Maya Civilization and Agriculture

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Questions and Answers

What was the primary reason for the Mexica settling on Lake Texcoco?

To establish trade routes with other cities

To find a fertile agricultural location

To serve the Tepanecs in military campaigns (correct)

To escape from enemy tribes

During which period did the establishment of the first complex societies in the Maya region occur?

The Archaic period

The Classic period

The Preclassic period (correct)

The Postclassic period

What function was not typically combined under government offices in the new imperial order?

Military

Cultural (correct)

Political

Religious

What role did the god Huitzilopochtli play in Mexica society?

God of war and patron of the empire Signup and view all the answers

What was the importance of cenotes to the Maya civilization?

They were critical sources of water Signup and view all the answers

Which staple crop was primarily important to the Maya diet?

Maize Signup and view all the answers

What was a calpolli?

Clan-based communities organized by the Mexica Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following was NOT a significant city-state in the Maya region?

Cuzco Signup and view all the answers

What significant event occurred in 1428 involving the Mexica?

They defeated the Tepanec capital and formed the Triple Alliance Signup and view all the answers

What architectural feature was common in Maya cities that emerged around 750 BC?

Large temples with stucco façades Signup and view all the answers

How could a commoner soldier achieve a higher social status in Mexica society?

By capturing sacrificial victims in battle Signup and view all the answers

What did the Mexica adopt upon settling in the region of Lake Texcoco?

The customs and deities of their neighbors Signup and view all the answers

What form of agriculture did the Maya utilize for farming on frequently flooded land?

Raised narrow rectangular plots Signup and view all the answers

What did Tlatoani Itzcoatl do to consolidate the new political order?

Burned his predecessors’ books and drafted a new history Signup and view all the answers

Under whose rule were the independent Maya city-states governed?

Hereditary kings Signup and view all the answers

Which site is recognized as the largest and possibly housed 40,000 people in the Maya civilization?

Tikal Signup and view all the answers

What was a significant factor contributing to the decline of the Maya civilization?

Resource depletion due to overpopulation Signup and view all the answers

Which statement best describes the organization of the Maya civilization?

The Maya civilization was structured into city-states. Signup and view all the answers

What happened to Maya books during the sixteenth century?

They were ordered to be destroyed by Spanish authorities. Signup and view all the answers

Which cultural activity is associated with the Maya civilization?

The Maya ball game Signup and view all the answers

What event marked the end of the era of powerful Maya kings?

The end of monumental architecture around 900 C.E. Signup and view all the answers

Who were the Nahuatl-speaking people that migrated to central Mexico?

The Mexica Signup and view all the answers

What was the Aztec Empire primarily built upon?

A network of alliances and tributary states Signup and view all the answers

Who controlled much of the valley when the Mexica arrived?

The Tepanec Alliance Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

The Americas

The Maya inhabited the highlands of Guatemala and the Yucatan Peninsula in present-day Mexico and Belize.

The Maya

The Archaic period (prior to 2000 BC) saw early developments in agriculture and villages.
The Preclassic period (c. 2000 BC to 250 AD) marked the establishment of complex societies and the cultivation of staple crops like maize, beans, squash, and chili peppers.
Maya cities developed around 750 BC and by 500 BC possessed monumental architecture, including large temples with elaborate stucco façades.

Yucatan Peninsula

Limestone formations created deep natural wells called cenotes.
Cenotes were critical sources of water, essential for farming, and became important religious and spiritual sites.

Maize and other food-stuffs

Maize was the staple crop, often grown in small remote plots called milpas, along with beans, squash, chili peppers, root crops, and fruit trees.
Farming on raised rectangular plots was common, built above seasonally flooded low-lying land bordering rivers.

