” & “have nots”
INTERACTIONS
 War/conflict
 Diplomacy/treaties
 Alliances
 Exchanges between
individuals, groups, &
empires/nations
 Trade/commerce
 Globalization
ARTS
 Art
 Music
 Writing/literature
 Philosophy
 Math
 Science
 Education
 Architecture
 Technology
 Innovations
 Transportation
ENVIRONMENTAL
 Location
 Physical
 Human/environment
 Migration/movement
 Region
 Demography
 Neighborhood
 Urbanization
 Settlement patterns
 Disease
 Cities (2 major ones)
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Merchants came from the ruling and noble classes, they served as traders as
well as ambassadors to neighboring lands
Professional architects and sculptors who oversaw construction of large
monuments and public buildings
Artisans specialized in the production of pottery, tools, and cotton textiles
Large class of peasants and slaves
Rural peasantry
Developed trade networks over large distances
Villages linked together though tribute payments, from lesser villages to larger,
central, sacred towns
Chronic warfare among high-ranked members of rival dynasties to capture
victims for bloodshed
Warfare consolidated control over subjects and brought tribute, sacrificial
victims, and honor to military leaders.
Merchants served as traders as well as ambassadors to neighboring lands
Mathematical advancements – devised a calendar using precise lunar and solar
cycles; concept of zero and place value (limited notational signs)
Science – Study of astronomy; charted regular celestial movements with great
accuracy – used in calendars
Arts – pottery and carvings in stone columns and buildings
Excelled at skyscrapers, especially as tombs (Tikal)
Shared the same Mayan language
Writing system (form of hieroglyphics) taught people they shared common
histories, beliefs, and gods; also glorified the rulers and their ancestors
Ball games were played to honor gods or treaties
Mesoamerica (Central America)
Caribbean region of the Yucatan & its interiors
Present-day southern Mexico to western El Salvador
Lacked large navigable rivers and irrigation systems
Infertile soil
May have numbered 10 million people at their peak
Early form of urban sprawl; cities lacked street grids; simply added onto
existing neighborhoods
Tikal served as a large ceremonial center, population approaching 40,000
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Mesoamerica & Andean South American PERSIAN Chart Key
ERA: 600 B.C.E. to 600
C.E.
POLITICAL
 Leaders/groups
 Forms of government
 Empires
 State building/expansion
 Political structures
 Courts/laws
 Nationalism/nations
 Revolts/revolutions
ECONOMIC
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Agricultural, pastoral
Economic systems
Labor systems/
organizations
 Industrialization
 Technology/industry
 Capital/money
 Business organizations
RELIGIOUS

Belief systems/
teachings
 Philosophy
 Holy books
 Conversion
 Key figures
 Deities
SOCIAL
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Family/ kinship
Gender roles/relations
Social and economic
classes
Racial/ ethnic factors
Entertainment
Lifestyles
“Haves” & “have nots”
Teotihuacan
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Paintings and murals suggest that it was a theocracy
Huge metropolis and large population indicate it had a strong source of
authority.
Influence extended to the Mayan city-state of Kaminaljuyu
Increasing military pressure from other peoples, invaders sacked and
burned the city destroying books and monuments, people left the city
after about 650 CE
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A maize-based economy
Local agrarian production covered the needs of the population
Produced maize, beans, peppers, tomatoes, chilies, and cotton
Extensive trade
Economic influence extended to Mayan city of Kaminaljuyu
Manufactured goods and trade played a large role in economy
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Built on cultural foundations of the Olmecs
Evidence of human sacrifice, victims found with their hands and arms
tied behind them
Pyramid of the Sun
Temple of the Feathered Serpent
Gods and goddesses – feathered serpents, starfish, jaguars, flowers, and
warriors
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Priests were crucial to the survival of the society, since they kept the
calendar and ensured that planting and harvesting took place at the
appropriate seasons
2/3s of the population worked the fields
Artisans were famous for their obsidian tools and fine orange pottery
Professional merchants
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Mesoamerica & Andean South American PERSIAN Chart Key
INTERACTIONS
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War/conflict
Diplomacy/treaties
Alliances
Exchanges between
individuals, groups, &
empires/nations
 Trade/commerce
 Globalization
ARTS
 Art
 Music
 Writing/literature
 Philosophy
 Math
 Science
 Education
 Architecture
 Technology
 Innovations
 Transportation
ENVIRONMENTAL
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Location
Physical
Human/environment
Migration/movement
Region
Demography
Neighborhood
Urbanization
Settlement patterns
Disease
Cities (2 major ones)
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Extended influence in the Mayan City-States of Kaminalijuyu and Tikal
Possible established trade colonies to protect their sources of obsidian
throughout central Mexico
Possibly militaristic, but unknown
Colossal pyramids of the sun and moon; Pyramid of the sun largest
structure in Mesoamerica
Large number of books
Paintings and murals – abstract geometric and stylized images
Played ball games
Orange pottery and obsidian tools
Came from the arid land of northwestern Mexico
Transformed their capital city into a wealthy city with avenues, spacious
plazas, huge marketplaces, temples, palaces, apartment complexes,
slums, waterways, reservoirs, drainage systems, and colorful murals
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Mesoamerica & Andean South American PERSIAN Chart Key
ERA:
