Mesoamerica: Olmecs, Maya, & Aztecs

Olmecs

• The “mother civilization”

• 1400 BCE – 300 BCE• Located in tropical

lowlands of Mexico• Invented Rubber Ball

game

The Maya• 200 – 900 CE• Located in Yucatan

peninsula, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras

• Invented Mayan Calendar

Tikal

Chichen Itza

Bloodletting & Human Sacrifice

Chichimeca Migration• Came from Aztlan• Chichimecas first left in 900 CE

Aztec Empire

• Mexica migrated to Lake Texcoco in 1325 CE• Worshipped Huitzilopchtli• 1 million people total

Tenochtitlan

• Aztec capital, founded in 1325 CE

Chinampas “Floating Gardens”

Pulque

Moctezuma

• Became Aztec emperor in 1500

• Waited for return of Quetzalcoatl