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During the Archaic Period, populations started to increase as a consequence of decline in mobility.

Reliance on hunting became minimal as people turned to river sources and plants.

The domestication of crops and animals occurred before sedentary living.

Maize, which was domesticated from Teosinte, was a staple crop. Maize has many ideologies behind it including the Maize God, and that everyone is part maize. Due to it's high level of importance during this period, it because the foundation for all cultures.

Three Sisters: Beans, Maize, Squash. These were called the three sisters because they were able to be polycropped. As a food item, if one was lacking nutrients, another had them; making them a very reliable and efficient source of food.

Source: Hanstedt, Paul. “This is Your Brain on Writing: The Implications of James Zull’s The Art of Changing the Brain for the Writing Classroom.” Lecture for ANTH&104 at Cascadia College, Bothell, WA, May 27, 2009.

Graphic: http://interamericana.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/bloghis41.jpg

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As permanent settlements in farming villages began to appear, populations steadily rose creating a more social complexity and bringing forth regional culture groups.

Usage of pottery and ceramics began during this period.

Looking at evidence in burials, forms of social hierarchy/stratification were present.

Source: Hanstedt, Paul. “This is Your Brain on Writing: The Implications of James Zull’s The Art of Changing the Brain for the Writing Classroom.” Lecture for ANTH&104 at Cascadia College, Bothell, WA, May 27, 2009.

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Often referred to the Cultura Madre which is also known as the "Mother Culture". The Olmecs got this name from the extent of their artifacts found in areas from Central Mexico, all the way to El Salvador. There is some controversy to this and some say that many regions had been emerging and had shared ideology, as well as different levels of social complexity and development.

Similar characteristics that are seen across the different regions are:

Feathered Serpent --> Brought rain

Sacred Caves --> As the feathered serpent's residence, caves too were made sacred.

San Lorenzo (1200-900 BC), and La Venta (3000-2600 BP) were major Olmec sites that had shown evidence of agriculture having a large impact on the social complexity of the society.

Source: Killion, Thomas. "Nonagricultural Cultivation and Social Complexity: The Olmec, Their Ancestors, and Mexico’s Southern Gulf Coast Lowlands." Current Anthropology Volume 54, no. Issue 5 (2013): 596-606. Accessed November 16, 2014. http://www.jstor.org.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/stable/10.1086/673140.

Source: Hanstedt, Paul. “This is Your Brain on Writing: The Implications of James Zull’s The Art of Changing the Brain for the Writing Classroom.” Lecture for ANTH&104 at Cascadia College, Bothell, WA, May 27, 2009.

Graphic: http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/92/102292-004-883B7FB0.jpg

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Although there was a decline in the Olmecs, this period brought forth major social and economic growth putting it at a standard of a major world civilization.

Populations rapidly increased, especially in the Mexican region.

The Mesoamerican Calendar:

260 Day Calendar (Each day was designated 1-13 with one of 20 names and would repeat until 260 days completed)

365 Day Calendar (Solar cycle days which was 20 days for 18 months. The extra 5 were considered bad luck, especially being born on them.)

Calendar Round (Any given day had a compound name)

Although the origins of written language pop up many times, the rise of major civilizations it became very prominent. Mesoamerican writing was made of pictorials and glyphs which makes it difficult to trace its origins.

The rise in kings was one of the biggest transformations of this period. With the emergence of kings, came great urban centers, monuments of royal portraits, and the creation of territorial states.

Source: "Mesoamerican Civilization." In The Human Past: World Prehistory & Development of Human Societies, edited by Christopher Scarre, 595-639. 3rd ed. London: Thames & Hudson, 2013.

Source: Hanstedt, Paul. “This is Your Brain on Writing: The Implications of James Zull’s The Art of Changing the Brain for the Writing Classroom.” Lecture for ANTH&104 at Cascadia College, Bothell, WA, May 27, 2009.

Graphic: http://theslideprojector.com/images/art9/The%20Art%20of%20Mesoamerica/Chapter%203-%20Late%20Formative/Calendar%20Round.jpg

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Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Aztec region. This city began in 1325 AD and became the largest and most complex city in the 16th century.

Large populations of about 50,000+ people occupied this city. The architecture resembled that of Venice, with the way the island was connected to the mainland and how networks of canals were apart of the city.

Urban living and housing was broken up into 80 barrios (neighborhoods). Each of these barrios housed members that were specialized in some sort of task.

Great Temples and ritualistic features are still very prominent with the worship of Tlaloc, the rain god, and Huitzilopochtli, the god of war and of the sun.

