Information about the Olmecs, Mayas and the Aztecs.

1. TOPIC:

2. Olmec
civilization
The Olmec were the first great Mesoamerican civilization. They thrived along Mexico’s gulf coast,
mainly in the present-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco, from about 1200 to 400 B.C. The Olmec
were great artists and traders who culturally dominated early Mesoamerica from their mighty cities
of SanLorenzoandLa Venta.Olmec culturewasgreatlyinfluentialonlatersocieties,suchasthe Maya
and the Aztec.
Culture!!
The ancient Olmec had a rich culture. Most of the common Olmec
citizens labored in the fields producing crops or spent their days
fishing in the rivers. Sometimes, massive amounts of manpower
would be required to move immense boulders many miles to the
workshops where sculptors would turn them in to great stone thrones
or colossal heads. The Olmec had religion and a mythology, and the people would gather near the
ceremonial centers to watch their priests and rulers perform ceremonies. There is some evidence that
suggests that the Olmec practiced both human sacrifice and
cannibalism.
San Lorenzo & La Venta!!
Two major Olmec cities are known to researchers: San
Lorenzo and La Venta. These are not the names the Olmec
knew them by: their original names have been lost to time.
Many important works of art have been found in and
around San Lorenzo, including the sculptures of the hero
twins and ten colossal heads. La Venta was also a mighty city, with thousands of citizens and far-
reaching influence in the Mesoamerican world. Many thrones, colossal heads and other major pieces
of Olmec art have been found at La Venta. Complex A, a religious complex located in the royal
compound at La Venta, is one of the most important ancient Olmec sites.
Olmec Trade and Commerce!!
The Olmec were great traders who had contacts with other cultures from Central America to the
Valley of Mexico. They traded away their finely made things and in return, they obtained different
materials or goods such as crocodile skins, seashells and basic necessities like salt. They also traded
for cacao and brightly colored feathers. Their skill as traders helped disseminate their culture to
different contemporary civilizations, which helped establish them as the parent culture for several
later civilizations.

3. Art!!
The Olmec were very talented artists whose skills are still admired today. They
are best known for their colossal heads: these massive stone heads, thought to
represent rulers, stand several feet high and weigh many tons. The Olmecs also made massive stone
thrones, which were evidently used for rulers to sit or stand upon. The Olmecs made large and small
sculptures, some of which are very significant. The Olmecs also made countless smaller pieces,
including Celts, figurines and masks.
Decline of the Olmec!!
La Venta went into decline around 400 B.C. and the Olmec civilization vanished along with it. The
great Olmec cities were swallowed up by the jungles, not to be seen
again for thousands of years. Why the Olmec declined is a bit of a
mystery. It may have been climate change: the Olmec were
dependent on a few basic crops and climate change could have
affected their harvests.
The Mayas
The Mayas were an important culture that established a great civilization
and built many cities in this region of Middle America. They were
developed in parts of Central America (Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El
Salvador)andtheYucatanPeninsula (Mexico’ssoutheasterntip).Theymay
have been influenced by Olmec culture.
Farming!!
Mayan life was based on farming. Most of the ancient Maya were farmers. They were very good
farmers and grew more food than they needed. This extra food was called surplus crops. The surplus
was stored in warehouses throughout the empire, to feed anyone who needed it. When farmers were
not farming, they helped to build the wonderful temples and estate of the nobles, and other buildings
in thecity. The womenonthe farmshelped in thefields atplantingandharvesttime. But most of their
time was spent cooking, cleaning, and sewing. Women took produce to market to trade for other
goods. They carried produce in baskets balanced on their heads. They used a special technique called
slash-and-burn agriculture,theyfirstclearedthelandby cuttingdownthetrees, andthentheyburned
the tree stumps, saving the ash to use as fertilizer. Finally, they planted seeds. After a few years,
however, the soil would be worn out. The farmers would then have to clear and plant a new area.
They grew a variety of crops and other plants, this includes beans, squash, peppers, papayas, and
avocados. But their most common crop was maize, or corn. In fact, maize was so important to the
Mayas that one of the gods they worshiped was a god of corn, and since the corn needed the sun and
rain to grow, they also worshiped them.

