Meso-America

Meso-America, meaning “Middle America” is a term used to describe the lands of Central America and Mexico.

In 1502 Christopher Columbus captured a small trading canoe near the Gulf of Honduras. Word then spread through Spain about the “riches” of Mesoamerica and a city of gold. This attracted Spanish Conquistadors who were in search of gold.

Too, this started the downfall of the Aztec and Maya. But let’s learn about them first before we get to their downfall. The Maya were first.

And then they said as they left, “We are going there to the sunrise, Whence our fathers came…” excerpted from the Popol Vuh, the most famous of the Maya Chronicles

The Maya

Have you ever wondered is it Maya or Maya? Here is the explanation: The term “Mayan” should be used only when referring to the Mayan language. The term “Maya” should be used when you talk or write about the people and their culture. Maya is both plural and singular.One important fact that we have helped our children realize in studying about the Ancient Maya is that there are many modern Maya still living today. It is not a lost civilization. You can learn much about the people and their culture by visiting those areas today.

More Meso-America Activities

Where did the ancient Maya live?

The lived in what is now southeastern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras, and El Salvador. Their environment has lush rainforests along with splendid cities of stone that they built.

The Egyptians weren’t the only ones that built pyramids.

MEXICO AND MAYA ACTIVITIES

Who were the ancient Maya and how did they live?

There were farmers and relied heavily on the land for their one basic need of food. Maize, which we know as corn was an important staple in their diet. They also relied on hunting as a means of survival. Some of the animals they hunted were deer, wild turkeys, rabbit, monkeys and iguanas.

The ruling class lived in stone palaces but a majority of the people lived in huts. They would used cane poles and put them together by vines and plaster over with mud. The roof had to be especially steep so that the waters from the rain would run off.

The hut had an earth floor and only had the bare necessities needed like earthen pots and a hammock.

They spent their days in the cornfield weeding eating. Cacao beans also grew on the trees in Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize and were considered valuable to them.

Did you know…

The Maya farmed cacao trees just so the kings could have their favorite frothy chocolate drinks whenever they wanted.

The Maya carried goods in a sling called tumpline or on their backs as they didn’t have horses.

That corn was a very important crop to the Maya. Corn symbolized birth and death and the Maya even worshipped the Yum-Kaax, the god of corn.

The Maya were polytheists, meaning they worshipped many gods. Maya experts know the Maya had names for at least 166 gods.

The rubber tree was used by the Maya for more than making rubber balls. They sealed bags to carry water and it was used to treat lip and ear wounds.

About people in Maya History

Pacal II, is also known as Pacal the Great or K’inich Janahb’ Pakal. Pacal II may be the most famous Maya king.

Shield Jaguar the Great and Lady Xok of Yaxchilan. The powerful family of his important wife, Lady Xok helped to keep Shield Jaguar the Great on the throne. In the picture on the mini book she is shown pulling a thorn studded rope through her tongue for a blood sacrifice as Shield Jaguar holds a torch over head.

Charles V. King of Spain. Approved the Spanish conquest of the Americas.

John Lloyd Stephens. He was an American traveler who teamed up with Frederick Catherwood to locate Maya ruins.

Meso-America Notebooking Pages

Ancient Maya Lapbook Layout

Covers – For the front outside flaps of your lapbook. Too, you can use these to just decorate your notebooking pages.

 

The Aztecs

When they saw that their warriors
fled before them, the gold sparkling
and the banners of quetzal plumes shining green,
O, do not be taken prisoners!
Let it not be you, make haste!
~Axayacatl~ 15th century Aztec King

Background Information

Hernan Cortes the Spanish Conquistador captured Tenochtitlan {ten-och-tee-TLAHN} the capital city of the Aztecs in 1521 and the world as the Aztecs knew it ended. Aztec temples and other structures were destroyed. The city we know today as Mexico City was built over it.We can learn a lot about the Aztecs because they left a detailed account of their civilization. They wrote poetry, kept records and even documented their rituals and ceremonies. The Aztecs lived in Northern Mexico but around the year 1100 the Aztecs {also called the Mexica} began a journey south to central Mexico. They arrived in the Valley of Mexico in 1345 and settled on land that was uninhabited.

According to legend, on this spot an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its talons. This was a sign that the Aztecs had found their new home.

The site the Aztecs lived on when they first arrived in the Valley of Mexico was a small island in Lake Texcoco. They began to build a great city which they named Tenochtitlan. From its start on a swampy island Tenochtitlan grew into a magnificent city of 250,000 people. The Aztecs named their capital city after the chieftain who led them there, Tenoch and the word for cactus, nochtli.

Geography of the Aztec Empire

The Aztec empire stretched from Central Mexico to the Mexican border with Guatemala, and from the Gulf Coast to the Pacific Coast. The largest city was Tenochtitlan which was on an island in Lake Texcoco. Aqueducts carryied fresh water and linked the city to the mainland.

Aztec Life

Religion was the central focus of their civilization. A different god represented a different aspect of daily life. They held elaborate sacrifices that involved human sacrifices.

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