Cause of Death: We think that the cause of death was Homicide.
Explain Cause: The Spaniards
Friday, March 7, 2008
Conclusions
In conculsion the Mayanis died out by many types of diesas and also brokeout of war and most of the mayan's abandoned there culture
Witness Interviews: (find three primary sources)Broken spears lie in the roads;We have torn our hair in our grieft the houses are roofless now, and their wallsr are red with blood.Worms are swarming in the streets and plazas,and the walks are spattered with gore. The water has turned red, as if it were dyedAnd when we drink it,It has the taste of brineWe have pounded our hands in despairAgainst the adobe walls,For our inheritance, our city, is lost and deadThe shields of our warriors were its defense.But they could not save it.We have chewed dry twigs and salt grasses:We have filled our mouths with dust and bits of adobe.We have eaten lizards, rats and wormsWhen we had meat, we ate it almost raw-Aztec account of the Conquest, Cantares Mexicanos http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/travel/slenchek/slaztec4.html
I said everything to them I could to divert them from their idolatries, and draw them to a knowledge of God our Lord. Moctezuma replied, the others assenting to what he said, AThat they had already informed me they were not the aborigines of the country, but that their ancestors had emigrated to it many years ago; and they fully believed that after so long an absence from their native land, they might have fallen into some errors; that I having more recently arrived must know better than themselves what they ought to believe; and that if I would instruct them in these matters, and make them understand the true faith, they would follow my directions, as being for the best. Afterwards, Moctezuma and many of the principal citizens remained with me until I had removed the idols, purified the chapels, and placed the images in them, manifesting apparent pleasure; and I forbade them sacrificing human beings to their idols as they had been accustomed to do; because, besides being abhorrent in the sight of God, your sacred Majesty had prohibited it by law, and commanded to put to death whoever should take the life of another. Thus, from that time, they refrained from the practice, and during the whole period of my abode in that city, they were never seen to kill or sacrifice a human being.-Hernan Cortés: from Second Letter to Charles V, 1520 http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1520cortes.html
"Ten years before the Spaniards first came here, a bad omen appeared in the sky. It was like a flaming ear of corn, or a fiery signal, or the blaze of daybreak; it seemed to bleed fire, drop by drop, like a wound in the sky. It was wide at the base and narrow at the peak, and it shone in the very heart of the heavens."This is how it appeared: it shone in the eastern sky in the middle of the night. It appeared at midnight and burned till the break of day, but it vanished at the rising of the sun. The thine during which it appeared to us was a full year, beginning in the year 12-House."When it first appeared, there was great outcry and confusion. The people clapped their hands against their mouths; they were amazed and frightened, and asked themselves what it could mean."-Codex Florentino http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/aztecs_and_cortes.html
Describe all sources used (art work, journal entry, etc): One source was an Aztec account of the Conquistador Conquest. Another was a letter from Hernan Cortes to the king of Spain. The third was a recalling of a bad omen before the Spanish came.
Who created sources: It is unknown who wrote the account. Hernan Cortes wrote the letter (to his king). Codex Florentino is the one who connected the events of the bad omen and the arrival of the Spaniards.
Dates of testimony: The account is believed to have been written in 1523. The letter was written in 1520, and we don’t know when the omen was recalled, that he was a descendant of the Aztec culture.
State significance of each witness along with specific details of testimony: The Aztec account expresses sorrow about what happened to their empire which seemed to have been destroyed while their warriors were trying to defend it.
