History of the United States I / Unit 1 USH1 0003 short lesson, about 20 seconds
What Mesoamerica Shared
Captions available
The idea
Mesoamerica ran from north of Panama to the desert of central Mexico. Its peoples shared polytheistic religions demanding blood sacrifice, maize domesticated by five thousand BCE, and calendars predicting eclipses and solstices.
In practice
Priest-astronomers reading a calendar to set planting and harvest.
Where people slip
They shared a culture without any overarching political system. Long-distance trade in obsidian, jade and cacao diffused it.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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