Maya Technology. The technological advances of Maya engineers have been investigated by Jim O'Kon for forty years. His research has included a wide variety of technical developments of the Maya. We invite you to visit this website to review the unique technological/engineering achievements of the Maya engineers. These technological achievements include the fabrication of tools that are harder than iron; the invention of high strength durable materials of construction including the fabrication of hydraulic cement for producing cast- in- place concrete; the development of the Maya arch as a structural mechanism to create multi- story and clear span structures, elevated concrete paved roads; long- span bridges, and advanced water management methodologies that permitted the Maya urban civilization to survive in a seasonal desert environment. Archaeologists consider the Maya to be a Stone Age Culture. They continue to focus on this cultural label because the Maya did not use tools of iron or bronze. Their use of specialized jade tools, which are harder than iron, should provide a positive rationale to provide a new nomenclature based on their technological achievements. The Maya should be given a new nomenclature: TECHNOLITHIC. We invite you to assess this website and develop your own conclusions relative to the technological capabilities of the Maya as Americas first Civil Engineers and their status in the pantheon of human civilization. At the end of the Pleistocene Era, North America was populated with a wide variety of animals that have now become extinct. LEADTOOLS provides fast, highly accurate, and reliable Aztec Code detection, reading, and writing support for.NET (C# & VB), C/C++, WinRT, iOS, OS X, Java, and Web. The technological advances of Maya engineers have been investigated by Jim O'Kon for forty years. His research has included a wide variety of. Aztec Tools Aztec tools are made out of bones. Aztec Science and Technology. Find the answers to your questions about Aztec history - the mysteries of ancient Aztec culture and the Mexica people of the Aztec empire. The northern group of these animals, the equus, or modern horse, and the camelus, the modern camel, migrated to Asia where they became domesticated and supplied the power and transportation for all the great civilizations of Asia, Africa and Europe. The southern herds remained in North American and were victims of mass extinction at the end of the last ice age. Humans migrating to the continent did not find candidates for beasts of burden until they encountered llama or vicuna, all the way down in South America. When next seen in the Maya zone, the horse had a Spanish Conquistador on its back. In Mexico iron ore only is found over 1. The Aztec Empire was a tribute empire based in Tenochtitlan that extended its power throughout Mesoamerica in the late postclassic period. It originated in 1427 as a. Aztec Technology and the Development of Tools and Weapons. The Aztecs had no iron or bronze with which to make their tools and weapons. Therefore, the ancient Aztec. Colima. Archaeologists have determined that the Maya used stone tools fabricated from chert and obsidian. They have overlooked the wide use of specialized tools fabricated from black jadeite. In lieu of the advantage offered by iron tools, Maya technicians discovered the advantage of jadeite as a material for making tools. The size and shape of the Maya tools are identical to the variety of steel tools used by modern artisans working in stone and wood. These jadeite tools were the principal tools used by Maya technicians: sculptors, stonecutters, wood carvers, and other artisans. These tools include various sizes and shapes of chisels, gouges, adzes, axes, and hoes. Types of technology the Aztecs created were pottery, tools, figurines, jewelry, cloth,and baskets. At this time goods are made specifically for the ruler or to be. Basic Aztec facts: AZTEC TOOLS The Mexica (Aztecs) lived in what’s called the Bronze Age, which came late to the Americas. For thousands of years the ancient. Jadeite is a very tough mineral with a great resistance to breakage due to the intergrowth of prismatic crystals in its matrix. The green jade that is most popularly used in jewelry is sodium aluminum silicate. However, in “black jade”, the replacement of the AL (Aluminum) by Fe+3 (Iron) produces an isomorph of jadeite, an iron rich jadeite called chloromelanite. Chloromelanite is green/black in color and is referred to as . The tectonic plate in the Montagua Valley of Guatemala produces the jadeite the Maya used. Jadeite is a very hard and durable material. On the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, where the maximum hardness is number 1. The Mohs scale indicates that the jadeite material from which Maya tools were fabricated is harder than iron or steel. Thus, the Maya tool making technology elevated the society out of the . These tools belonged to the artisans and not the elite and they would have been passed down through