Mayan civilization in southern America

The first Maya settlements were established around 1800 BC in the period of Early Pre-Classic in the region of Soconusco of the Pacific Coast.

In the Classic period (AD 250-900) , the ancient Mayan civilization is located in an area of what will one day be southeastern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras.

Archeologists estimate that the peak of classic Mayan civilization developed between AD 600 and 800 - a period on which the Maya developed sophisticated ideas concerning astronomy, sculpture, architecture, and hieroglyphic wiring.

The Maya built splendid temples and pyramids were accomplished artists and developed a sophisticated calendar, as accurate as any in existence in the world at that time.

The Maya built tremendous cities – Tikal, the most important Mayan political center, may have been populated by more than 100,000 people.

The Maya people were an agrarian people who cleared the dense rainforests, developed farming and built a patchwork of city-states.

Mayan warfare was a unique with a tremendous amount of religious significance. Days of religious would preceded a battle, and the King and nobility would actively participate in combat. The purpose of warfare was not to gain territory, but to acquire slaves, who were used in large scale building projects and farming. 

The Mayan written language consists of glyphs. Unlike other language systems in ancient America, the Mayan glyphs are not just pictures of object. Many of them also represent specific sounds. The Maya inscribed their glyphs on far more imperishable materials like stone stelae, staircase, door lintels, facades, and pottery.

Mayan civilization declined inexplicably long before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. It ends with the Spanish conquest of Mesoamerica, which begins with the defeat of the Aztecs in 1521 and continues into the southern Maya region in 1524 and Yucatan in 1542.
Mayan civilization in southern America

Aztec Empire

The Aztec people founded one of the most powerful empires in history.

According to a legend the Aztec came from a place Aztlan northwest of Mexico. The Aztlan means ‘place of the herons’ in Nahuatl , the language of the Aztecs and other nearby people. It was a small tribe that made a living doing fishing and hunting.

In 1100, they left their desert-like home land in order to search for better settlements are at gods’ disposition.

They worked their way south for more than 200 years. At last in 1325, they definitely could stay on the place where according to a legend, they saw an eagle sitting on a cactus and holding a snack in its talons. 

The Aztec people of the island are brave, creative and intelligent. They began building the great city of Tenochtitlan.

They built temples and pyramids in the city center. These buildings rose high above the streets and canals of the island.

Aztecs formed the Triple Alliance and began to expand its territory in 1428. At its peak it included 450 separate altepetl city states in modern day Mexico and Guatemala and rules over a population of four to six million.

At the time of the Spanish conquest the Empire controlled by the Aztec cities sprawled across Mesoamerica from valleys of the Central Mexican highlands to the tropical lowland coats of Guatemala.

The Aztecs united different peoples under their rule. They created wealth for themselves by taking tribute from peoples they and their allies conquered.

The Aztecs controlled their empire for more than 100 years. Only the invasion of the Spanish beginning in 1519 ended their rule.
Aztec Empire