So you know brothers.
It
will see you
Mexico
today, a thriving nation, Mexico, the heart of middle America, that area
of our continent which stretches from the southwestern part of what is now
the United States through modern Panama. A land of little rainfall, vast
deserts, a land of tropical jungle of hot and humid lowlands of high
mountains and rocky soil. A land where nature where the climate often work
against man. Mexico is a land where much of the soil is poor. The climate
hostile where farmers must struggle to grow their crops, where they must
use unique agricultural methods if they are to feed their families. Where
survival depends not only on their ingenuity but also on the rainfall and
the yield of the fields. Theirs is a precarious existence because over the
centuries man has ruined the soil of Mexico.
It's in this land of Mexico that the story of many americans begins part
of the heritage of every mexican american is found in Mexico and in spain
And part of the heritage of every american in the Southwestern United
States is found in ancient Mexico.
In this lesson, we'll look at the heritage of ancient indian cultures. For
Mexico is one of the world's great cradles of civilization. It's one of
the areas of the Americas where thousands of years ago man developed
unique civilizations,
advanced civilizations based on agriculture in a land where cultivation of
crops was difficult. Let's look back to those ancient cultures, a story
that began hundreds of years before Europeans came to the new World. It
begins at the time when man first appeared in the new world, He migrated
to the Americas, But there is recent evidence that man may have arrived in
America 40 or more years ago. archaeologists think that man probably came
to the Western Hemisphere from Asia, that he crossed the Bering straits
from Siberia to Alaska. During an ice age, the oceans were shallow and
people probably walked the short distance to the new continent. Man began
a slow journey southward through the Americas. Some people stayed behind
in one location while others moved on and man finally reached the tip of
south America.
During the thousands of years after man arrived in the new world, his
physical characteristics probably changed somewhat. His features were no
longer those he brought from Asia. New stocks of men developed
the indians of the Americas and as men became new physical types as they
migrated to new areas, they used and developed a variety of languages.
Today there are many different languages spoken between the northern
border of Mexico and the southern border of Guatemala. People who speak
one language often cannot understand neighbors who speak another, but all
of these people share an asian heritage and similar cultural traditions.
Now the first men probably came to America as hunters and gatherers, they
hunted the big game, living in the subtropical forests that covered vast
areas of north America and as food supplies were used up in one area, the
hunters moved on to another.
Later as the big game became scarce, perhaps because of changes in climate.
Men in some locations began to live on the wild plants and seeds. They
could gather. And slowly these men developed agriculture, an event which
had occurred in only a few areas of the world. Mesopotamia and Central
Africa, for instance,
Perhaps quite by accident. Around 2500 BC man discovered corn. People in
small areas of Mexico found that some of the seeds they had been gathering
could be planted. That the growth of food plants could be controlled
corn is an almost perfect food. It can be eaten cooked or raw, or it can
be dried and preserved in many forms from corn meal, which can be mixed
with water to form a flour for baking two powdered corn, which can be
boiled and eaten as a gruel or drunk as a beverage. Corn plants don't
require daily attention once the soil was prepared and some seeds were
planted, the ancient farmer had some extra time, although his tasks were
time consuming, he could think about things other than a constant search
for food. He could make tools and household articles and he could develop
decorations and art which added color and life to his existence.
The cultivation of corn, a crop that requires rain only in the seedling
stage, and that needs only moderately good soil, became the backbone of
indian life and corn itself became the basis of civilization on this
continent
to the indians, corn was a gift of the gods. It was an expression of the
favor of the gods, their reward to the indians for devotion and hard labor.
Even today it is the food that's most typical of the way of life of the
mexican.
The soil of Mexico does not yield its crops easily. The layer of topsoil
is often thin years ago. The indians developed means of coping with these
problems and many of the techniques of the early farmers are still used
today. In middle America, the simplest, which you can still see in many
areas is the one field system of farming. Year after year, the farmer
grows his crops on the same plot of land until eventually the soil is
exhausted and won't produce, or the farmer might use the to field system
of farming, A plot of land is divided into two fields. One field is
planted, the other is left fallow for a year or two to allow natural
growth to rot and enrich the soil. A third technique is slash and burn
farming. A field is cleared by felling trees and burning underbrush. This
burning produces immediately usable fertilizers in which to plant the
seeds, crops are cultivated until the undergrowth once again takes over or
the soil is exhausted. The fields are abandoned and new ones cleared
tools and farming techniques. In ancient Mexico were rudimentary by our
modern standards. They were very similar to those used elsewhere in the
world. The main farming tool was the koa or digging stick and the koala is
still used in some areas.
The early american farmer developed many of the foods that are an
important part of the world's diet today. These foods were unknown in Asia
europe or africa before the spanish conquest of Mexico foods like corn,
beans and squash, still the basis of the indian diet Throughout the
Americas like avocados, peanuts, chili peppers, tomatoes, maguey and
potatoes. These are some of the contributions of the indian farmers
working against the forces of nature, carving out an existence in spite of
scarcity of good arable land.
Once he had learned to control his food supply, man could lead a more
stable settled life societies emerged. The civilizations of the new world
developed.
