Mesoamerica

I strongly disagree that if the Spanish hadn’t conquered the Americas the Aztecs would be the most advanced civilization to date. If the Aztecs were still thriving today I think they would be advanced but not as advanced as the first world countries, they may be as advanced as either the third or second world countries. I also think that the weaponry that the Aztecs had would’ve evolved along time after everyone else evolved their weapons so that would make them vulnerable to attacks from…

The demise of the Mayan civilization parallels the threats that America and other nations experience today in several different ways. Geopolitical tensions, water scarcity, and a worldwide pandemic all parallel the Mayan demise with threats in America and other nations today. Most people wouldn’t be able to make the connection that the demise of the Mayan civilization shares similarities with America and other nations today. Geopolitical tensions have existed between nations for decades, and…

What weighs 24 tons, is carved from volcanic rock, and helped inspire a whole culture? The Aztec Calendar Stone is an ancient artifact of Mexico from the 15th century (Discover Kids). The stone is a calendar, well, actually two calendars that are suspected to have been used to predict solar eclipses (Discover Kids). The stone itself weighs 24 tons and is three feet thick with a ten foot diameter (Discover Kids). It was carved from basalt in 1479 and was found in 1790 under the Zocalo in Mexico…

I. ARCHITECTURE The Maya culture used architecture as a way to represent power. This culture achieved this representation by the creation and construction of massive monuments. Besides showing power, the Maya architecture had as a main objective to show the respect and passion to their religion, that is to say, that these enormous monuments were sacred for them, in other words, these constructions were seen as gifts from their gods. The Maya received inspiration from the Olmec and the…

An important Maya center during 250-900 C.E., was Yaxchilán. It was located on the south bank of the Usumacinta River, in Chiapas, Mexico, it was famous for the carved stone. Above the three doorways of Structure 23, were Limestone Lintels 24,25 and 26, they showed rituals performed by Shield Jaguar II and his wife. Above the doorway of Structure 21 was Lintels 15,16, and 17, which was structured by Jaguar IV, he built and remodeled most of structures in Yaxchilan’s. Lintel 16 was created after…

A little civilization ruled the northern coast of Peru from 1st to the 8th century CE, the people were called the Moche, also called Mochica (Cartwright, 2014). Each of the major Moche settlements seemed to have rulers who held religious and political power, the Moche's were not an Empire by more of independent societies ruled by common cultural features. They built huge and pyramids that are still here today, that now look eroded, so now they just look like natural hills. The pyramids that are…

The Mayan civilization is among one of the oldest civilizations in the world. The Mayans have covered a large area of eastern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Much of what we currently know about the Pre-Historic Maya has come from excavation in these countries and of the few books that survived, the Spanish conquistadors. These Books are The Madrid, Dresden, Paris and Grolier codices are named after the city which they currently resided in. Then there is the Chiliam Balam…

The figure above shows the Aztec Sun Stone which is also known as the Calendar Stone. It is a very big stone sculpture, measuring in at 3.58 meters across, 38.58 inches thick and weighed approximately about 25 tons. Although it is called the Calendar Stone, it does not work like a calendar. This Sun Stone is actually a meticulously carved solar disk that signifies the power of the rulers during the Aztec empire. The stone got the name Calendar Stone because the band surrounding the sun has 20…

The three societies the Maya, Aztec, and Inca went through rough times in their lives, such as sacrificing; they also had achievements from their creations. Sacrificing was a big thing in all of these societies, they would cut out a victim's heart and present it to their living god or ruler. They all had at least one thing in common. They all had economy, government, religion, and technology. But they all had their differences in their lives. The Mayan had a government, economy, religion,…

Blood, human sacrifice, and savage ways are conceptions of the Aztec civilization that a mind novice in Aztec history has formulated. These misconceptions can be attributed in part to the destruction of historical archives and undiscovered pieces of information nestled within Aztec ruins. It is correct to say that much history of this grand civilization was destroyed during the Spanish Conquest of 1519 led by Hernan Cortes and his populous army of men. However, through archaeological…