Essential Questions for Unit 1: The Great Pre-Columbian Civilizations I Mesoamerica (Questions 1,2,3) What is Mesoamerica? The Hieroglyphic System (Questions 9,10) What is surprising about the first line of text What defines Mesoamericans? in this section? How do we compare to the Mesoamericans? Why is Fray Diego de Landa important? The Olmecs (Questions 4) Describe the hieroglyphic system of the Maya Why are the Olmecs considered the “cultura in detail. madre”? The Collapse of the Classical Maya What made the Olmec art unique? What is so mysterious about the collapse of Describe the Olmecs physically. Why is this the Maya? important? What are some theories pertaining to their Teotihuacán (Question 6) collapse? What was Teotihuacán? What happened in the Yucatán peninsula? Was this a militaristic society? Why or why The Post-classic Period of Mesoamerica not? (Question 11) What happened to Teotihuacán? In two words, describe this period of time. The Mayans of the Classic Period What can you say about the “chichimecas”? (Question 7) Describe the “new gods” of this period. Why are the Mayans considered the The Mysterious Toltecs (Question 12) “griegos” of Mesoamerica? What does this How did the Toltecs create the first empire? mean? Describe Tula. Describe the physical characteristics of the How did other indigenous people (los Mayans. pueblos) feel about the Toltecs? How did the Mayans organize themselves? The Legend of Quetzalcóatl The Mayan Numeric System (Question 8) Physically describe and explain Quetzalcóatl. Did the Mayans create their number system? What was special about the Mayans’ numeric Tell me about Topiltzín and what he did. How does this legend relate to the Spanish system? conquistadors? Describe the two types of Mayan counting systems.
Essential Questions for Unit 1: The Great Pre-Columbian Civilizations I Mesoamerica (Questions 1,2,3) What is Mesoamerica? What defines Mesoamericans? How do we compare to the Mesoamericans? The Olmecs (Questions 4) Why are the Olmecs considered the “cultura madre”? What made the Olmec art unique? Describe the Olmecs physically. Why is this important? Teotihuacán (Question 6) What was Teotihuacán? Was this a militaristic society? Why or why not? What happened to Teotihuacán? The Mayans of the Classic Period (Question 7) Why are the Mayans considered the “griegos” of Mesoamerica? What does this mean? Describe the physical characteristics of the Mayans. How did the Mayans organize themselves? The Mayan Numeric System (Question 8) Did the Mayans create their number system? What was special about the Mayans’ numeric system? Describe the two types of Mayan counting systems. The Hieroglyphic System (Questions 9,10) What is surprising about the first line of text in this section? Why is Fray Diego de Landa important? Describe the hieroglyphic system of the Maya in detail. The Collapse of the Classical Maya What is so mysterious about the collapse of the Maya? What are some theories pertaining to their collapse? What happened in the Yucatán peninsula? The Post-classic Period of Mesoamerica (Question 11) In two words, describe this period of time. What can you say about the “chichimecas”? Describe the “new gods” of this period. The Mysterious Toltecs (Question 12) How did the Toltecs create the first empire? Describe Tula. How did other indigenous people (los pueblos) feel about the Toltecs? The Legend of Quetzalcóatl Physically describe and explain Quetzalcóatl. Tell me about Topiltzín and what he did. How does this legend relate to the Spanish conquistadors?
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