UNIT 1 TOPIC 4
State Building in the Americas
THEME : Governance
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Explain how and why states in the Americas developed and changed over time.
How is going in the Americas from 1200-1450?
MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS
First let’s start our little tour in . And if you’re interested in a little historical
then let’s back it up before 1200 and get acquainted with the
which ran from about 250-900CE.
The Maya were insane: they built huge centers, had the most sophisticated
system in all the Americas during that time, and got real with all their mathematics, including
but certainly not limited to, using the concept of .
Their state was basically a collection of city-states that were
frequently at with one another. And when the Maya fought to expand their , their
goal wasn’t to gain more territory necessarily, but rather to create a vast network of
among neighboring regions. And that just means that powers conquered by the Maya remained
somewhat , but they were required to send tribute to the Maya rulers
including things like and military weapons and various building .
One key of Maya culture was its emphasis on . They believed
that the was a deity and was constantly losing energy in its struggle against darkness and therefore
required the life-giving energy of human .
But maybe at this point you’re like, why are you talking about a that isn’t even part of
the time covered in the course?
© Heimler’s History Please do not share or post online. Authorized use for school year 2023-2024.
TM
*Advanced Placement® and AP® are trademarks registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product. page 1 of 6
, UNIT 1 TOPIC 4
State Building in the Americas
MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS cont’d.
You need to know something about the Maya because as we move into our time period 1200-1450, you
need to understand how during this period demonstrated and
compared to those states that came before.
It’s time to get to know the which ran from 1345 to 1528.
But this empire had much more beginnings. The people were a semi-
nomadic peoople who south around the beginning of the 14th century and began building
up their prowess and strategically into more powerful families.
By 1428 they had a ton of power in the region and entered an
with two other Mesoamerican states thus establishing the Aztec Empire with an aggressive program of
. Don’t get confused: the Mexica and the Aztecs are not two separate empires or states. The
Mexica group were the folks that established the Aztec Empire. , Aztec, are
the same.
The Aztec ruled their massive empire in a few ways that demonstrate with older
Mesoamerican states, like the .
The power structure of the Aztecs was , meaning that all the
various peoples they conquered were set up as tributary states. So again, for the privilege of being a conqueree of
the , the various peoples under their power had to provide regular of food
and and building materials. And this was how the Aztecs their
vast and rapidly expanding empire.
But their wars of expansion also had motivations too. The sun god needed blood and so
remained a key for extending their power over more and more states.
© Heimler’s History Please do not share or post online. Authorized use for school year 2023-2024.
TM
*Advanced Placement® and AP® are trademarks registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product. page 2 of 6
State Building in the Americas
THEME : Governance
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Explain how and why states in the Americas developed and changed over time.
How is going in the Americas from 1200-1450?
MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS
First let’s start our little tour in . And if you’re interested in a little historical
then let’s back it up before 1200 and get acquainted with the
which ran from about 250-900CE.
The Maya were insane: they built huge centers, had the most sophisticated
system in all the Americas during that time, and got real with all their mathematics, including
but certainly not limited to, using the concept of .
Their state was basically a collection of city-states that were
frequently at with one another. And when the Maya fought to expand their , their
goal wasn’t to gain more territory necessarily, but rather to create a vast network of
among neighboring regions. And that just means that powers conquered by the Maya remained
somewhat , but they were required to send tribute to the Maya rulers
including things like and military weapons and various building .
One key of Maya culture was its emphasis on . They believed
that the was a deity and was constantly losing energy in its struggle against darkness and therefore
required the life-giving energy of human .
But maybe at this point you’re like, why are you talking about a that isn’t even part of
the time covered in the course?
© Heimler’s History Please do not share or post online. Authorized use for school year 2023-2024.
TM
*Advanced Placement® and AP® are trademarks registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product. page 1 of 6
, UNIT 1 TOPIC 4
State Building in the Americas
MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS cont’d.
You need to know something about the Maya because as we move into our time period 1200-1450, you
need to understand how during this period demonstrated and
compared to those states that came before.
It’s time to get to know the which ran from 1345 to 1528.
But this empire had much more beginnings. The people were a semi-
nomadic peoople who south around the beginning of the 14th century and began building
up their prowess and strategically into more powerful families.
By 1428 they had a ton of power in the region and entered an
with two other Mesoamerican states thus establishing the Aztec Empire with an aggressive program of
. Don’t get confused: the Mexica and the Aztecs are not two separate empires or states. The
Mexica group were the folks that established the Aztec Empire. , Aztec, are
the same.
The Aztec ruled their massive empire in a few ways that demonstrate with older
Mesoamerican states, like the .
The power structure of the Aztecs was , meaning that all the
various peoples they conquered were set up as tributary states. So again, for the privilege of being a conqueree of
the , the various peoples under their power had to provide regular of food
and and building materials. And this was how the Aztecs their
vast and rapidly expanding empire.
But their wars of expansion also had motivations too. The sun god needed blood and so
remained a key for extending their power over more and more states.
© Heimler’s History Please do not share or post online. Authorized use for school year 2023-2024.
TM
*Advanced Placement® and AP® are trademarks registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product. page 2 of 6
