Week 5

Pre-Colombian - The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic to European colonization during the early modern period.

I choose the video about the Aztecs because I have always been fascinated by there culture.  They were the largest of native american empires and the cities they built were truly amazing.  The video is about Teotihuacán the city where god created man supposedly.  You can find pictures of the archeological site that looks remarkably untouched by modern society.

3 interesting facts.

1)  The city of Teotihuacán is one of great legend.  It is the city where the God's supposedly met to create the race of man.  The city is centered by a pyramid in honor of the God's.  Construction on this massive pyramid began in 300 BC and finished 150 BC.  The pyramid was later named the pyramid of the Sun.  I thought this was very interesting working 150 years to build a pyramid for the sun God..... That is dedication. 

2)  Another interesting fact was that the city housed over 200,000 people! For the time this city was functional that is a lot of people.  Not only that, but as well as having standard era homes the city also had apartment complexes.  That I found amusing because when I think of the Aztec empire I don't think about people in that day and age renting apartments.  I think it is a little strange, but very cool.  I guess not a lot has changed....well other than human sacrafices.

3)  Not a lot is known about the collapse of Teotihuacán it happened sometime in either the 7th or 8th century.  The city was sacked and burned by unknown invaders.  However, recent evidence suggest that it may have been the lower class citizens of the city that assaulted it.  This evidence is supported by the fact that only the social elite's buildings were torched and the standard dwelling were left intact.  This suggests an internal uprising.

Sources:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teotihuacan#Collapse

Sources:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7nbKa5__XM    

Magic Realism- is an artistic genre in which magical elements or illogical scenarios appear in an otherwise realistic or even "normal" setting. It has been widely used in relation to literature, art, and film.

Dependence Theory- is a body of social science theories which are predicated on the notion that resources flow from a "periphery" of poor and underdeveloped states to a "core" of wealthy states, enriching the latter at the expense of the former.