TODAY IN HISTORY

Today in History I learn about Mesoamerica. Mesoamerica is the area around Mexico and South America. There were so many civilizations like the Olmec, Teotihucan, Maya, Toltec, Aztec, and the Inca that lived in that area.

The Olmec were the first complex society in Mesoamerica. They were known as the "Rubber People", because they were the first known civilization that created the rubber ball. They farmed around muddy riverbanks, were they grew maize, beans, and squash. The Olmec had large cities, the cities were the place of worship.

Teotihucan was the first major city in Mesoamerica. Teotihucan means "Place Of Gods". It was around from 250 B.C. to 800A.D. The city had about two hundred thousand people.

The Maya were located east of Teotihucan. This civilization lived around from 300 A.D. to 900A.D. They were the most sophisticated civilization. They built temples and pyramids and also created a complicated calendar. The Mayans created two calendars one based on solar calender of 365 days, 18 months of 20 days each, with an extra five days at the end. The other calender was based on sacred calendar of 260 days divided into 13 weeks of 20 days each. Only Priests could read this calendar. The Mayans thought that having a prized long backward sloping forehead and crossed-eyes were beautiful.

The Toltec lived around from 950 A.D. to 1200 A.D. They were warlike people. They believed in two gods, Quetzalcoatl-plumped serpent, and Tezcatlipoca-smoked mirror. They expanded their empire all the way down to Mayan Lands.

The Aztec lived from 1200s to 1500s. They arrived from the north to central Mexico. No one welcomed so they had to go in on a island on Lake Texcoco. Their city was made up of four million people. They were polytheistic. They believed in Huitzilopochti-God of Sun and War, and Quetzalcoati-Feathered serpent. In 1519 Hernan Cortez arrived on Aztec land. The caused of the destruction of the Aztec was killed during revolt and there was no immunity to European diseases.

The Inca lived around 1400s to 1500s. They lived in what is today Peru. They had one king with absolute power. They used backs of Llamas for transportation and used use irrigation system. They capital city was Machu Picchu. The destruction of the Inca were the spread epidemic of small pox that the European brought.