The Americas

The Americas cover and extensive time period, extending from 2000 B.C.- 1521 A.D. and includes 4 different cultures/people groups. These different groups were located in various areas of the Americas; the Olmecs were the 1st dominant culture in Southern Mexico, Mayans-Toltecs in Central America, Incas in Peru, and Aztecs in Mexico.

Although there were these four different groups they had some cultural similarities such as the status of nobles and commoners, hereditary leadership, divine rights, farming as a way of life, and sporting events. Religion was also a large part in all of these cultures. There were temples which were the center of the town, pyramids were common to each of these groups and were meant to represent the gods of the specific region. All of these groups were also polytheistic which means that they worshipped many gods; lastly these groups practiced human sacrifice as an act of worship to their gods.

I thought that the most interesting thing we learned about in the Americas was Machu Picchu. It is such a beautiful and architecturally stunning establishment. The size alone is astounding and the fact that it was made without any mortar shows how advanced the Aztecs were and how they really had an eye for architecture and design. Seeing the video and pictures of Machi Picchu made me want to visit Peru someday to get to see Macchu Picchu in person! Below are a couple of pictures of Machu Picchu.

Another element of the Americas that I thought was really neat was the Olmec stone head that was representative of their ruler, the size of the statue is so impressive and is such a cool piece of art. 

Modern Application 

One modern application that I thought of was the popular use of Aztec prints in both fashion and interiors, such as in the colorful patterned rug and the printed table runner in the pictures below. 

Peer Reviews:

First I read Haley's blog; she did an excellent job giving a detailed description of the Americas, the 4 different groups and their cultures. I enjoyed the pictured that she shared that showed where the Temple Mayor would have stood if it were still standing today. I also liked the modern application pictures she shared, especially the image of the Machu Picchu inspired building. 

I also read Katie's blog post on the Americas. The information that she shared about Machu Pichhu was interesting, like how that civilization rose to power in the 1400's and many of the structures have been reconstructed to give an accurate portrayal of what the entire structure looked like so tourist can really get the full picture. She also shared that the Olmec stone heads weigh about 40 tons, which I thought was so amazing!