Mesoamerica: Did you mean...?

Search

Search Results

Interview: The Last Days of the Incas (Kim MacQuarrie)
Interview by James Blake Wiener

Interview: The Last Days of the Incas (Kim MacQuarrie)

How did a mere 167 Spaniards conquer an empire of 10 million people? The Spanish were outnumbered 200-to-1 yet they were able to seize the Inca capital, Cuzco, and dispose of the Inca ruler within only a year. Kim MacQuarrie's The Last Days...
The Art of Mesoamerica
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ by Mark Cartwright

The Art of Mesoamerica

Another wonderfully informative book from the World of Art series. This one makes a marvelous introduction to Mesoamerica as not only does it cover the fascinating and utterly distinctive art of civilizations such as the Maya, Aztecs and...
Templo Mayor
Definition by Mark Cartwright

Templo Mayor - The Aztecs' Greatest Temple

The Templo Mayor or Great Temple (called Hueteocalli by the Aztecs) dominated the central sacred precinct of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. Topped by twin temples dedicated to the war god Huitzilopochtli and the rain god Tlaloc it was a...
Tezcatlipoca
Definition by Mark Cartwright

Tezcatlipoca - The Greatest of Aztec Gods

Tezcatlipoca (pron. Tez-ca-tli-po-ca) or 'Smoking Mirror' in Nahuatl was one of the most important gods in Postclassical Mesoamerican culture and particularly important for the Toltecs and the Aztecs, especially at Texcoco. He was an invisible...
Montezuma
Definition by Mark Cartwright

Montezuma - Last Ruler of the Aztecs

Montezuma (aka Moctezuma), or more correctly, Motecuhzoma II Xocoyotzin, meaning 'Angry Like A Lord’, was the last fully independent ruler of the Aztec empire before the civilization's collapse after the Spanish Conquest in the early 16th...
Tulum
Definition by Mark Cartwright

Tulum

Tulum, on the east coast of the Yucatan peninsula in southern Mexico, was an important Mesoamerican centre which displayed both Maya and Toltec influence. Tulum was a major trading and religious centre between the 11th and 16th centuries...
El Tajin
Definition by Mark Cartwright

El Tajin

El Tajin is located near the coast of eastern Mexico and was an important Mesoamerican centre which flourished between 900 and 1100 CE. A part of the Veracruz culture, the city's architecture also displays both Maya and Oaxacan influences...
Wupatki
Definition by James Blake Wiener

Wupatki

Wupatki or Wupatki National Monument is an Ancestral Puebloan site that contains over 800 ancient ruins. It is situated in the north-central region of the US state of Arizona and is approximately 50 km (31 miles) northeast of the present-day...
The Mayan Pantheon: The Many Gods of the Maya
Article by Joshua J. Mark

The Mayan Pantheon: The Many Gods of the Maya

The pantheon of the Maya is a vast collection of deities worshipped throughout the regions of Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Campeche, Tabasco, and Chiapas in Mexico and southward through Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras. These gods informed...
Map of the Olmec Civilization
Image by Simeon Netchev

Map of the Olmec Civilization

The Olmec civilization, flourishing along the Gulf Coast of Mexico between c. 1200 and 400 BCE, represents one of the earliest complex societies in Mesoamerica and is often described as its “mother culture.” Emerging in the fertile lowlands...
Support Us