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14 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Mesoamerica
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areas of Mexico and Central America that were civilized by the Native Americans before the Spaniards arrived
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Olmec
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the first tribe in Mesoamerica that settled there in 1200 BC
settled in hot, swampy lowlands along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, south of Veracruz they had large cities that were centers of religious rituals (one pyramid that towered over the city was at La Venta) they carved colossal heads of their gods in 400 BC, their society declined and collapsed |
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Teotihuacan
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"Place of the Gods"
capital of an early kingdom that arose in 250 BC (and collapsed in 800AD) the residents were farmers in the city was a busy trade center that traded tools, weapons, pottery, and jewelery as far as North America in Mesoamerica near Mexico city had 200,000 people at its height |
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Yucatan Peninsula
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where the Maya people arose
east of Teotihuacan, west of the Caribbean, and southeast of the Gulf of Mexico |
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Maya
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civilization that flourished between 300-900 AD
built step-shaped temples/pyramids that a city was built around empire came to include much of Central American and southern Mexico settled in the Yucatan Peninsula why they began to decline could either be because of invasion, internal revolt, natural disaster, or an overuse of land, which would kill the crops |
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Tikal
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present-day Guatemala - urban center that may have had 100,000 people
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hieroglyphs
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system of writing based on pictures created by the Mayans
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Toltec
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fierce, warlike people who extended their conquests into the Mayan lands of Guatemala and the northern Yucatan.
builders who constructed pyramids and palaces controlled the upper Yucatan from their capital, Chichen Itza in 1200 AD - their empire declined |
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Chicen Itza
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capital of Toltec in the Yucatan Peninsula
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Aztec
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warrior people who in the 12th century, made a long migration from Azlan to the Valley of Mexico
their capital is Tenochtitlan - an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco (now holds Mexico City) monarch was considered to be descended from God and was assisted by a council of lords and government officials rest of population = commoners (farmers), indentured workers, and slaves (wealthy people's houseworkers) Huitzilopochtli = god of sun and war Quetzalcoatl = feathered serpent god they were conquered by the Spaniards in the 1500s, when they had 4 million people |
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Tenochtitlan
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capital of the Aztecs on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco
now present-day Mexico City |
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Lake Texcoco
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present-day Mexico City
where the capital of the Aztecs, Tenochtitlan, was located on in the middle of it |
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Hernan Cortes
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1519 - led Spanish force to Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico and marched into Tenochtitlan with 550 soldiers and 16 horses
made alliances with city-states that had tired of the Aztec oppressive rule (Tlaxcala alone gave them 50,000 soldiers) Montezuma - leader of the Aztecs - thought the Spaniards were representatives of their god, Quetzalcoatl and gave him gold and a palace in 1520, the Aztec revolted because of the diseases they got from the Europeans and drove the Spaniards from their land But, the city surrendered in 1520 when Hernan returned w/ his alliances (and after he killed their king) |
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Montezuma
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Aztec monarch who welcomed the Spaniards (Hernan Cortes)
thought to be god incarnate - civilians couldn't even look at him |
