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Peoples and Civilizations of the Americas

  • The Mayan Empire
    500

    The Mayan Empire

    The Mayan Empire was a Mesoamerican civilization concentrated in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula and in Guatemala and Honduras but never unified into a single empire. Major contributions were in mathematics, astronomy, and development of the calendar.
  • Teotihuacan
    Jan 1, 600

    Teotihuacan

    Teotihuacan is a large Mesoamerican city with population of about 150,000 at its peak in 600. This city had many pyramids and temples where human sacrifice was carried out. Apartment like stone buildings housed commoners. Elites lived in separate residential compounds and controlled the bureaucracy, taxes, and commerce.
  • Teohihuacan destroyed
    Jan 1, 750

    Teohihuacan destroyed

    It is unclear what forces brought about the collapse of Teotihuacan about 650 c.E. Pictorial evidence from murals suggests that the city's final decades were violent. Early scholars suggested that the city was overwhelmed militarily by a nearby rival city or by nomadic warriors from the northern frontier. More recent investigators have uncovered evidence of conflict within the ruling elite and the mismanagement of resources.
  • Maya centers abondoned
    Jan 1, 850

    Maya centers abondoned

    Between 800 and 900 C.E. many of the major urban centers of the Maya were abandoned or destroyed, although a small number of classical-period centers survived for centuries. In some areas, decades of urban population decline and increased warfare preceded abandonment. Some scholars have proposed, on little evidence, that epidemic disease played a role in this catastrophe.
  • Toltec Empire
    Jan 1, 900

    Toltec Empire

    Toltecs powerful postclassic empire in central Mexico (900-1168 C.E.). It influenced much of Mesoamerica. Aztecs claimed ties to this earlier civilization. It was located in central Mexico and built civilization based on Teotihuacan. The Toltec empire had a capital at Tula and was ruled by dual kings but were destroyed by invaders around 1156 C.E
  • The Capital of Tula is founded
    Jan 1, 968

    The Capital of Tula is founded

    Established in about 968 C.E., the Toltec capital of Tula was constructed in a grand style. Its public architecture featured colonnaded patios and numerous temples. Although the population of Tula never reached the levels of classic-period Teotihuacan, the Toltec capital dominated central Mexico.
  • Tula is destroyed
    Jan 1, 1125

    Tula is destroyed

    It would seem that Tula ended in a way similar to Teotihuacan. Around the year 1170, the city and its ceremonial center were ransacked and partially destroyed. The Toltec civilization declined in the 12th century as the Chitimecs and other tribes invaded the central valley and eventually sacked Tula. Much of the great city was later destroyed by the Aztecs.
  • Aztec Empire
    Jan 1, 1300

    Aztec Empire

    The Aztecs migrated to lake Texcoco area and established the cities of Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco. They also established irrigation and chinampas, but also received food from tribute. The Aztecs worshipped a large number of gods, but the most important was Huitzilopochtli, the Sun god and he was appeased by sacrifice with human hearts.
  • Aztec capital Tenochtitlan founded
    Jan 1, 1325

    Aztec capital Tenochtitlan founded

    Tenochtitlán, located on an island near the western shore of Lake Texcoco in central Mexico, was the capital city and religious centre of the Aztec civilization. At the heart of the city was a large sacred precinct dominated by the huge pyramid, known as the Temple Mayor, which honoured the gods Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc.
  • Moctezuma II crowned Aztec Ruler
    Jan 1, 1502

    Moctezuma II crowned Aztec Ruler

    In 1502 Montezuma succeeded his uncle Ahuitzotl as the leader of an the Aztec empire which had reached its greatest extent, stretching to what is now Honduras and Nicaragua. Montezuma was commander of the army and organized extensive expeditions of conquest in deference to Huitzilopochtli, the god of war and of the sun. He was later killed by the Spanish.