World History
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Today’s Date
Early Civilizations of Mesoamerica
Page # (Your next available page)
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Given instructional sources, the student will
demonstrate understanding of the civilization
of early Mesoamerica by completing an
organizer
As you read, create a separate chart, like the one shown below for
each of the cultures discussed in this lesson. You may use your
book, pp. 372-379 to find the information you will need.
People
Location
Religion
Architecture
Year/Reason
Declined
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When archaeologists first began investigating in Mesoamerica in the
1940s, they discovered a civilization they called the Olmec
The Olmec were also known as the “rubber people” because of the
rubber trees that grew in the area
The Olmec were the first civilization that grew in the area, appearing
around 1200 BC
They farmed along the riverbanks in the swampy lowlands along the
coast of Mexico near Veracruz
They traded for jade and obsidian to make their tools, jewelry and
monuments
The Olmec cities were religious centers, containing pyramids in such
cities as La Venta and San Lorenzo
Olmec artisans also carved massive stone heads 10 feet high and
weighing 20 tons
For unknown reasons the Olmec declined and collapsed around 400 BC
They influenced later Mesoamerican cultures with their ballcourt game,
their jaguar gods and their calendar and number systems
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Open your book to page 373
Read the story, examine the picture and read
the caption
Answer the following questions
Name the different objects created by Olmec
stone carvers
Based on their large sculptures, what can we
conclude about the Olmec peoples?
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The first major city in Mesoamerica was Teotihuacan
This city was the capital of an early kingdom that arose around
250 BC and collapsed around 800 AD
Located 30 miles northwest of Mexico City in a fertile valley,
Teotihuacan occupied an area of 8 square miles
It had as many as 200,000 inhabitants at its height
It was dominated by the Avenue of the Dead, lined with temples
and finished with the massive pyramid of the Sun – 200 feet high
Most of the people of Teotihuacan were farmers, blessed with
fertile soil that made their valley one of the richest areas in
Mesoamerica
Teotihuacan was also known for trade, especially obsidian which
was used in weapons and tools, their network spread throughout
Mesoamerica
For unknown reasons, in the 8th century the city declined, the
elite left and the city was destroyed and abandoned
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Open your book to page 380-381
Read the story, the inset captions and look at
the artist’s representation of the city
Answer the following questions
How does the evidence of city planning
support the presence of a civilization?
What might the placement of the pyramids at
Teotihuacan indicate about the role of
religion in this society?
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Far to the east of Teotihuacan, on the Yucatan Peninsula,
another civilization arose which was the most
sophisticated in the Americas: the Maya
The Maya built splendid temples and pyramids and
developed a sophisticated calendar as accurate as any in
the world at that time
The Maya were a farming people, clearing away the dense
jungle in slash and burn farming in southern Mexico and
western Guatemala
Sometime around 800 AD the Maya civilization went into
decline and the cities abandoned to the jungle
Why? No one knows but the most recent theory is that
overuse of the land produced food shortages and revolts
The Maya cities would not be discovered again until the
19th and 20th centuries
List some of the accomplishments of the Maya. Use a chart like
the one below to make your list. You may use your book pp.
374-376 to find the information you will need.
Maya Accomplishments
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Open your book to page 376
Read the story and examine the picture
Answer the following questions
Name the celestial events that shaped the
design of the pyramid of Kukulcan
Why might the Maya have constructed a
pyramid to show these solar events?
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After the fall of Teotihuacan, new kingdoms arose in the Central Valley
of Mexico, the most prominent being the Toltecs
The Toltec Empire reached its high point between 950 and 1150 AD,
their capital being Tula, about 30 miles northwest of Mexico City
The Toltec irrigated their fields from the Tula River and grew a number
of crops including beans, squash and chiles
The flourishing agriculture allowed the Toltecs to support a population
of 50-60,000 with another 60,000 living in the surrounding countryside
The Toltec were also builders, constructing temples and palaces
They were also the first to bring metalworking to Mesoamerica, working
with gold, silver and copper (soft metals)
The Toltec were also influential in religion, worshipping the plumed
serpent god called Quetzalcoatl, which was also worshipped at
Teotihuacan and the later Aztec culture
The Toltec began to decline around 1125 AD, falling prey to civil war
Tula was plundered by the Aztec, destroying much historical evidence so
what we know of the Toltecs comes from legends told by later cultures
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Open your book to page 374
Examine the map and the key
Answer the following questions
Which cultures developed in the same
heartland?