4. Religion!!
The Maya were deeply religious, and worshiped various gods related to nature, including the gods of
the sun, the moon, rain and corn. At the top of Maya society were the kings, or “kuhul ajaw” (holy
lords), who claimed to be related to gods and followed a hereditary
succession. They were thought to serve as mediators between the gods
and people on earth, and performed the elaborate religious ceremonies
and rituals so important to the Maya culture. They made temples for
them and human sacrifice to their religious ritual.
A.D 250 – 900!!
The Classic Period was the golden age of the Maya Empire. Classic Maya civilization grew to some 40
cities; eachcityhelda populationofbetween5,000 and50,000 people.Atitspeak,theMaya population
may have reached 2,000,000.
 Temples, palaces and Courts: The Classic Maya built many of their temples and palaces in a
stepped pyramid shape, decorating them with elaborate reliefs and inscriptions. These
structures have earned the Maya their reputation as the great artists of Mesoamerica. All of
these, including courts for playing the ball games, were ritually and politically significant to
Maya culture.
 Advances in
mathematics and astronomy: They also made
significant advances in mathematics and astronomy,
including the use of the zero and the development of a
complex calendar system based on 365 days.
 Codices: The Maya
made paper from tree bark and wrote in books made
from this paper, known as codices; four of these
codices are known to have survived.
Even though researchers concluded that the Maya were a peaceful society, there was a less peaceful
side of Maya culture,includingthewarbetween rivalMayancity-statesandtheimportanceoftorture.
Mysterious decline of the Maya!!
Oneby one,theClassic cities in thesouthernlowlandswereabandoned,
and by A.D. 900, Maya civilization in that region had collapsed. The
reason for this mysterious decline is unknown. All three of these
factors–overpopulation and overuse of the land, endemic warfare and
drought–may have played a part in the downfall of the Maya in the
southern lowlands. But they did not disappear entirely; in fact, a few
cities of theMaya civilizationlaterrevived intheYucatanPeninsula and
by the time Spanish conquerors reached the Americas in the 1500s,
though, Maya power had faded.
The Aztecs
TheAztecswerepeoplewholived in theValleyof Mexico,theybeganlooking
for a place to build a new capital. When the Aztecs saw an eagle perched on
a cactus on the marshy land near the southwest border of Lake Texcoco, they took it as a sign to build

5. their settlement there. They drained the swampy land, constructed artificial islands on which they
could plant gardens and established the foundations of their capital city, Tenochtitlan, in 1325 A.D. A
powerful military tradition would enable the Aztecs to build a successful state, and later an empire.
By the 1470s, they began expanding their territory to surrounding lands. Their large empire extended
stretched to the Gulf of Mexico in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west.
Architecture and Art!!
The Aztecs were themselves appreciative
of fine art andtheycollected piecesfrom
across their empire to be brought
back to Tenochtitlán and often
ceremonially buried. Aztec
art ranged from miniature engraved
precious objects to
massive stone temples. Perhaps
some of the most striking art objects are
those which employed turquoise.
Common forms of pottery vessels
include anthropomorphic vases in
bright colors. Aztec art depicted all
manner of subjects but especially popular were
animals, plants and gods, particularly those related to fertility and agriculture. The Aztecs studied
astronomy and made a calendar much like the Maya one.
Aztec class structure!!
Aztec society had a strict class structure. The emperor was the most important.
Next were the members of the Royal family, nobles, priests, and military leaders.
Soldiers were next in importance. Below soldiers came the artisans –skilled
creators of jewelry, pottery, sculpture and other goods- and merchants. Then
came the farmers, they made up the largest class of people. The lowest position
in Aztec society was held by slaves, most of whom were prisoners captured in
battle.
Religion!!

6. The Aztecs worshipped many gods whom they believed controlled both nature and human activities.
To please the gods, Aztec priests regularly made human sacrifices. Most victims were battle captives
or slaves. In bloody ritual ceremonies, priests would slash open their victims’ chess to “feed” human
hearts and blood to the gods. The Aztecs sacrificed as many as 10000 people a year.To supply enough
victims, Aztecs warriors often fought battles with neighboring peoples.
End of the empire!!
In the late 1400s the Spanish arrived in the Americas,
seeking adventure, riches and converts to Catholicism.
One group of conquistadors, or Spanish conquerors,
reached Mexico in the 1519. Led by Hernan Cortes their
motives were to find gold, claim land, and convert the
native people to Christianity. The Aztec emperor
Moctezuma II cautiously welcomed the strangers. He
believed Cortes to be the God Quetzalcoatl, whom the
Aztecs believed had left Mexico long ago. According to
legend, the god had promised to return in 1519.
Moctezuma gave the Spanish gold and other gifts, but
Cortes wanted more. He took the emperor prisoner,
enraging the Aztecs, who attacked the Spanish. They
managed to drive out the conquistadors, but Moctezuma
was killed in the fighting. Within a year, Cortes and his
men came back. This time they had help from other peoples in the region who resented the Aztecs’
harsh rule. In addition, the Spanish had better weapons, including armor, cannons, and swords.
Furthermore, the Aztecs were terrified of the enemy’s big horses –animals they had ever seen before-
. The Spanish had also unknowingly brought diseases such as smallpox to the Americas. Diseases
weakened or killed thousands of Aztecs. In 1521 The Aztec Empire came to an end.
Middle America
today
 Guatemala
 Belice

7.  El Salvador
 Honduras
 Mexico