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1150 BCE
Rubber ball invention
The rubber ball was first created by the Olmecs who are called the rubber people by later groups like the Aztecs. The rubber ball was created for a holy sacred game that was played by the Olmecs. They wore head gear when they played the game. The Olmecs by process of elimination have to have figured out the secret to creating rubber through the process of using juice from a morning glory vine and latex to create rubber balls and durable rubber material. -
1150 BCE
Olmec round head statues
The statues were generally carved round with great technical skill that makes it quite impressive and took quite a lot of work to make. They were quite connected to the ball games as they wore the head gear that was common in ball games. -
Period: 1150 BCE to 400 BCE
Olmec founded and destroyed
San Lorenzo founded which is the oldest civilization. This is the oldest Olmec settlement but fell in 950 BCE. There is other settlements that were created. The most prominent is the settlement of La Venta which lasted from 800 BCE to 400 BCE. All of this happened during the formative period of history which was from 1200 BCE to 400 BCE. The reason of their fall is not known to anyone. -
900 BCE
Olmec cities and villages
The olmecs had started to transition from villages to cities which showed a far reaching social and intellectual revolution which was a great step forward. -
800 BCE
Olmec Pyramid
They created a great mound of earth and clay which may house a great Olmec ruler. They had offerings and the bodies of two children were found in the pyramid in La Venta. This is an innovation for Mesoamerica as it is possibly one of the first pyramids in Mesoamerica. -
700 BCE
Zapotec Calender
This is the first written calender in Mesoamerica. No other calenders had been written down by this point in time. -
700 BCE
Zapotec Religon
The Zapotec religion was polytheistic with two main gods in their religion. One of them was the rain god called Cocijo. The other god was the god of light called Coquihani. These gods had ritual sacrifices done for them as gods of fertility. The religion also had elaborate rubber ball games played in the court of Monte Alban.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldcivilization/chapter/the-zapotec/ -
700 BCE
Writing system
The Zapotecs were the first group to create a writing system in Mesoamerica. Writing systems are considered signs of civilizations evolving which showed that the Zapotecs took the next step in the process of growing as a civilization. -
700 BCE
Zapotec architecture
The Zapotec had elaborate buildings in their cities that were combined with elaborate art. The buildings and art were located near their most important religious center called Milta.
Info from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldcivilization/chapter/the-zapotec/. -
Period: 700 BCE to 1000
Zapotec civilization
Zapotec civilization had a slow rise it took two hundred years to start to form a larger civilization. They would later have dominance of the Oaxaca valley until 900. The civilization would later fall due to natural resource decline and war with both the Mixtecs and the Aztecs. -
400 BCE
Teotihuacán craftsmanship
The city of Teotihuacán used ceramics or obsidian, a volcanic glass for weapons, tools, and ornamentation. These objects were made by less than one-third of the population.
https://www.britannica.com/place/Teotihuacan -
400 BCE
Teotihuacan written language
The written language of Teotihuacan was using a hieroglyphic system of letters. This is different from some other groups of the era. -
400 BCE
Teotihuacán Geometric planning
The planning of the city was symmetric and proportional which shows that there was a master plan and a standard unit of measurement. This is unique because cities are not always planed out. They were created along two perpendicular axes.
https://ancientengrtech.wisc.edu/teotihuacan/ -
400 BCE
Teotihuacán Religion
They were a polytheistic religion with multiple important gods. These were the spider goddess who was thought to be one of the most important to the religion. The other gods were the gods of Chalchiuhtlicue (the Water Goddess), Tlaloc (the rain and war god), the Old Fire God (the creator god), and Quetzalcoatl (known for agriculture renewal). All of these gods were important to the people of this area as their religion.
https://ancientengrtech.wisc.edu/teotihuacan/ -
Period: 400 BCE to 750
Teotihuacan civilization
The civilization started as a small civilization around 400 BCE. The city did not grow in size for three centuries when it got refugees from the city of Cuicuilco which was destroyed by volcanic activity. The city fell in 750 from being burned through civil war or an insurrection. Although parts of the city were still occupied after the event much of it fell into ruin. They had elaborate buildings in the city like the pyramid of the sun.
https://www.britannica.com/place/Teotihuacan -
900
Toltec military importance
The Toltecs put massive importance on their military. They were like the Mesoamerica Sparta except they did not last as long. They built an empire using their military prowess. They dressed like figures from their religion for their warriors. -
900
Toltec Art
They created many types of work from buildings to different mediums of artwork involving metal and stone. These art forms include, fine metalwork, monumental porticoes, serpent columns, gigantic statues, carved human and animal standard-bearers, and peculiar reclining Chac Mool figures.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Toltec -
900
Toltec Religion impacting military decisions
The Toltecs invaded Teotihuacan all with the goal of spreading the belief of the god Quetzalcoatl a feathered serpent God who created the world. This was apart of their motivation for conquest which is different from other reasons had for conquest by other groups. -
900
Toltec Architecture
They were considered master builders who built with limestone and beautiful metals to create their capital city. The buildings were well-designed and seem to be well-thought-out. -
Period: 900 to 1100
Toltec civilization
They arose in the tenth century and would last until the twelfth century. The civilization was a warrior people who would later fall due to internal disputes and fights which caused massive destruction. The last leader ended himself to end descendency. They appeared in the late classical stage and early post-classical stage. -
1000
Mixtec Dynasty
The Mixtecs were run by a dynasty that was a ruling family. They built kingdoms ruled by dynasties that ruled the Oaxaca valley. These families were considered descendants of the gods and had political alliances and marriages to keep their power. -
1000
Mixtec agriculture
The Mixtecs developed terraced agriculture and irrigation systems. There are places currently using this system around the world to more efficiently farm. -
1000
Mixtec art
They used gold and turquoise to make masks and other pieces of art. They also used feathers in their art which is an innovation in their culture. Other civilizations in the area did not use feathers in their art at the time. -
1000
Mixtec written language
They wrote in glyphs and recorded their histories in bound books called codices. This was how they recorded their history and knowledge to outlast them. -
Period: 1000 to 1400
Mixtecs civilization
The Mixtecs emerged after the Maya collapse. They emerged from various tribes in the tenth-century region. They arose in Oaxaca, Puebla, and Guerrero located in central Mexico. They took Monte Alban from the Zapotecs around the tenth century. They would later fall to the Aztecs and later the Spanish.