History of Ancient Mexico, Aztecs, Maya and more Explained in ten minutes

Summary

This script offers a comprehensive history of Mesoamerica, highlighting the cultivation of corn and the rise of civilizations like the Olmecs, Zapotecs, and Maya. It details the development of complex societies with unique cultures, including the construction of cities, pyramids, and the establishment of writing systems. The narrative also covers the interactions and conflicts between these civilizations, the influence of Teotihuacan, and the eventual Spanish conquest, which brought about significant changes and the near-eradication of indigenous cultures and knowledge.

Takeaways

• 🌽 Mesoamerica's early farmers were skilled in cultivating corn, chilies, beans, tomatoes, squash, and cocoa, with corn becoming a staple crop.
• 🗿 The Olmecs were an early civilization known for their large stone sculptures, the development of a writing system, and a complex calendar.
• 🏆 The Olmecs valued jade highly and established extensive trade networks to acquire it, influencing later Mesoamerican cultures.
• 🏰 The Zapotecs emerged from a union of warring groups, developing an early calendar system and possibly the first glyphic script in the New World.
• 📈 The Maya civilization developed large urban centers, monumental architecture, and a script, with a history of warfare and competition among city-states.
• 🌆 Teotihuacan rose as a dominant religious and political center, with a population of over 100,000, and a unique social structure with stone dwellings for its citizens.
• 🔥 Teotihuacan's fall was marked by the burning of temples, possibly due to an internal uprising against its religious and political leadership.
• 🛡️ The Toltecs were known as great conquerors, with a standing army and a society built around religious war, extending their influence throughout Mesoamerica.
• 🏰 The Maya experienced a 'Golden Age' of achievement in mathematics, city planning, and science, with city-states engaging in complex alliances and rivalries.
• 🌟 The Aztecs, or Mexica, founded the well-planned city of Tenochtitlan, which quickly became a dominant political and military force in the region.

Q & A

What is Mesoamerica known for in terms of agriculture around 7,000 years ago?

Mesoamerica is known for the cultivation and harvesting of corn, which became a staple crop in the region. Farmers also farmed chilies, beans, tomatoes, squash, and cocoa.

Who were the Olmecs and what are they known for?

The Olmecs were an early Mesoamerican civilization known for developing a writing system, constructing large cities and pyramids, playing ritual ballgames, and creating a complex calendar. They also prized jade highly and established expansive trading networks.

How did the Zapotec civilization distinguish itself in Mesoamerica?

The Zapotec civilization is noted for developing an early calendar system and possibly the earliest glyphic script in the New World, predating 600 BC. They also established a large empire that administered from 15 palace complexes.

What was unique about the city of Teotihuacan?

Teotihuacan was a dominant city that began as a religious center and grew to have over 100,000 inhabitants, making it one of the most populous cities on earth at the time. It was unique in that its citizens enjoyed permanent stone dwellings, often large and spacious.

What is the significance of the destruction of Teotihuacan's temples and how was it interpreted by archaeologists?

The destruction of temples in Teotihuacan was initially thought to be due to foreign invasion. However, the fact that the rest of the city remained inhabited suggests it may have been an internal mass uprising against the city's religious and political leadership.

Who were the Toltecs and what was their primary method of expansion?

The Toltecs were a Mesoamerican civilization known as the greatest conquerors in ancient America. They expanded their influence through a permanent standing army with disciplined and highly trained warriors.

How did the Maya civilization change after the fall of Teotihuacan?

After the fall of Teotihuacan, the Maya civilization experienced a Dark Age characterized by depopulation and the abandonment of cities. This was followed by a period of renaissance where they achieved advancements in mathematics, city planning, and science.

What was the role of the League of Mayapan in the post-Toltec era?

The League of Mayapan was formed after the collapse of the Toltec Empire. It was a coalition of city-states that emerged to lead the region, although they were greatly diminished compared to the cities of their classical Maya predecessors.

How did the Aztecs gain control over surrounding city-states?

The Aztecs, or Mexica, gained control over surrounding city-states through a combination of alliances and conquest. They quickly became the dominant military and political force in the region.

What was the impact of the Spanish arrival on Mesoamerica?

The arrival of the Spanish led to the conquest of the Mexica and the spread of diseases that the Mesoamericans had no immunity to, causing a Great Plague. The Spanish also sought to wipe out human sacrifice and burn many books, leading to the loss of much of Mesoamerica's history and culture.

