Welcome to Episode 130 of Ramping Up your English!
I’m so glad you’re here. If you’re an intermediate-level English learner, this is one of the episodes in our content unit on Native Americans. This is part one of a video about Meso America.
If you’re just interested in Meso American ruins and those ancient cultures, you’re also welcome. My hope is that people enjoy and learn, and for those improving their English, I hope this helps get you to your goal of higher English proficiency.
Intrigued yet? There’s a lot more to see of Meso American ruins. Look below for the video.
Watching Episode 130
This episode featured Part One of the video Meso America. Click here to watch Episode 130 of Ramping Up your English.
Episode 130 Summary
As you continue to develop listening comprehension, we present another video about Native Americans. This time, we’re south of what’s now the United States to an area and time known as Meso America.
I find these ruins intriguing, and I’ve visited some of them myself. Hence, many of the photos and video footage is my own. We start with the Olmecs, known as the “mother culture” of Meso America. I was privileged to visit La Venta and the museum in Jalapa, Veracruz to stand right in front of those colossal heads.
I also got to explore Monte Alban, learning about the Zapotecs and the Mixtecs. I’ve learned a great deal since my visit there, and I’ve passed along some of that knowledge. The state and city of Oaxaca seems to contain some of that ancient vibe.
I went with a professor and several students to visit Teotihuacan, and took a few photos there. It was a field trip from the University of Guanajuato arranged through INAH (Instituto Nacional de Arquitectura y Historia). That was back in the film camera days, so I relied on Wikipedia Commons and Story Blocks for many of the visuals.
This Episode steps into the world of the Maya, with images and knowledge from Tikal and Chichen Itza, where Part One terminates.
There’s more coming to this Episode page, as well as a link to Episode 131. Please visit again soon.
Thank you!