What the Ancients Did for Us - The Aztecs and Maya 2/3

What the Ancients Did for Us - The Aztecs and Maya Part 2

Series examining the innovations and inventions of ancient civilisations. Roving reporter Hermione Cockburn describes Aztec and Mayan inventions.

The Aztecs and the Mayas - known collectively as Mesoamericans - have been processing rubber and latex for over 3500 years (imagine a world without rubber or chewing gum) and they also invented the rubber ball and used it in their deadly ball game where the losing team would be sacrificed.

As an alternative to iron these inventive people made their knives, spears and arrow heads from Obsidian, an extremely sharp stone. Nowadays, surgeons use Obsidian instead of steel scalpels.

They understood the healing power of the rainforest and its plants - amazingly three quarters of all our medicine comes from plants - and in their hands, the wild yam formed the basis of world's first birth control pill. They understood quinine and many European settlers preferred to attend the local Aztec healer rather than their own doctor.

More than half the foods we eat originated in the New World, including potatoes, tomatoes, maize and turkey. But there was one thing that the Aztecs loved above all: chocolate. To them, the cacao bean was so precious they used it as their currency.

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• Ancients
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• Aztec
• Maya
• Mexico
• Documentary

[GuitarDestroyer77777]

@jethro035181 They didn't use wheels for that because of many reasons, they did not need metal in weaponry because they did not need it. Now I did not understand that last. But Aztecs created a civilization that you can only dream of, most accurate calendar that is more accurate than todays, best stone tech, philosophy science and astronomy, human inventions almost all come from them and Chinese, you took the fall of those civs and started bulding your own based on theirs ;) useless european

[jethro035181]

@GuitarDestroyer77777 ...re: misapplications...the aztecs discovered the wheel and used it to make stone wall calendars..they didn't bother with roads...the aztecs had metal but used it to make facial ornaments...the aztecs kept almost no domestic animals so they used chihauhau dogs,as well as humans, for protein sources....if they had discovered nuclear fission, they would have used it to fry tortillas....almost all practical human knowlege came from europe or the US

[GuitarDestroyer77777]

@jethro035181 Haha, you are very ignorant of history my friend. As you saw here, Aztecs were also using rubber for creating water proof materials. And Chinese used fireworks to test gunpowder and saw it was beautiful, but Chinese also used gunpowder in weaponry, when they invented the rocket and first firearms they used gunpowder there. Ball making and fireworks was a test but also a subject of fun and playing.

[jethro035181]

discovering rubber and using it for rubber balls almost equals the chinese discovery of gunpowder where they used it for fireworks ....one of the ultimate misapplications of technology

[thoostorm4]

@dharma6662000 the whitegod of today isnonexistantonly faith willsave you

[dharma6662000]

@drki11joy123 The Aztecs believed there to be a whole family of distinct Gods. Tells the story from the Aztec point of view requires that things be stated in their terms. So it is neither absurd, nor ignorant. It is factual and representative. No claims are made about the existence, or non-existence of the Aztec Gods.

[dharma6662000]

Cortes did not "wipe them all out". After Cortes took Moctezuma prisoner, the Aztecs turned on the Spanish and almost wiped them all out. That was "La Noche Triste". Unfortunately for the Aztecs, they has no immunity to the illnesses that the Spanish brought with them. A small pox outbreak decimated the Aztecs; It killed around 80% of them. After that it was easy for Cortes. He returned with thousands of soldiers from the Aztec's enemies to attack and beat a sickened and dying people.

[subroto81]

A lot of this is guess work, and assumptions...there are many things infact most things we can't be cerain and we will never know. So we have to assume and bring our perspective to it which kinda puts a bias on the "facts"..

[AHScrewedu]

lmfao!!!!!!!!!!!

"marty is doing me " at 6:46

[drki11joy123]

@1980vince The only false thing about this video is calling the many manifestations of the creator "gods". That's absurd! Ignorant bastards!