Mesoamerica

as the Maya, that seem to simply disappear; leaving only their cities, temples, and a few scattered traces behind. It’s a common misconception that the Maya people disappeared. The Maya are still around, and in fact still live in many parts of Mesoamerica. The mystery that surrounds the Maya is why so many of their cities were abandoned and the population depleted in a relatively short amount of time. There have been various hypotheses on what caused the collapse of the Maya, ranging from…

pathogens spread, such as the Black Death. 3.2 Some states attempted to revive imperial structures with less centralized states in Afro-Eurasia. The caliphate was introduced to Afro-Eurasia by the expansion of Islam. Powerful states developed in Mesoamerica and the Andean region. 3.2.I.A The post-classical states avoided the mistakes of classical empires by reconstituting government in Byzantine empires and Chinese dynasties. For example, in China, they combined traditional power with better…

Who colonized America? This is a debated topic in history by all historians. It is said that Native Americans from Asia were the first to migrate west to North America. What some Americans don’t understand are the small societies that make up the Native American people. These societies were much less complex than societies today, but nonetheless they had culture. Throughout modern day Canada, America, and Mexico hundreds of North American tribes resided. These were the first people to discover…

The year is 810 and the location is Central Petén. Tikal’s ruling dynasty is constructing its last ever building, a stone monument to celebrate the current K’atun ending. Conclusively this was nothing short of remarkable considering Tikal had only recently blossomed like never before in its history, it had a population of roughly 280,000, over 1,500,000 including its vassal city states as well. Indeed the entire Classic Maya world (250AD-900AD) was undergoing changes too, albeit they…

Ellena Purnell October 19, 2015 Mexican History The Conquest of Mexico Over the course of history certain accounts of the Spanish conquest of Mexica has been told different ways. This can be owed to the biased accounts of certain events by all parties involved. While some might argue that the Spaniards actions were due to the savageness of the Aztec people, others might argue that the Aztecs were a advanced civilization that conducted life according to their customs and religious beliefs and…

The art of imitation Steve Rogers, a brave and patriotic citizen, became the face of the nation during the most harrowing times of war. Yet, how can a scrawny Brooklyn teenager who stood no chance of ever surviving in active war zones survive on his fragile appearance alone? Famously known more through his alias as Captain America, the symbolism of rags to riches in physical terms is embodied best through his transformation made possible through a super serum. That serum alone was enough to…

Chapter 3: First Civilizations-Cities, States, and Unequal Societies, 3500 BCE to 500 BCE Questions: 1. When and where did the First Civilizations emerge? • Much like agriculture, emerging civilizations were a global phenomenon. They first became evident in three specific locations (from 3500 B.C.E to 3000 B.C.E.) in Mesopotamia, the Egyptian Nile River valley, and Norte Chico. • Following this, the next three specific civilizations emerged. By 2000 (to 1,200) B.C.E, the Indus Valley, China,…

Between twelfth and fifteenth centuries there were similarities in culture and types of power due to trade. Starting from the Middle East through West Africa, and China are connected through trades. In the Americas, Mesoamerica and South America, there was systems of tribute and trade within region. Each civilization was brought together in some way, whether it was their beliefs or keeping balance in society. In a way trade ties together the different societies that developed independently in…

Samuel Bowles’ opinion piece titled Warriors, Levelers and the Role of Conflict in Human Social Evolution (2012) discusses the role of conflict in human history. His outlook is that intra-group conflict catalyzed major societal developments. The developments that Bowles focuses on are “democracy, the rule of law, and a propensity to help others and to abhor injustice” (p. 876). The formation of democracy, Bowles contends, was dependent on the culmination of a single national entity that…

form of prismatic blades, macro blades and scrapers, jade axes, polychrome ceramics, seashells, presumably salt, and hematite pigment cylinders” (Sheets 2000:219) that have not been as widely accessible to Mayan commoners throughout Mayan sites in Mesoamerica. Jade is both quite rare and culturally significant because it suggests “long-distance procurement, vertical exchanges, ostentatious displays of prestige and power, and consumption patterns of polities far from [a source like Cerén in]…