-
Time Periods
Preclassic (2000 BCE-250 CE): Agricultural settlements
Early ceremonial centers
Development of writing and calendar
Classic (250-900 CE): Peak of Maya civilization
Major city-states flourish
Sophisticated art and architecture
Advanced astronomy and mathematics
Postclassic (900-1500s CE): Decline of southern cities
Northern cities continue (Chichen Itza, Mayapan)
Toltec influence
Spanish contact and conquest -
Key Characteristics
Location: Gulf Coast of Mexico (Veracruz and Tabasco)
Time Period: 1500-400 BCE (Preclassic/Formative Period)
Significance: "Mother Culture" of Mesoamerica
Major Centers
San Lorenzo (1200-900 BCE) Major Achievements
Colossal Stone Heads: Up to 11 feet tall, weighing up to 50 tons; believed to represent rulers
Writing System: Early glyphs that influenced later scripts
Calendar: Developed Long Count calendar
Mathematics: Concept of zero -
Key Characteristics
Location: Oaxaca, Puebla, Guerrero (highland and coastal areas)
Time Period: Post-Classic period (900-1521 CE)
Significance: Master craftsmen and historians
Major Centers
Occupied Monte Albán after Zapotec decline
Tilantongo
Mitla (shared with Zapotecs)
Numerous hilltop fortifications -
Key Characteristics
Location: Central Mexico, capital at Tula (Hidalgo state)
Time Period: Post-Classic period (900-1150 CE)
Significance: Bridge between Teotihuacan and Aztec empires
Historical Context
Rose after collapse of Teotihuacan
Filled power vacuum in central Mexico
Influenced wide area including Maya regions
Capital City: Tula (Tollan)
Founded: c. 900 CE -
Key Characteristics
Location: Oaxaca Valley, southern Mexico
Time Period: 500 BCE-1521 CE
Significance: One of earliest complex societies in Mesoamerica
Major Center: Monte Albán
Founded: c. 500 BCE
Peak Period: 300-700 CE
Features:
Built on artificially flattened mountaintop
Large plaza surrounded by pyramids and temples
Observatory building
Ball court
Defensive walls
Population: 25,000-30,000 at peak -
Key Characteristics
Location: Valley of Mexico, 30 miles northeast of modern Mexico City
Time Period: 100 BCE-550/650 CE
Peak: 150-450 CE
Significance: Largest city in pre-Columbian Americas
The City
Population: 100,000-125,000 at peak (some estimates 200,000)
Most populous city in Western Hemisphere at the time
Sixth largest city in world (contemporary with Rome)
Area: 8 square miles
Grid plan layout
Avenue of the Dead (main north-south axis, 2.5 miles) -
Pre-Columbian Context
European Knowledge:
Vikings reached North America c. 1000 CE (L'Anse aux Meadows)
No sustained contact
Knowledge lost to most of Europe
Europeans unaware of vast continents across Atlantic
European Motivations for Exploration:
Economic:
Desire for Asian spices, silk, luxury goods
Ottoman Empire controlled eastern trade routes
Need for alternative routes to Asia
Gold and silver sought
Political:
Competition between European powers
National prestige
Territorial expansion -
Initial Conquest Period (1492-1550s)
Conquistador System:
Private military expeditions
Financed by conquistadors themselves
Authorized by Spanish crown
Promised wealth and titles
Brutal methods justified by:
Requerimiento (1513): Document read to natives demanding submission
Religious conversion mandate
"Just war" concept