Download Early Civilizations of the Americas

Early Civilizations of the
Americas
Teotihuacan, Mayan, & Aztec
Timeline of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Peoples
In the notes space: Make a hypothesis about 2 ways the societies on the
timeline came to their “ends”
Where were the great Meso- and South American Civilizations?
Mexico
Belize
Mexico
Circa 1500 CE
Guatemala
Peru
Chile
1. Hypothesize 2 ways in which the Inca and Aztecs and Maya may have
interacted.
2. What are 2 elements of physical geography that allowed the Incan Empire to
remain relatively isolated from the rest of the continent?
Teotihuacan
Settlements begin circa 500 BCE
Pyramid building c 100 BCE
Pyramids honor sun, moon,
butterfly, feathered serpent
Approx. population: 125,000 people,
biggest city in world at time!
Mysterious “death” approx 650 CE; site
later used by Tolmec and Aztec peoples
1. Hypothesize why pyramid building was a common style of architecture in
early civilizations.
2. Hypothesize why early religions through out the world focused on nature
deities.
Maya—200 CE- 900 CE
Tikal
Belize, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras
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How do we know what we know?
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City ruins—temples, homes, streets
Writing: Popol-Vuh holy book, glyphs
Artifacts: art, sculptures, murals, pottery
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What was it like?
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Collection of city-states--centers of political, religious, social,
economic life
Each city-state ruled by “god-king”
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1. What other ancient civilizations viewed their leaders as gods?
2. Do you think any countries today view their leaders as gods?
Explain.
Maya: Culture
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Polytheistic (100s of gods) astronomers
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Calendar: 365 day solar + 260 day
religious cycle (like astrology)
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A cycle lasts 5,125 years (2012
doomsday?)
What 2 things does the Mayan calendar tell us about their culture?
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Writing
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100s of
glyphs
represent
sounds or
words
Maya
--Numbers
--base 20
What are 2 important functions of a written number system? (For what
might the Maya have used their written number system?)
Aztecs: Greatest Empire of Mesoamerica

Circa 1200 CE Aztecs (poor nomads from northern Mexico deserts
known as the Mexica people) arrive in central Mexico Valley

Find remains (old buildings, some settlements of people) of
Teotihuacan and Toltec societies and build civilization there
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Cultural diffusion—Aztecs influenced by culture of Toltecs
What is an example of cultural diffusion that occurred when the
Europeans started settling in North America?
Aztec Government & City structure
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Military powerhouse—took over smaller societies throughout Mexico
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Demand “tribute” (gold, maize, cacao, cotton, jade) or respond with brutality
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Rule by all-powerful Emperor
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Cities will planned, engineered—center around Temples, rivers for transport, floating
gardens for farming
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Tenochtitlan—capital city built on an island (most ruins lie under modern day Mexico
City)
Why might the Aztecs have build their capital city on an island?
Aztec Social Hierarchy
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Emperor
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Nobility: Military generals, priests, government officials
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Commoners: merchants, artisans, soldiers, farmers who own land
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Slaves
1. Why are military generals higher in social status than soldiers?
2. How do you think they chose who to enslave?
Aztec Culture
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Polytheistic—thousands of gods
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Ritual human blood sacrifice to Sun God—Huitzilopochtli
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Need for sacrificial victims fueled war machine
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Calendar similar to Mayans’
1. Why do you think the Aztec sacrificed people to the Sun God? (what
do you think they thought they would get in return?)
2. What inference can historians make about the Aztec and Mayan just by
the fact that their calendars were very similar?