Central America and Age of Exploration Flashcards
20,000 years ago, a land bridge between __ and __ called __ emerged. People travelled boat or walking (over ice)
Asia, North America, Beringia.
As people migrated, they began to settle down and rely more on __
plants
Agriculture was developed in present-day Central Mexico, where __ was grown
Maize (corn crop)
Early on, people were __, but as they started agriculture, people began to __
hunter-gatherers, settle down and start civilisations.
Starting civilisations allowed them to __ and led to the development of __
focus more on their skills; complex societies.
the __ were one of the first civilizations in __
Olmecs; Mesoamerica
the Olmecs were also known as the __
mother culture
Olmecs influenced: __ and __
Mayans and Aztecs
Olmecs location
southern coast of the gulf of mexico
what was the weather + location like in the olmecs’ region?
hot, humid, covered with swamps and jungles
some resources of the olmecs’ include–
tar, rubber, stone, wood.
what was the olmecs’ government
hereditary elite class, (judicial, military, religious)
what was the olmecs’ regligion
polytheistic
achievements of Olmecs
- San Lorenzo, la Venta (major cities, art center)
- calendar
- hieroglyphic writing
- urban design
- planned ceremonial centers - art, sculptures
- pyramids
- jaguar motif (esp in art)
Olmecs decline?
poof
Olmecs date
1000 to 100bc
Mayan location
Yucatan peninsula to central America, includes Belize, guatemala, and el salvador
what was the government in the Mayans
independent city-states, with ruling chief
city states in the mayans
Tikal – palengue (temple of inscription (house of the crypt of the lord pacal?) + copan (central pyramid; largest glyph inscription on the stairway of the temple)
chicken itza –kukulcan (feathered serpent) + cenote sagrado (sacrificial well)
(ALSO HAS BUREAUCRACY NOBLES)
religion of mayans?
polytheistic
prime god of Mayans?
rain god chac
sun god of mayans
kinich ahau
mayans feathered serpent
kukulcan
achievements of the mayans
system of mathematics – concept of zero.
- predicted ellipses
- solar calendar
- almost accurate calculations of the year.
hieroglyphs
temples and pyramids
codex paper
- popol vuh – mayan myth on how the earth was created
irrigation techniques
cotton cloth
mayan decline?
poof. (famine, disease, revolts, warfare)
mayan date?
250 – 1000 ce
triple alliance (aztecs)?
texcoco, tlacopan, and teotihuacan (aztec capital)