Outlines

00:00

🌽 Early Mesoamerican Civilizations and Agriculture

Mesoamerica, a historical and cultural region primarily in modern-day Mexico and Central America, saw the development of agriculture around 7,000 years ago. Farmers cultivated corn, chilies, beans, tomatoes, squash, and cocoa. The Olmecs, known for their large stone heads, were the first to develop a writing system in the Americas. They left a legacy of large cities, pyramids, ritual ballgames, chocolate drinking, a complex calendar, and a pantheon of animal gods. The Olmec civilization mysteriously declined, but their culture was continued by successors. The Zapotecs emerged from a union of warring groups, developing an early calendar system and a glyphic script, and their civilization lasted until the arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th century. The Maya developed large urban centers, monumental architecture, and a script, with divine kingship as a political institution. Teotihuacan, known for its large population and foreign quarters, experienced a mysterious destruction that may have been due to an internal uprising. The Toltecs, known as great conquerors, established a standing army and expanded their influence through warfare and trade.

05:01

🏰 Rise and Fall of Mesoamerican Empires

The Maya civilization experienced a period of decline and abandonment known as the Classic Maya collapse. Meanwhile, the Toltecs, under the leadership of Kukulcan, expanded their influence over the Yucatan Peninsula and much of the Mayan world. However, they faced internal strife and natural disasters, leading to a significant decrease in population and the burning of their capital, Tula, in 1122. The fall of the Toltecs was followed by a period of chaos and a shift in power dynamics, with various tribes moving into central Mexico. The Mexica, or Aztecs, founded the city of Tenochtitlan, which became a massive and well-planned capital. The Aztec Empire, initially part of the Triple Alliance, became the dominant force in the region. Other powers like the Tarascans and the Caxcan state also rose to prominence, engaging in constant warfare. The Maya Confederation further declined, while the Zapotecs and Mixtecs eventually found peace. The arrival of the Spaniards in 1519, led by Cortes, marked the beginning of the end for these civilizations, as they were conquered with the help of local allies and the devastating impact of new diseases from the Old World.

Keywords

💡Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica refers to the historical and cultural region encompassing present-day Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Belize. It is significant in the video as the region where advanced pre-Columbian civilizations like the Olmecs, Zapotecs, Maya, and Aztecs developed. These civilizations are known for their contributions to agriculture, language, architecture, and culture.

💡Olmecs

The Olmecs are the earliest known major civilization in Mesoamerica, recognized for their colossal stone heads and influence on later civilizations. The video highlights their developments in language, city-building, ballgames, and the pantheon of animal gods. Their reverence for jade and their mysterious decline make them central to Mesoamerican history.

💡Zapotecs

The Zapotec civilization arose in southern Mesoamerica and is noted for its unique calendar system and early glyphic script, which influenced later writing systems in the region. Their empire once ruled over a thousand cities and towns, with a lasting legacy despite gradual decline. The Zapotecs represent the longest continuous civilization in the region.

💡Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan was one of the largest cities in the ancient world, located in central Mexico. Known for its pyramids, religious significance, and advanced urban planning, the city attracted migrants and housed a population possibly as large as 250,000. The video discusses its eventual decline, possibly due to an internal uprising rather than foreign invasion.

💡Toltecs

The Toltecs were a powerful civilization known primarily for their military conquests and religious practices. The video describes their dominance after the fall of Teotihuacan, their conquest of the Yucatan, and their eventual decline due to civil war, famine, and uprisings. Their capital, Tula, was eventually destroyed in 1122 AD.

💡Maya

The Maya civilization is highlighted for its impressive achievements in mathematics, city planning, and writing (Mayan script). They were politically fragmented, with individual city-states often at war with each other. The video contrasts their accomplishments during their Classical Period with the eventual decline and abandonment of their cities.

💡Tenochtitlan

Tenochtitlan was the capital city of the Mexica (Aztecs), located on an island in Lake Texcoco. The video notes its magnificence and strategic importance, as it became the center of the Aztec Empire. Tenochtitlan was well-planned, with canals, marketplaces, and grand palaces, playing a crucial role in the rise of the Aztec civilization.

💡Aztec Empire

The Aztec Empire, also called the Mexica Empire, was formed through conquest and alliances, with Tenochtitlan as its core. The video emphasizes the empire's rapid expansion and military prowess, as well as its eventual fall due to the arrival of Spanish conquistadors and diseases that devastated the indigenous population.

💡Human Sacrifice

Human sacrifice was a significant aspect of Mesoamerican religious practices, particularly among the Maya and Aztecs. The video briefly mentions how the Spanish conquistadors were horrified by this practice and sought to eradicate it along with other cultural elements, including burning books and destroying historical records.

💡Spanish Conquest

The Spanish conquest of Mesoamerica is a pivotal moment in the video, particularly the arrival of Hernán Cortés in 1519. The Spaniards, aided by indigenous allies and European diseases, were able to defeat the powerful Mexica Empire. The video discusses the long-lasting consequences of this conquest, including the destruction of Mesoamerican culture and history.

Highlights

Mesoamerica is a historical and cultural region with a rich history of agriculture and civilization.

Corn was the staple crop in Mesoamerica, cultivated around 7,000 years ago.

