Ms. Diane Nicoll 7th Grade History Unit 5: Lesson 2 

Name: Asher Thomas

Date: February 20, 2018

Class: 7th Grade - Medieval World History

 
Slides and Notes 
Slide Student Notes

Title  ☆ MesoAmerican Geography ☆

Study the locations, landforms, and climates of
Mexico, Central America, and South America and their
Goal 
effects on Mayan, Aztec, and Incan economies, trade,
and development of urban societies.

Define: 
The complex societies of middle and south America
MesoAmerican
that developed before the arrival of Europeans.
Civilizations

The Mayans  
Jungles  Tropical rainforests of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Food?
● Jungles and oceans provided food
What are cenotes?
Food and Water  ● A natural water sinkhole sometimes used nu the
ancient Maya for sacrificial offerings
How did the Mayans feel about cenotes?
● They thought they were holy

Isolated urban centers called, city states.

Isolated  Why was this area isolated?

● In dense jungle
● On ocean

The Aztecs  
Wide, high valley in the mountains of Central Mexico.
Mexico 

 
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Ms. Diane Nicoll 7th Grade History Unit 5: Lesson 2 

Called themselves the Mexica.

Why is agriculture important?

● It made them stay, surplus, and grow
Fertile Soil 
What are Chinampas?
● Floating gardens

Lakes?
● There is one big lake
Natural Defenses  ● Lake is salty
Mountains?
● Surrounding the area

The Incas  
Which mountain range?
High Mountains 
● Andes
South America 

Why defensible?
Defenses  ● On Mountains
● Mountains are hard to have a lot of people climb

Human ingenuity created roads, aqueducts, and

terraces to solve problems.
Terraces 
Roads solved the problem of communication.
Aqueducts solved the problem of irrigation.
Terraces solved the problem of agriculture.

Video 

Video Summary Paragraph Starter:

The Mayan, Aztec, and Incan civilizations shared

values of education, engineering, and creative
thinking. For example... The Mayans found shelter in
jungles that had sinkholes full of water. The Aztecs
MesoAmerica 
settled in a high mountain lake with fertile soil and
Geography​ Video 
natural defenses. The Inca chose the peaks of the
Andes Mountains, where they built platforms with
retaining walls called terraces for agriculture.

 
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Ms. Diane Nicoll 7th Grade History Unit 5: Lesson 2 

 
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