Suggest reasons for patterns you can see in
areas where cities are located.
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On a half-slip of paper, answer the following
question
How do you suppose the Mesoamericans were
so good with architecture and engineering?
Explain
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Today’s Date
The Aztec and the Inca
Page # (Your next available page)
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Given instructional sources the student will
demonstrate understanding of the Aztec and
Inca cultures by completing an organizer
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The origins of the Aztec are uncertain
Sometime in the 12th century they began a long migration
that brought them to the Central Valley of Mexico
They eventually settled in the middle of Lake Texcoco,
building their city Tenochtitlan, from which they would
rule until the Spanish conquest
Tenochtitlan was a wonder of engineering, built in the
middle of the lake, with causeways connecting it to the
mainland
Soon the Aztecs used their ferocious war making ability to
bring the other lake tribes under control
It was just a matter of time before the Aztec expanded
outward, reaching into Guerrero, Michoacan, Oaxaca and
the Gulf Coast
From the subject tribes, the Aztec exacted tribute, goods
flowed in to Tenochtitlan, enriching the Aztec
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The Aztec were ruled by an emperor who had absolute power,
and who claimed lineage from the gods
He was advised by a council of lords and government officials
The nobility held positions in the government
Noble children were sent to temple schools where they learned
to be warriors
Once adults, they could continue their military training or
become a priest or a government bureaucrat
Most people were farmers, using chinampas to plant as many as
three crops a year
Aztec traders did business throughout the empire, also acting as
spies to keep the Aztec informed
The main god was Huitzilopochtli, the war god, who demanded a
steady diet of human hearts to keep the sun in the sky
Another important god was Quetzalcoatl, who had gone into
exile but promised to return to wreak vengeance upon his
enemies
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Open your book to page 378
Read the story, examine the picture and the
inset with caption
Answer the following questions
According to the illustration, at what age
would a girl learn to weave on a loom?
How does the different educational focus of
Aztec boys and girls reflect the different roles
of Aztec men and women?
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The Inca were just one tribe in Peru, centered on their capital of Cuzco in
the mountains
In the 1440s, under the leadership of Pachacuti, they embarked on a
campaign of conquest
Eventually they brought the entire region under their control
Pachacuti and his successors Topa Inca and Huayna Inca extended Inca
control as far south as central Chile and Ecuador and into the western
Amazon basin
The empire contained as many as 12 million people
The Inca state was built on war so all young men were required to serve
in the army
With some 200,000 men, the Inca army was the largest and best
equipped in the region
Control of conquered areas was closely regulated, with nobles sent to be
governors, local leaders could stay as long as they were loyal to the Inca
Forced labor was an important part of the state – all Inca were required
to work for several weeks a year
Laborers could be moved from one part of the empire to another,
depending upon the need
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Open your book to page 383
Examine the map, read the inset captions
Answer the following questions
Estimate in miles the length of the Inca
Empire
Examine the dates on the map legend. Then,
explain what the map suggests about the
relationship between these civilizations
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Open your book to page 384
Read the story about Pachacuti
Answer the following question
Why did Pachacuti require his other sons to
declare allegiance to Topa Inca?
Summarize the ways that the Inca road system unified the empire.
You may use your book pp. 384-385 to find the information you
will need.
Inca Road System
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One project that required a great deal of labor
was a system of roads to connect the empire
The road system stretched from Colombia to
south of Santiago, Chile
People lived by farming, developing a system of
terracing on the mountain sides
They grew corn, potatoes among other things
The Inca were easily the best engineers among
the Native American peoples
Besides the roadways, they built suspension
bridges and aquaducts
Buildings and temples were made of stone cut so
precisely that they didn’t need mortar
As you read, complete a pyramid diagram showing the hierarchy of
the Inca’s political organization. You may use your book pp. 384-385
to find the information you will need.
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On a half-slip of paper, answer the following
question
Why do you suppose the Inca needed such an
intricate road system? Explain.
That’s it for the Americas! Ready for the quiz?