Maya City-States

The Maya region may have had as many as 14 million inhabitants.
Sites like Uxmal, Uaxactun, Copan, Piedras Negras, Tikal, Palenque, and Chichen Itza emerged as independent city-states, each ruled by a hereditary king.
These cities produced polychrome pottery, featured altars, engraved pillars, masonry temples, palaces for nobles, and pyramids.
Tikal, the largest site, may have had 40,000 people, and served as a religious and ceremonial center. A hereditary nobility owned land, waged war, traded, exercised political power, and directed religious rituals.

The organization of the Maya

Maya civilization was organized in City-States.

Examples of Mayan culture

Maya ball game

Spanish influence on Maya history

In the 16th century Spanish authorities viewed Maya books as demonic and ordered them to be destroyed. Only a handful survived.
These surviving texts offered a glimpse into religious rituals, practices, and Maya astronomy.

The Decline of the Mayan Society

Between the 8th and 10th centuries, the Maya abandoned their cultural and ceremonial centers.
Archeologists attribute the decline to agricultural failures (drought, land exhaustion), overpopulation/disease, and constant wars.
Widespread destruction, worsened by agricultural problems, saw royalty also suffer from the decline in civilization.
The loss of powerful kings led subjects to turn against them.

Maya new farming communities

The decline did not mean disappearance, Maya continued farming in communities.
Construction of monumental architecture ceased around 900 CE. This was likely because of the era or rule by powerful kings who could mobilize the labor required to build it.
Farming communities helped preserve culture and language.

The Vanishing strategy

The Maya used a vanishing strategy against the Aztec army and later against Spanish conquistadores.

The Aztec Empire

Between 1300 and 1345, a group of Nahuatl-speaking people (the Mexica) migrated to central Mexico, settling around Lake Texcoco, forming the Aztec Empire.
The Aztec Empire was a vast and rapidly expanding empire centered around twin cities of Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco.
It was a network of alliances and tributary states, with the Mexica at its core.

The Mexica and the Tepanecs

At the arrival of the Mexica, the Tepanec Alliance controlled much of the valley.
The Mexica negotiated the right to settle on an island in Lake Texcoco in exchange for military service.
They adopted the customs of the Tepanecs, organizing clan-based communities, and incorporated their deities.

Bernal Diaz del Castillo

A description of the appearance of the Aztec cities and towns.
They were astonished, seeming like an enchanted vision.

The Calpolli

Clan-based communities organized by the Mexica.

The Defeat of the Tepanec

In 1428, the Mexica formed a coalition with other cities in the Valley of Mexico, besieged the Tepanec capital, and defeated it.
A new powerful alliance, the Triple Alliance, with the Mexica as the key partner, emerged.
This alliance, and a new history drafted by Itzcoatl and his nephew, Tlacaelel, formed the foundation of the Aztec Empire, with Huitzilopochtli as the patron deity.

Huitzilopochtli

The Hummingbird of the South, was a god unique to the Mexica who, according to their new official origin stories, instructed them to march south until they reached an island with the sign of an eagle eating a serpent.

The new Imperial Order

Combined government, military, and political functions.
Formalized the roles of noble and common classes.
Secured five sacrificial victims = common soldier entering the lower nobility.
Publicly display new status: feathers and flowers.

The End of the Aztec Empire

Between 1519 and 1521, the Aztec Empire, under Moctezuma II, fell to Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes.
Cortes and men took Moctezuma prisoner.
Tenochtitlan rose up to drive away Spanish, causing Moctezuma to be killed.
Though the Spaniards were driven out, they introduced smallpox, which devastated the Aztec population in 1520.

Warriors and Sacrifices

The need for sacrifice and glorification of warriors was central to the expansion of the Aztec Empire.
The Aztecs viewed the warrior cult as a central observance and believed they were the chosen people.
They believed that the apocalypse could be forestalled by the sacrifices of humans.

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Description

Explore the rich history of the Maya civilization, focusing on their agricultural practices and societal developments. This quiz covers the Archaic and Preclassic periods, the significance of maize, and the role of cenotes in Maya culture. Test your knowledge about the impressive achievements of the Maya on the Yucatan Peninsula.