2. Pre-Columbian
• The various cultures and civilizations found
throughout North and South America before
the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492.
3. Olmec
• The first great civilization in Mexico
• 1200 B.C. to A.D. 500
• Settled mainly in areas that are now Veracruz
and Tabasco
• Beloved to have made the first Mexican
Sculptures
• Left the earliest remains of carved alters,
pillars, sarcophagi, and statues in Mexico
4. Olmec Sculptures
• Carved in volcanic rock
• 18 have been discovered
• 8 feet high and weigh up to 40 tons
• Masks with mouths that droop at the corners
• Heavy eyelids, and an open mouth that
suggests a snarl.
• Intended to convey power as the ruler was
linked to the supernatural world.
5. Mayan
• Maya controlled lands now knows as Yucatan,
Guatemala, and Honduras.
• Became great builders
• Devised an elaborate system of mathematics
• Invented a precise calendar
6. Mayan Beliefs
• Believed the gods created humans through
self-sacrifice
• Humans were required to return blood to the
gods
• Ruler and his wife drew their own blood and
captives were taken in war for sacrifice.
7. Mayan Architecture
• Cities were built with large plazas in the center
• Many people would gather there for ceremonies.
• Relief sculptures covered the buildings,
monuments, and the temples.
• These contained symbols and inscriptions about
important events.
• The carvings were painted in contrasting colors in
order to differentiate the details in the
sculptures.
9. Aztecs
• In continuous combat by their religious beliefs
• Believed in human sacrifices of the human
heart
• 20,000 captives were sacrificed to dedicate
the temple at Tenochtitlan
• Used a system of picture writing called
“codex”
10. Incas
• Small tribe ruled in the Valley of Cuzco
• Guipu: knotted strings of different colors used
as their written language and methods of
calculations.
• Couriers: carried messages to every corner of
the empire.
11. Machu Picchu
• Inca city
• Built to protect the people from attacks
• Stood through centuries of war and
earthquakes
12. Mexico and the United States
• Muralists in Mexico
• Reviving an old tradition
13. Diego Rivera
• 1886-1957
• Created the first modern mural painting in
Mexico
• Studied Italian fresco
• Liberation of the Peon figure 23.19, page 529
