What were some factors that natives of the Americas lacked when first being discovered by Christopher Columbus. How did it influence future Spanish and Europeans when they read "Columbus’s Probanza de mérito of 1493" and what were the results.

Mesoamerica is the geographic area

stretching from north of Panama up to the

desert of central Mexico. Although marked

by great topographic, linguistic, and cultural

diversity, this region cradled a number of

civilizations with similar characteristics.

Mesoamericans were polytheistic; their

gods possessed both male and female

traits and demanded blood sacrifices of

enemies taken in battle or ritual

bloodletting. Corn, or maize, domesticated

by 5000 BCE, formed the basis of their diet.

They developed a mathematical system,

built huge edifices, and devised a calendar

that accurately predicted eclipses and

solstices and that priest-astronomers used

to direct the planting and harvesting of

crops. Most important for our knowledge of

these peoples, they created the only known

written language in the Western

Hemisphere; researchers have made much

progress in interpreting the inscriptions on

their temples and pyramids. Though the

area had no overarching political structure,

trade over long distances helped diffuse

culture. Weapons made of obsidian, jewelry

crafted from jade, feathers woven into

clothing and ornaments, and cacao beans

that were whipped into a chocolate drink

formed the basis of commerce. The mother

of Mesoamerican cultures was the Olmec

civilization.

Flourishing along the hot Gulf Coast of Mexico from about 1200 to about 400 BCE, the Olmec produced a number

of major works of art, architecture, pottery, and sculpture. Most recognizable are their giant head sculptures and

the pyramid in La Venta. The Olmec built aqueducts to transport water into their cities and irrigate their fields.

They grew maize, squash, beans, and tomatoes. They also bred small domesticated dogs which, along with fish,

provided their protein. Although no one knows what happened to the Olmec after about 400 BCE, in part because

the jungle reclaimed many of their cities, their culture was the base upon which the Maya and the Aztec built. It

was the Olmec who worshipped a rain god, a maize god, and the feathered serpent so important in the future

pantheons of the Aztecs (who called him Quetzalcoatl) and the Maya (to whom he was Kukulkan). The Olmec

also developed a system of trade throughout Mesoamerica, giving rise to an elite class

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