Peoples and Civilizations of the Americas

The Mayan Empire

500

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 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.