8,000 B.C.E. –
600 C.E.
POLITICAL
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Leaders/groups
Forms of government
Empires
State building/expansion
Political structures
Courts/laws
Nationalism/nations
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Revolts/revolutions
ECONOMIC
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Agricultural, pastoral
Economic systems
Labor systems/ organizations
Industrialization
Technology/industry
Capital/money
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Business organizations
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RELIGIOUS
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Family/ kinship
Gender roles/relations
Social and economic classes
Racial/ ethnic factors
Entertainment
Lifestyles
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“Haves” & “have nots”
War/conflict
Diplomacy/treaties
Alliances
Exchanges between
individuals, groups, &
empires/nations
Trade/commerce
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Globalization
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ARTS
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Economy was rooted in a complex irrigation system, requiring constant
maintenance, which funneled runoff from the Andes into fields of maize,
beans, and squash and acres of cotton, all fertilized by rich bird droppings
Harvested anchovies (practice adopted from the Norte-Chico)
Each region of the state contributed products to the larger economy of the
valley: from the highlands came potatoes, llama meat and alpaca wool;
the central valleys supplied maize, beans and squashes, and the coasts
provided sweet potatoes, fish, and cotton.
Artists left abundance evidence of a complex society with considerable
specialization of labor despite no writing system.
Integrated the regional economies of various Andean valleys
Shaman-rulers often under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs
conducted rituals, including human sacrifice from prisoners of war.
Key figures & Deities
INTERACTIONS
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Belief systems/ teachings
Philosophy
Holy books
Conversion
SOCIAL
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Moche or Mochica State
Pan-Andes Chavin cult replaced by several regional civilizations,
including the Moche by 200 B.C.E.
Dominated between 100 and 800 C.E.
Governed by warrior-priests
Later part of the region consolidated into an Empire by the Inca
Art / Music
Writing/ Literature
Philosophy
Math / Science
Education
Architecture
Technology/ Innovations
Transportation
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Wealth of warrior-priest elite and the artistry of craftsmen reflected in the
elaborate burials indicate immense wealth.
Pottery shows life of the common people, including the blind and sick,
aristocrats embarking on a hunting party, warriors leading captives bound
by ropes, women working in a primitive textile factory under the careful
eye of a supervisor, and beggars looking for handouts on a busy street.
Rulers received messages from ambassadors from neighboring states
(art).
States emerged when conquers unified the individual valleys and
organized them into integrated societies; coordinated the building of
irrigation systems so that the lower valley could support intensive
agriculture, established trade and exchange networks that tied the
highlands, the central valleys, and the coastal regions together.
Did not utilize a writing system to record belief systems, values, and
ways of life, so we rely on interpreting their art.
Scenes of ritual human sacrifice, decapitation, and body dismemberment
common
Elaborate burials such as the Lords of Sipan (3 men) who were buried
above each other, decked out in elaborate gold masks, necklaces, and
headdresses, turquoise and gold bead bracelets, cotton tunics covered
with copper plates, a gold rattle showing a Moche warrior smashing a
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Mesoamerica & Andean South American PERSIAN Chart Key
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ENVIRONMENTAL
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Location
Physical
Human/environment
Migration/movement
Region
Demography
Neighborhood
Settlement patterns
Disease
Urbanization/ cities (2 major)
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prisoner with his was club and a copper knife.
Superb skills of the craftspeople, such as metalworkers, potters, weavers,
and painters
Mochica state had its based in the valley of the Moche river
Dominated a 250-mile stretch of Peru’s northern coast and incorporated
13 river valleys
Region was subject to drought, earthquakes and occasional torrential
rains associated with El Nino episodes (dramatic changes in weather
patterns caused by periodic warming of Pacific Ocean currents); Moche
may have feel pray to an episode such as this in the 6th cent.
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