Templo Mayor was a large enclosure at the center of the city where sacrifices were made. This was done to ensure rain, sun and military success.

A central market system was found right near the sacred enclosure which brought about large amount of trade and influence economy. Merchants were usually housed here.

Source: "Mesoamerican Civilization." In The Human Past: World Prehistory & Development of Human Societies, edited by Christopher Scarre, 595-639. 3rd ed. London: Thames & Hudson, 2013.

Graphic: http://www.solarnavigator.net/history/explorers_history/aztec_pyramid_gathering.jpg

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Teotihuacan was very influential between the 4th and 6th century AD.

Major power with controlling the Basin of Mexico but is believed to have possibly ruled over in a larger area.

The city structure and layout points to the the possibility that it was strongly influenced by a major change in internal and political powers. This location's structure represents that of a grid, with narrow streets and apartment like buildings and housing. These compounds revealed kitchens, storage rooms, shrines and even dense deposits of household solid waste.

They lived in large social groups and there was a big distinction in wealth and status (showing increase in social stratification

Source: "Mesoamerican Civilization." In The Human Past: World Prehistory & Development of Human Societies, edited by Christopher Scarre, 595-639. 3rd ed. London: Thames & Hudson, 2013.

Graphic: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Piramide_de_la_Luna_072006.jpg

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Monte Alban, another major site, would not rise to claim itself as a new major power in place of Teotihuacan. Rather, regional powers grew out of the smaller sites and centers located in the Mesoamerican region.

Complex economies and trading among other cities and powers were seen in different places.

Intricate housing layouts and Temples/Palace like structures were seen.

Source: "Mesoamerican Civilization." In The Human Past: World Prehistory & Development of Human Societies, edited by Christopher Scarre, 595-639. 3rd ed. London: Thames & Hudson, 2013.

Graphic: http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/zapotecs/alban-10.jpg

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One of the most well known of all Mesoamerican cultures.

Located in the Yucatan Peninsula (about the size of Great Britain), the weather was hotter, and more humid.

A major tradition that was widely spread was the usage of an altar, usually carved with royal and ritualistic text, which had information about other kingdoms.

In later Mayan society, art became important for showing the political dynamics.

Architecture was very important with the Mayans. There are large triatic pyramid complexes, water systems, carved stone figures and faces.

Presence of elites/royals and burials, as well as social groups and levels based on wealth and rank. The differences between noble classes and commoner classes were very distinct. Commoners could not wear noble clothes, and they couldn't wear or buy artifacts associated with nobility. In the Mayan's social system, there is indications of slavery.

Source: "Mesoamerican Civilization." In The Human Past: World Prehistory & Development of Human Societies, edited by Christopher Scarre, 595-639. 3rd ed. London: Thames & Hudson, 2013.

Source: "Maya Social Structure." The University of Texas School of Law: Tarlton Law Library. Accessed November 16, 2014. http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/exhibits/aztec/maya_social.html.

Graphic: http://www.thenativechoice.com/images/DzibancheRuinsTour_1.jpg

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The ideas of societies during this period, such as being less sophisticated or having more war and violence, are not true. Many posclassic societies brought forth many differences and interesting things.

There was a presence of oral history and surviving books.

Tula was a urban successor to Teotihuacan. It was considered as a rich and crafty society ( they were able to accomplish crafts in multiple areas). It had flourishing crops for cotton, and the wise men had worked with medicine and time telling. It fell and rerose in a new location. Strong ties with other societies outside its borders and into other regions of Mesoamerica were made and they had large amounts of trading done (mainly importation).

Source: "Mesoamerican Civilization." In The Human Past: World Prehistory & Development of Human Societies, edited by Christopher Scarre, 595-639. 3rd ed. London: Thames & Hudson, 2013.

Graphic: http://www.crystalinks.com/tula2.jpg

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On August of 1519, Cortes entered Motecezuma's weathy Aztec empire. Eventually entering Tenochitilan, and were welcomed. The two did many activities together such as hunting, while the Spanish soldiers played games with the Aztech monarch. This short welcoming was soon over when Motecezuma mysteriously died in a large fight that broke out. This cause large amounts of fighting between the Aztecs and Spanish (which ended in Spanish victory).

This allowed the Spanish to slowly but surely take over this region of Mesoamerica. The Itza Maya were able to survive another 150 years prior to this event.

Source: "Mesoamerican Civilization." In The Human Past: World Prehistory & Development of Human Societies, edited by Christopher Scarre, 595-639. 3rd ed. London: Thames & Hudson, 2013.

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