Tiwam defines Mesoamerica as Mexico and Central America.
2. How did the topography of Mesoamerica impact civilizations?
2. How did the topography of Mesoamerica impact civilizations?
In the center of Mesoamerica, there are high plateaus and mountains, whereas surrounding it would be lower elevation sloping to the sea. Topography was important because the lowlands and highlands produced different trade items that helped Mesoamerica prosper as a whole.
3. What goods were produced in the highlands and lowlands?
3. What goods were produced in the highlands and lowlands?
The highlands produced obsidian, and the lowlands, they produced seashells and feathers.
4. Why was is so difficult to move goods in Mesoamerica?
4. Why was is so difficult to move goods in Mesoamerica?
There were no navigable rivers, no beasts of burden, and no large domesticated animals making it difficult to move goods.
5. What accomplishments can we credit the Olmecs with?
5. What accomplishments can we credit the Olmecs with?
The Olmecs had phenomenal sculptures (huge carved heads), they had ceremonial complexes (pyramids), and was the first to play basketball essentially. The Olmecs had two calendars, a solar one and a lunar one.
6. Describe the Olmec calendar system.
6. Describe the Olmec calendar system.
The solar calendar had 365 days, while the lunar only had 260 days.
7. What was the purpose of Olmec pyramids?
7. What was the purpose of Olmec pyramids?
The purpose to to be able to hold ceremonies.
8. How were Mayan pyramids different than Olmec pyramids?
8. How were Mayan pyramids different than Olmec pyramids?
Mayan pyramids were steep and narrow compared to other pyramids.
9. Why was Mayan history "lost" at the time of contact?
9. Why was Mayan history "lost" at the time of contact?
Though the Mayans collapsed around 900, they were still present, but they abandoned many ceremonial sites. By the time the Spaniards arrived, the Mayans couldn't read the inscriptions on their temples.
10. How does she say that the Aztecs were different than other Mesoamericans?
10. How does she say that the Aztecs were different than other Mesoamericans?
The Aztecs were the most successful expansionists, they would enforce a harsh tribute system, and conquered from the Pacific coast to the Caribbean.
11. What was the purpose of the tribute systems of the Aztecs?
11. What was the purpose of the tribute systems of the Aztecs?
The tribute system aided in the growth of the population, as they conquered more and more people, the tribute system allowed them to add even more people.
12. Describe the Aztec creation myth.
12. Describe the Aztec creation myth.
They believed that the world had been created and destroyed four times before their lives, and in the fifth, called the fifth sun, the gods met to create something out of the darkness. They asked one god to throw himself into the fire so the world could be created, but the god was a coward. So they asked a lesser god to sacrifice himself; ashamed, the first god also threw himself in. One by one the gods threw themselves into the fire and the sun and the moon and the universe rose.
13. How was sacrifice of women different than men?
13. How was sacrifice of women different than men?
Women usually danced at the base of the pyramid and then beheaded, while the men were taken to the altar and pierced in the heart with an obsidian blade,
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