What is an atlatl?
This video focuses on what an atlatl, or spearthrower, is in Mesoamerica.
An Introduction to the Ancient Maya
This overview reading about the ancient Maya of Mesoamerica covers topics such as geography and land, Classic period cities such as Palenque and Tikal, religion and rituals, writing, art, calendars, the ballgame, conflict, and the living Maya.
Zapotec Funerary Urns in Mesoamerica: Inside Ancient Mexican Tombs
Zapotec funerary urns are unique to ancient Mexico.
Spooky Season in Art: Skeletons, Spirits, and the Supernatural
Around the world, artists have turned to skeletons, spirits, and strange creatures to wrestle with life’s biggest mysteries and to provide social and political commentary. From medieval Europe to ancient China to ancient Peru and 19th-century Mexico, we can look at images and objects that seem spooky, eerie, or gruesome today. But were they always meant to be understood this way?
Aztec Art Collage Sheet
Cut out and collage images of art from the Aztecs of Mesoamerica! Use them for cultural collages, in notebooks and art projects, or on poster boards around the classroom.
The largest pyramid in the world
The largest pyramid in the world isn’t in Egypt. Do you know where it is?
The death mask of the most famous ancient Maya king
When archaeologists managed to slide the lid off a sarcophagus and look inside, they found Pakal’s body covered in jade ornaments. A jade mask covered Pakal’s face. And all of these helped to transform him into the Maize God!
The most famous Aztec artwork: The Sun Stone or “Calendar Stone”
The most famous Aztec artwork—the “Calendar Stone” or Sun Stone, today in Mexico City’s National Museum of Anthropology
Amazing Art of the Aztecs in Mexico City
Learn about experiencing the amazing art of the Aztecs with kids from an expert who has traveled there with her kids.
Discovering an ancient Maya king’s tomb at Palenque
Deep in the thick rainforest of Chiapas, Mexico, archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier would stumble upon one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the twentieth while digging at the ancient Maya site of Palenque: the tomb and sarcophagus of the ruler K’inich Janaab’ Pakal.