The Olmecs were the first to develop a writing system in the Americas and left behind large stone sculptures.

The Olmec culture included complex calendars, ritual ballgames, and a pantheon of gods.

Jade was highly prized by the Olmecs, leading to extensive trading networks.

The Zapotecs developed an early calendar system and one of the first glyphic scripts in the New World.

The Zapotecs ruled over 1,000 cities and towns from 15 palace complexes at their height.

The Maya civilization developed large urban cities, monumental architecture, and a script.

Teotihuacan was a dominant city with a population of over 100,000, known for its religious center.

The fall of Teotihuacan is believed to have been due to an internal uprising against its leadership.

The Toltecs were known as the greatest conquerors in ancient America, with a standing army and warrior castes.

The Toltec leader Kukulcan extended political influence over much of the Mayan world.

The Maya experienced a Dark Age characterized by depopulation and abandonment of cities.

The Maya Confederation eventually collapsed, leading to further decline and abandonment of cities.

The Aztecs, or Mexica, founded the city of Tenochtitlan, which became a massive, well-planned capital.

The Aztec Empire, initially part of the Triple Alliance, became the dominant force in the region.

The Spanish conquest of Mexico was aided by alliances with local tribes and the introduction of new diseases.

The Spanish sought to eradicate human sacrifice and burn Mesoamerican books, preserving only a few.