The letter tells that Hernan spread his religion and got rid of ‘savage’ customs such as human sacrifices successfully.The omen shows that the Aztecs knew that something bad was coming, and connected it with the arrival of the Spaniards (after they had come, of course)
I said everything to them I could to divert them from their idolatries, and draw them to a knowledge of God our Lord. Moctezuma replied, the others assenting to what he said, AThat they had already informed me they were not the aborigines of the country, but that their ancestors had emigrated to it many years ago; and they fully believed that after so long an absence from their native land, they might have fallen into some errors; that I having more recently arrived must know better than themselves what they ought to believe; and that if I would instruct them in these matters, and make them understand the true faith, they would follow my directions, as being for the best. Afterwards, Moctezuma and many of the principal citizens remained with me until I had removed the idols, purified the chapels, and placed the images in them, manifesting apparent pleasure; and I forbade them sacrificing human beings to their idols as they had been accustomed to do; because, besides being abhorrent in the sight of God, your sacred Majesty had prohibited it by law, and commanded to put to death whoever should take the life of another. Thus, from that time, they refrained from the practice, and during the whole period of my abode in that city, they were never seen to kill or sacrifice a human being.-Hernan Cortés: from Second Letter to Charles V, 1520 http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1520cortes.html
"Ten years before the Spaniards first came here, a bad omen appeared in the sky. It was like a flaming ear of corn, or a fiery signal, or the blaze of daybreak; it seemed to bleed fire, drop by drop, like a wound in the sky. It was wide at the base and narrow at the peak, and it shone in the very heart of the heavens."This is how it appeared: it shone in the eastern sky in the middle of the night. It appeared at midnight and burned till the break of day, but it vanished at the rising of the sun. The thine during which it appeared to us was a full year, beginning in the year 12-House."When it first appeared, there was great outcry and confusion. The people clapped their hands against their mouths; they were amazed and frightened, and asked themselves what it could mean."-Codex Florentino http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/aztecs_and_cortes.html
Describe all sources used (art work, journal entry, etc): One source was an Aztec account of the Conquistador Conquest. Another was a letter from Hernan Cortes to the king of Spain. The third was a recalling of a bad omen before the Spanish came.
Who created sources: It is unknown who wrote the account. Hernan Cortes wrote the letter (to his king). Codex Florentino is the one who connected the events of the bad omen and the arrival of the Spaniards.
Dates of testimony: The account is believed to have been written in 1523. The letter was written in 1520, and we don’t know when the omen was recalled, that he was a descendant of the Aztec culture.
State significance of each witness along with specific details of testimony: The Aztec account expresses sorrow about what happened to their empire which seemed to have been destroyed while their warriors were trying to defend it.
The letter tells that Hernan spread his religion and got rid of ‘savage’ customs such as human sacrifices successfully.The omen shows that the Aztecs knew that something bad was coming, and connected it with the arrival of the Spaniards (after they had come, of course)
Forensic Analysis
1. List and describe all evidence used: The person might have been shot and killed. The victim was lying down sideways.There was a bullet under the cup. Also there was an artifact that was shaped like a horseshoe. Another artifact looked like a zodiac cycle. Finally the last artifact was a shotgun shell and a letter.
3. List and describe any possible suspects: A possible suspect is the Spanish people. the spaniosh people wanted gold and would do anytrhing to get what they wanted, even killing someone. The Spanish had a deadly diese that also might have spread out through the Mayan people.
3. List and describe any possible suspects: A possible suspect is the Spanish people. the spaniosh people wanted gold and would do anytrhing to get what they wanted, even killing someone. The Spanish had a deadly diese that also might have spread out through the Mayan people.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Mysterious Mayan Decline
Name of Victim: Maya Civilization
Age of Victim: Unknown
Country of Origin: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico
Approx size of population: 12 million
Significant Goegraphical Features: Pyramids, dirt, Palaces, Elaborate Stone Carvings, and Temples
Lanugage spoken: Spanish
Description of Government: The Mayan government was very important to the Maya civilization. The Mayan priests ran the entire government.
Description of Economic Systems: The Mayans were skilled farmers in clearing large sections of tropical rain forest. Groundwater was being used rapidly. To help this to stop from happening they built sizeable underground reservoirs for the storage of rainwater. The Maya were equally skilled as weavers and potters, and cleared routes through jungles and swamps to foster extensive trade networks with distant peoples.
Description of religious beliefs: The Mayan worshiped many gods. They pierced their bodies with sharp needles and offered their blood beliving that this would nourish the gods. They belived that human sacrifice pleased the gods and kept the world in place. The Mayan Indians of Mexico and Central America, practiced a combination of traditional religion and Roman Catholicism.
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