CHST 101CHST 101_ D1 - Google Docs Chapter 1, Explain the evolution of agricultural innovations,urban centers, architecture, calendars, and mathematical and literary achievements.(Chapter One). According to Acuna

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According to Rodolfo F. Acuna, maize became an important crop that was an essential part of the evolution of many indigenous cultures. The indigenous people worshipped this essential crop. Due to th ... e outgrowing population, maize production increased in agricultural innovations and became important in the way of labor work. The more maize that was harvested the increase it provided to the indiginous people. This resulted in helping mobilize labor as the population grew. The indigenous people came in discovery that maize was able to grow year around and learned how quickly after harvest it became ready, they became familiar with the growth cycle of maize and became their primary dietary staple throughout Mesoamerica and spread northwards and southward. The Olmeca is known as “mother culture of Mexico,” this was due to the cross fertilization of indeginous cultures that included other Mesoamerican civilizations. They were the first to build kingdoms that resulted in a political symbolism. The Olmecas settled in cities and villages in the gulf of coastal lowlands which today are known as southeastern Veracruz and Tabasco. San Lorenzo was the home of Olmeca civilization where there were public buildings, a drainage system, and a ball court. La Venta was a ceremonial site in Tabasco that was used for gatherings and trades. Their earliest pottery was used to store food surpluses. Acuna describes the 3 types of calendars the Olmeca developed with the sophisticated knowledge of mathematics they had. They had a ritual calendar which had a 260 day cycle in which it was used for religious purposes, a solar calendar which consisted of 18 months of 20 days plus 5 days that were tackled in and a combination of the two that was used for purposes of naming a new infant. The Olmeca civilization had a tremendous knowledge in mathematics which led to the discovery of these 3 calendars. The discovery of zero is still an ongoing discussion among scientists and professionals on who discovered it first, the Olmeca civilization or the Mayan civilizations. This is due to the writing of the Olmeca still not being completely deciphered. In the early years of the Mayan civilization, they populated an area half the size of texas. They wanted to improve their agriculture. The development of canals accomplished improved water flow and reclaimed wetlands by elevating their fields. They built temples, pyramids, and monuments. The Mayan’s calendars were a product of the time in science and used their astronomy skills to link earthly events to those of the heavens. They observed the stars and had predictions of the movements of the sun and the moons. The Azteca was the most dominant empire that ruled 300 cities. They used adobe mud and stone roofs in the houses they lived in. The Azteca engineering helped advance better canals, aqueducts and chinampas used to farm. They created a water aqueduct that ran 3 miles long from the mainland to provide the city with an adequate fresh water source. They created routes that helped advance their economy and gave opportunities to exchange goods. [Show More]

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