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Meso-America

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Meso-America

Meso-America, meaning “Middle America” is a term used to describe the lands of Central America and Mexico.
In 1502 Christopher Columbus captured a small trading canoe near the Gulf of Honduras. Word then spread through Spain about the “riches” of Mesoamerica and a city of gold. This attracted Spanish Conquistadors who were in search of gold. Too, this started the downfall of the Aztec and Maya. But let’s learn about them first before we get to their downfall. The Maya were first.

Other units on our site to go with this one:

Amazon Rain Forest – {Resplendent Quetzal, Cacao Beans, Chocolate, Montezuma are some of the same printables from that unit study that can go into this study.}

Loads of Toads – If you want to focus on the toads, some of the same toads mentioned there will fit nicely with this unit.

Fall Unit – {Printable for how corn grows that fits with this topic too.}

Iroquois – {Native Americans too their diet is similar. Look here for printables about their diet}

And then they said as they left, “We are going there to the sunrise, Whence our fathers came…”
excerpted from the Popol Vuh, the most famous of the Maya Chronicles
The Maya
Have you ever wondered is it Maya or Maya? Here is the explanation: The term “Mayan” should be used only when referring to the Mayan language. The term “Maya” should be used when you talk or write about the people and their culture. Maya is both plural and singular.One important fact that we have helped our children realize in studying about the Ancient Maya is that there are many modern Maya still living today. It is not a lost civilization. You can learn much about the people and their culture by visiting those areas today.
Where did the ancient Maya live?

The lived in what is now southeastern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras, and El Salvador. Their environment has lush rainforests along with splendid cities of stone that they built. The Egyptians weren’t the only ones that built pyramids.

Who were the ancient Maya and how did they live?

There were farmers and relied heavily on the land for their one basic need of food. Maize, which we know as corn was an important staple in their diet. They also relied on hunting as a means of survival. Some of the animals they hunted were deer, wild turkeys, rabbit, monkeys and iguanas.

The ruling class lived in stone palaces but a majority of the people lived in huts. They would used cane poles and put them together by vines and plaster over with mud. The roof had to be especially steep so that the waters from the rain would run off.

The hut had an earth floor and only had the bare necessities needed like earthen pots and a hammock.

They spent their days in the cornfield weeding eating. Cacao beans also grew on the trees in Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize and were considered valuable to them.

Did you know…

The Maya farmed cacao trees just so the kings could have their favorite frothy chocolate drinks whenever they wanted.

The Maya carried goods in a sling called tumpline or on their backs as they didn’t have horses.

That corn was a very important crop to the Maya. Corn symbolized birth and death and the Maya even worshipped the Yum-Kaax, the god of corn.

The Maya were polytheists, meaning they worshipped many gods. Maya experts know the Maya had names for at least 166 gods.

The rubber tree was used by the Maya for more than making rubber balls. They sealed bags to carry water and it was used to treat lip and ear wounds.

About people in Maya History

Pacal II, is also known as Pacal the Great or K’inich Janahb’ Pakal. Pacal II may be the most famous Maya king.

Shield Jaguar the Great and Lady Xok of Yaxchilan. The powerful family of his important wife, Lady Xok helped to keep Shield Jaguar the Great on the throne. In the picture on the mini book she is shown pulling a thorn studded rope through her tongue for a blood sacrifice as Shield Jaguar holds a torch over head.

Charles V. King of Spain. Approved the Spanish conquest of the Americas.

John Lloyd Stephens. He was an American traveler who teamed up with Frederick Catherwood to locate Maya ruins.

{Pacal II}

{Shield Jaguar the Great & Lady Xok of Yaxchilan.}

Notebooking Pages
1Hernan-Cortes-NB1.pdf (4587 downloads)
2About-ancient-Maya-NB21.pdf (3960 downloads)
3Structure-of-Maya-Society-NB31.pdf (3107 downloads)
4Geography-of-Central-America-NB41.pdf (3143 downloads)
5About-Maya-Sacrifice-versus-Jesus-Sacrifice-NB51.pdf (2767 downloads)
6Aztec-Maya-and-Inca-NB-6.pdf (2907 downloads)
Ancient Maya Lapbook Layout

Download Covers and Minibooks for Ancient Maya below

Covers – For the front outside flaps of your lapbook. Too, you can use these to just decorate your notebooking pages.

Cover-Page-Maya-2.pdf (2803 downloads)

 

Cover-Page-Maya-1.pdf (2429 downloads)
About Ancient Maya minibook 1
About-Ancient-Maya-minibook.pdf (2971 downloads)
maya calendar - Copy (2)
maya-calendar.pdf (2813 downloads)
maya did you know
maya-did-you-know.pdf (2670 downloads)
Maya important names to Know 1
Maya-important-names-to-Know.pdf (2265 downloads)
Maya Jade and Jewelry - Copy
Maya-Jade-and-Jewelry.pdf (2257 downloads)
Maya Majestic Builders 1 - Copy
Maya-Majestic-Builders.pdf (2563 downloads)
Maya T-F and Voc Cards 0918
Maya-T-F-and-Voc-Cards.pdf (2736 downloads)
maya writing
maya-writing.pdf (2343 downloads)
Quetzal Importance to Maya
Quetzal-Importance-to-Maya.pdf (2368 downloads)

 

The Aztecs

When they saw that their warriors

fled before them, the gold sparkling

and the banners of quetzal plumes shining green,

O, do not be taken prisoners!

Let it not be you, make haste!

~Axayacatl~

15th century Aztec King

Background Information
Hernan Cortes the Spanish Conquistador captured Tenochtitlan {ten-och-tee-TLAHN} the capital city of the Aztecs in 1521 and the world as the Aztecs knew it ended. Aztec temples and other structures were destroyed. The city we know today as Mexico City was built over it.We can learn a lot about the Aztecs because they left a detailed account of their civilization. They wrote poetry, kept records and even documented their rituals and ceremonies. The Aztecs lived in Northern Mexico but around the year 1100 the Aztecs {also called the Mexica} began a journey south to central Mexico. They arrived in the Valley of Mexico in 1345 and settled on land that was uninhabited.

According to legend, on this spot an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its talons. This was a sign that the Aztecs had found their new home.

The site the Aztecs lived on when they first arrived in the Valley of Mexico was a small island in Lake Texcoco. They began to build a great city which they named Tenochtitlan. From its start on a swampy island Tenochtitlan grew into a magnificent city of 250,000 people. The Aztecs named their capital city after the chieftain who led them there, Tenoch and the word for cactus, nochtli.

Geography of the Aztec Empire
The Aztec empire stretched from Central Mexico to the Mexican border with Guatemala, and from the Gulf Coast to the Pacific Coast. The largest city was Tenochtitlan which was on an island in Lake Texcoco. Aqueducts carryied fresh water and linked the city to the mainland.
Aztec Life
Religion was the central focus of their civilization. A different god represented a different aspect of daily life. They held elaborate sacrifices that involved human sacrifices.
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ricki Treat says

    July 17, 2018 at 9:35 pm

    Thank you so much. This unit study is awesome! My kids are so excited!

    Reply
  2. kristina McGuire says

    June 30, 2017 at 8:33 am

    I love your artwork. Thank you for your unit studies. It makes it so much easier to plan. I use it with other curricula to make it more fun.

    Reply
    • Tina Robertson says

      July 4, 2017 at 7:36 pm

      You’re just very welcome Kristina! Unit studies is our preferred way to learn always!

      Reply
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