5.6 The Maya and the Aztecs

Notes

Complex civilizations developed in Mesoamerica (Mexico and Central America), based on growing maize (corn).

• The Olmec (about 1200 to 400 BCE) were an early civilization known for giant stone heads.
• Maya (Classic period about 250 to 900 CE): independent city-states such as Tikal with stone pyramids and temples, each ruled by a king.
• Maya achievements: a glyph writing system, an accurate calendar, advanced astronomy and the concept of zero.
• Many Classic Maya cities were abandoned after 900, possibly due to drought, warfare and overpopulation, though Maya people and cities like Chichén Itzá continued.
• Aztecs (Mexica) founded Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco in 1325. They built causeways and floating gardens called chinampas.
• The Aztecs demanded tribute from conquered peoples and practiced human sacrifice to their gods, such as the sun god Huitzilopochtli. Conquered peoples' resentment later helped the Spanish.