What little we know about. The ancient cultures of Mexico comes to us
through the work of archaeologists. Their studies are often limited to
examination of the stone building and burial sites that have survived the
ages like this one in Mexico and too careful examination of broken
fragments of pottery and other artifacts.
Some ancient temples remain, but the homes of people who lived 1000 or two
years ago have long since disappeared. However, archaeologists have been
able to develop some theories about these ancient societies. They tell us
for example, that the first evidence of a developing society in Mexico
appeared about 900 BC. Approximately the same time that Carthage was
founded on the mediterranean sea. Now this society, as we have seen,
depended heavily on the whims of nature. The soil of Mexico was often thin
and rainfall meant the difference between survival and starvation. Men
believed that the forces of nature were gods and that nature would smile
upon Mexico if the gods were happy and contented if men demonstrated that
they loved the gods and were obedient to their will,
there emerged a group of people who studied the forces of nature to
determine the will of the gods and to interpret that will to the people.
They became the priests of the religion. They developed rituals and
explain the way of life necessary to ensure the continuing good favor of
the gods. Eventually the society became theocratic. The priests ruled all
affairs both religious and non religious and we're the highest authority.
This type of society lasted in Mexico for about 1500 years. The early
theocratic societies were marked by the first large scale construction of
religious centers. The rituals could be conducted in accordance with the
will of the gods as determined by the priests. It was in the period after
900 BC. That the first great temples were built. This early development of
civilization is attributed to a people shrouded in legend, the Olmecs who
had a very distinctive art style. The seat of all make culture was La
venta on the gulf coast near the modern city of veracruz and it's
considered by many archaeologists to be the most important predecessor of
later Mexican civilizations. It's certainly influenced later cultures to a
great extent.
The all next style was borrowed by others, like the Zappa Tex of Monte
Alban near Oaxaca. In many cases, the borrowing was so extensive that it's
difficult for modern archaeologists to determine which cities were really
all make. Some of the artifacts found at La Vaba are dated as early as 900
BC. There is evidence at La Venta that the art style and therefore the
civilization lasted over 500 years. Art is one of the means by which we
can trace a civilization, but it must be remembered that what is art to us
today was part of the day to day life of those ancient peoples through
their art, we're looking at their religion, their household implements,
their economic system. In fact, many aspects of their way of life. The
almanac was a distinctive art style, noted for the life like quality of
its figures. All Mac sculpture made extensive use of jade, a stone still
considered precious as it was during the pre hispanic phase of Mexican
history. Many of the almanac figures showed people in their daily lives,
but the most distinctive were jaguars or half man, half jaguar figurines.
This animal was of great significance to early theocratic societies
for the jaguar was associated with a god clock, the god of rain and
fertility, Chief of the forces of nature. It's hardly surprising that
clock would be the chief god of peoples to whom the rainfall was crucial.
Their very survival. The growth of the crops depended upon clocks,
goodwill
and so the jaguar symbol of clock symbolizes the power that controls the
earth. This influence of all Mac culture continued in Mexico through the
centuries to come. Now. We've said that the dominant figure of theocratic
society was the priest. The religious specialist. The ancient priest was
both the civil and the religious authority and the center of his power was
the temple. But the priests also had power over men as specialists of
organization, the ceremonial center and the many rituals required labor
from the people and a share of the goods the society produced. The priests
developed a means of keeping records and transmitting information to each
other. They guarded this secret from the people as a means of continuing
their power for the Mayan indians of Mexico, like the people of ancient
samaria and Egypt had developed a symbolic communication system. Writing
not as we know it, but Hira graphic writing, the sort of picture writing
you see here and through this ability to write and read. The priests were
the only ones who could understand the ritual and thus they were able to
exercise complete control over society.
Let's look at another important role of the priests. The rhythm of
planting and harvesting and ritual ceremonies required an accurate
knowledge of time. The early priests studied the sun and the stars and
became expert in astronomy and mathematics and with this knowledge, they
were able to develop one of the great achievements of ancient Mexico. They
developed a sophisticated and accurate calendar which the Aztecs were
still using when the Europeans arrived in the new world.
There were two Basic Calendars. One had a count of 260 days and was
primarily a sacred almanac used to determine the rituals ceremonies and
good and bad days for worship.
The second was based on a count of 365 days. This year was divided into 18
months of 20 days, each With five evil days at the end of the year, Every
52 years, the counts of both calendars coincided and there was a period of
great crisis for the people.
Another great civilization, which also had developed a sophisticated
calendar and great ceremonial centers was that of the Mayas. The Maya
civilization began its development about the same time as the Olmec
culture and lasted much longer. Everywhere. The priests interpreted and
control the calendar and this function gave them economic power.
The Theocratic society is encouraged in fact demanded elaborate service to
the gods. The gods demanded offerings and the people gave their corn their
pottery a portion of whatever was valuable to them. The best craftsman of
a society were called upon by the priests to beautify the temple's. Just
as many centuries later. The greatest artists and sculptors of europe were
employed to beautify the great cathedrals.