families of artisans as would the techniques for producing them. They will not be found by archaeologists in contexts similar to other artifacts because they were not used or prized by the Maya elite. Obsidian is a volcanic glass that is sourced in the ring of volcanos along the Pacific Coast of the Maya area. Maya technicians developed techniques for producing cutting blades that can be the sharpest on earth. The sharpened edge of an obsidian blade approaches molecular thinness. Meso America and Africa Before the European Incursion. Aztec Tools and Weapons Ancient Aztecs made numerous advancements in technology that.This Maya tool material is used for producing scalpels for heart and eye surgery in modern medicine. The Maya city of Yaxchilan is sited within a giant omega of the Usumacinta River. This circular bend in the river developed a 3. This protected area, formed within the confines of the inner curve of the river, created a natural fortress for the city. However, the river is in a flood state for six months of the year, and during the rainy season the broad and swiftly flowing waters isolated the city from access to its domain across the river. In order to survive as a viable urban center, this ancient city required a dependable year- round way to cross the river. While the site had been studied by archaeologists since 1. The ancient ruins that were the clues to the existence of this lost landmark of Maya Engineering were hiding in plain sight (see picture on right). The need for a permanent lifeline to insure the survival of the city during the flood season was overlooked by archaeologists until James O'Kon carried out a series of expeditions, forensic engineering investigations, archaeo- engineering analysis, remote sensing, and computer modeling of this structure lead to the digital re- construction of the bridge. Constructed in the late 7th century, landmark three- span suspension bridge crossed from the city center over the Usumacinta River to the north side where the villages and farms were located. The rendering of the bridge indicates its design that supported the deck from shore to shore. The two tall bridge piers were located in the river with abutments on each bank. The geometry of the bridge extended 1. The bridge construction consisted of a wooden deck suspended from rope cables made from henequen, a common Maya construction material. The cables spanned between cast- in- place concrete and stone towers topped by a Maya arch. The three- span bridge structure was elevated 2. The height of the deck was established by the elevation of the approach structure, Structure 5, on the Grand Plaza. This elevation maintained the bridge deck well above the 1. The bridge is considered to be the longest bridge in the ancient world until this record was broken by Italian engineers constructed a longer span in 1. The discovery of the bridge was published in Civil Engineering Magazine and in National Geographic Magazine. The History Channel produced a video with an account of this unique feat of Maya engineering. This figure shows a cross section of the Classic Period Maya bridge over the Pusilha River. Short span bridges. Maya short span bridges crossed streams, canals and moats in urban environments. Figure xx indicates a Maya bridge over the Otulum River at Palenque and the figure to the right shows the Maya bridge over the moat surrounding the city of Becan. Maya engineers developed a unique structural mechanism that enabled the construction of long span interior spaces, multi- story structures and unique circular structural geometries. This structural mechanism is known as the Maya arch. This is the basic building module for all Maya structures. The structural geometry of this system utilizes a linear inverted . This durable material enabled the structures to withstand the ravages of time and the environment. They resisted the forces of earthquakes, hurricanes, and prying jungle growth to enable their survival after 2. The grand buildings towering over the rainforest, the infrastructure of the large cities, water reservoirs, paved roads and long span bridges were made possible through the use of cast in place concrete in unique structures constructed by creative Maya engineers. To feed the growing population Maya technology combined agricultural technology with water management to enhance the yield of their agriculture, a yield that satisfied the needs of the population with a surplus for trade. The Maya had a wide variety of cultivars; many of which constitute our basic agriculture products sold in modern super markets. Maya agricultural products include corn, squash, beans, tomatoes chili peppers, avocado, papaya, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, vanilla, peanuts pineapple, chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon and many others. They developed creative methodologies to enhance the agricultural yield included raised field methods and terraced fields.
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