Mesoamerican Americans Dbq Essay

The lives of Native Americans from as early as 800 B.C.E. in present-day Mexico and Central America depended heavily on the knowledge and technology passed down from previous tribes. The impact this has had on developing Mesoamerican societies can be seen in records of their history. Having the way of life of a tribe documented can help prove the significance of these accomplishments.

One aspect of the way of life of these people that is very influential is the education of the young. Early on, children are taught the important life skills that will likely be their job for the rest of their life. This is seen in Document 3 where an unknown author describes the various things children are taught. One of these skills is bravery for warriors.

As the “Mayan Battle Song” in Document 2 suggests, warriors were fierce and determined, like they were trained to be as kids. Document 1 shows an example of a gardener that has found many uses for one plant as described by a Spanish explorer. All of these skills and more are described in Document 6 which also tells about the social order from the point of view of a relative to a ruler.
Some intellectual accomplishments are the study of various subjects like astronomy, music, and wood/metal work as listed in Document 3.

A great astronomer, King Nezahualpilli used his position as king to find others with similar knowledge to work on the tribe’s calendar (Document 4). Document 6 shows the several studies in religion which were carried through by priests and the philosophers that wrote the books of science to educate others about their discoveries. Document 2 describes the determination and will of warriors to fight to prove their own bravery and courage.

Physical achievements by Mesoamerican Indians include the floating garden cities created in lakes for protection against attacks. These also allow for fertile growing of plants as recorded by Spanish conqueror Hernan Cortes in Document 5. Tehuacan was also the site of the first planting of corn around 8000 B.C.E. as depicted by the image in Document 7.

Many technological and intellectual achievements made by Mesoamerican Indians have influenced their descendants and can be proven to significantly affect the developing societies of the time by history records and documents. Their technology helped the Mesoamericans to keep an independent, but up-to-date society even after separating from the other parts of the world several centuries in the

past.