Transcripts

mesoamerica is the historical and

cultural region located mostly within

modern-day Mexico as well as El Salvador

Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua and Billy's

around 7,000 years ago the farmers in

this region became proficient in the

cultivation and harvesting of corn which

became a staple crop in the region they

also farm chilies beans tomatoes squash

and cacoa the Olmecs were first

discovered from the many large stone

helmeted heads they left behind we're

the first to developer in language in

the Americas large cities pyramids

ritual ballgames chocolate drinking a

complex calendar and pantheon of animal

gods were all features of Olmec culture

which were passed on to successor

Mesoamerican civilizations more than any

other material object the Olmecs prized

jade above all else they created

expansive trading networks that

stretched hundreds of miles to obtain

this precious mineral the Olmec

civilization was destroyed in just a

mysterious as a manner as they appeared

a successor civilization maintained

their culture in a diminished fashion

and endured for several hundred more

years in the northwest but as the Olmecs

faded away several prominent

civilizations began their ascent along

the old Olmec trading network to the

south the Zapotecs arose from the union

of three distinct populations who had

waged war on each other for hundreds of

years they either banded together or

United forcibly on a mountaintop Beast

riding the three valleys a magnificent

capital city was built at its height the

Empire ruled over 1,000 cities and towns

administered from 15 palace complexes

the Zapotecs developed an early calendar

system and as many scholars have

postulated the earliest glyphic script

in the new world beginning before 600 BC

and directly related to all other

scripts in the region the zapotec stand

out as being the longest continuous

civilization in the region their capital

fell in a gradual disuse and abandonment

after 1000 AD although their empire

would deteriorate after a long period of

intermittent decline and foreign

domination they would continue to exist

as a smaller Kingdom all the way until

the arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th

century to the zapotec southeast the

pre-classic Maya developed large urban

cities monumental architecture a Mayan

script and political institutions

including

divine kingship in contrast to the unity

of the Zapotecs the Maya would primarily

wage war on and compete with other mine

kingdoms to the north the city of

Teotihuacan began to dominate beginning

as a religious center it attracted a

flood of migrants from all over the

region the metropolis had a staggering

population of over 100,000 perhaps as

much as 250,000 making it one of the

most populous cities on earth at the

time in contrast to nearly all other

ancient metropolis around the world the

citizens of Teotihuacan enjoyed

permanent stoned dwellings often large

spacious multifamily apartments among

the city's population there were many

foreign quarters in the city including a

Zapotec district from the Teotihuacan

seem to have enjoyed a good relationship

with around 558 D virtually all the

temples atop the pyramids and palaces in

the city were burnt and or destroyed

initially archaeologists had surmised

that this was due to for an invasion

however the fact that the rest of the

city stone houses where the city's vast

population lived seems to have remained

unscathed and inhabited for a few

hundred more years seems to indicate

that the destruction may have been

caused by an internal mass uprising

against the city's religious and

political leadership as the Totti WA

cons faded from history a tribe from the

north moved to the same region initially

appearing to be a vassal state of the

teotihuacans

and then they seem to have been involved

in the Tarot tiwa Khan's eventual

collapse they were the Toltecs this were

like people founded a capital Tula they

are not known as the builders of the

greatest cities like the teotihuacans or

the innovators like the Zapotecs or

Olmecs but they should be known as the

greatest conquerors in the ancient

Americas back to them in a moment to the

south as the Totti Wacom's fell so did

the zapotec empire they were dominated

by one of their vassal states the mix

tanks and for centuries this highly

populated area Mesoamerica would be

consumed by their rivalry as one would

gain the upper hand and then the other

in the east the pre-classic Maya

suffered a Dark Age of depopulation and

the mysterious abandonment of their

cities following this was a period where

the emerging mine states seemed to have

been under the influence of Teotihuacan

who installed puppet rulers for a short

time and then the Maya embarked upon a

gold

age of achievement in mathematics city

planning and scientific achievement

often compared to Renaissance Italy and

classical Greece with multiple

city-states engage in a complex network

of alliances and M 'not ease just as

with classical Greece and Renaissance

Italy a few powerful steady states arose

to control the region and beyond during

this period copan and Palenque remained

independent and prosperous but the two

dominant rivals to emerge in the

classical Maya world were calakmul the

populist snake Kingdom dominating the

northern Mayan States while two cow

dominated the southern states through

political economic and military means

cacao also founded or sponsored several

colonies over a widespread area to

increase their influence in the region

as the Maya built their cities in waged

war on each other to the west the

Toltecs were building a society built

around religious war a permanent

standing army with different warrior

castes was established their armies were

disciplined drilled and highly trained

ports Garrison's reserve units and

supply depots were all hallmarks of

Toltec warfare and they used this to

great effect in conquering a swath of

Kingdom city-states villages and towns

throughout Mesoamerica near the

beginning of the 10th century the

semi-mythical leader of the Toltecs

Kukulcan conquered the Yucatan Peninsula

and extended toltec political influence

over much of the Mayan world

toltec trading networks and culture

spread to the south and as far north as

modern-day Arizona seventy years later

the Toltecs lost control of the Yucatan

and it descended in a widespread chaos

famine and civil war and after a great

famine that lasted seven years toltec

influenced further contracted for the

next century the Toltecs were plagued by

famines civil war and widespread

uprisings and in a grand finale of chaos

the Toltec capital of tula was burnt to

the ground in 1122 after the collapse of

the Toltecs there was a 60% decrease in

the population in central Mexico after

emerging from that period of chaos the

Maya form the League of my upon the new

city-states that emerged to lead it were

greatly diminished compared to the

cities of their classical Maya

predecessors during the centuries

following the collapse of the Toltec

Empire many tribes moved from the north

into central Mexico according to legend

wondered the earth seeking an eagle with

a snake in its beak perched on a prickly

pear cactus wherever they saw this would

be a sign of where their people would

live in the early 14th century they

found this sign on an island in Lake

Texcoco here they built a magnificent

capital city Tenochtitlan with a massive

population not seen since the height of

the teotihuacans this well-planned city

was criss-crossed with canals separating

marketplaces gardens plazas ball courts

sprawling apartments and many palaces

and temples the mexica quickly gained

control of the city states surrounding

Lake Texcoco through alliances and

conquest

although the Aztec empire was initially

conceived and called the Triple Alliance

the Mexica of Tenochtitlan quickly

became the dominant military and

political force in the 14th century two

other powerful states developed in the

region the Tarasque ins another northern

people that migrated south and spoke a

completely different dialect they

quickly gained many allies and were seen

as benevolent rulers the clack Scallon

state arose which was a republic ruled

by a Council of Chiefs which was drawn

from all classes of society who gained

their position by service to the state

usually through effectiveness and

warfare over the next century and a half

the Tarasque ins and mesh iike empires

would rapidly grow and we're in a state

of near constant warfare with one

another in the East the Maya

Confederation collapsed the cities went

in a further decline in abandonment in

the South the Zapotecs and mixed ex

finally got along with each other and

such was the state in Mesoamerica when

the Spaniards arrived in 1519 after

landing Cortes ordered the ships to be

scuttled so that the men would know

there is no possibility of retreat only

conquest and then moved inland there the

Spaniards encountered the klutz Collins

who they fought to a stalemate after

three days of battle they were able to

negotiate a peace with the clacks

Collins together they made an alliance

to conquer the Mexica together with a

hundred thousand packs Calvin allies the

Spaniards were able to conquer the

Mexica the Spaniards were also aided by

the fact that they brought several

diseases from the old world with them

that the best Oh Americans had no

immunity - and a Great Plague preceded

them wherever they went

after and during the conquest of Mexico

in the Yucatan the conquistadors were

horrified by the human sacrifice that

they practiced and sought to wipe it out

in all traces of the religion culture in

history of Mesoamerica burning many

thousands of books with only a small

handful surviving until today and that

has been a brief history of ancient

Mexico in the Mesoamerican region I

wanted to focus a lot on the cultures

besides just the Aztec and classical

Maya and Joe had they've been in the big

picture of Mesoamerican history this has

been Epimetheus and a huge thanks to all

my patrons and subscribers who helped

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