Mesoamerican civilizations: Did you mean...?

Ancient Mesoamerica (modern-day Mexico and Central America) witnessed an extraordinary flourishing of cultures from the beginnings of the Olmec civilization around 1200 BCE, through the Maya civilization and on to the catastrophic fall of...

The Mesoamerican civilizations represent a long continuum of complex societies that emerged independently in Central America and southern Mexico from roughly 1500 BCE to the early 16th century CE, prior to Spanish conquest. Rather than a...

Turquoise was a highly-prized material in ancient Mesoamerica, perhaps the most valued of all materials for sacred and decorative art objects such as masks, jewellery, and the costumes of rulers and high priests. Turquoise was acquired through...

It seems that civilizations inevitably rise and fall no matter how big or small, and in this collection, we look at some of the most famous, spectacular, and mysterious collapses of cultures from the Romans to the Maya. War, famine, climate...

This collection focuses on providing supplementary materials to students who want to enhance their school history studies and to teachers who want a more concise coverage of each lesson that they deliver. This chapter examines the economic...

A map illustrating the rise and spread of the Second Wave Civilizations between c. 500 BCE and 200 CE (including the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Chinese, and India).

Obsidian is a dark volcanic glass which provides the sharpest cutting edge available in nature. Ancient Mesoamerican cultures greatly esteemed the properties of obsidian, and it was widely traded across the region. Obsidian was used to create...

A ceramic vessel with painted scenes of Maya players of the Mesoamerican ballgame. Guatemala, 700-800 CE. (St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri)

A representation of the Tonalpohualli – ‘Counting of the Days’ 260-day calendar used by ancient Mesoamerican cultures. Two systems ran simultaneously with a group of 13 numbered days combined with a group of 20 name days. Thus, each day had...

A sculpture of the Mesoamerican god known to the Aztecs as 2 Rabbit who often represented the pulque gods. These gods represented the alcoholic drink pulque and were also known as the Centzon Totochtin (400 Rabbits). 1100-1300 CE. (Poza Larga...