Download MesoAmerican Civilizations

Mesoamerican Civilizations
Glencoe World History
pages 352-362
Standards
• SSWH8 The student will demonstrate an
understanding of the development of
societies in Central and South America.
• a. Explain the rise and fall of the Olmec,
Mayan, Aztec, and Inca empires.
• b. Compare the culture of the Americas; include
government, economy, religion, and the arts of
the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas.
The Olmec Civilization
• First signs of civilization
before the Spaniards
(1200 BC)
• Large cities that were
centers of religious rituals
• Carved colossal stone
heads to represent their
gods
• Around 400 BC declined
and eventually collapsed
The Mayan Civilization
• On the Yucatan Peninsula
(Southern Mexico and
Central America) another
civilization had arisen.
• Flourished between AD
300 & 900
• One of the most
sophisticated civilizations
in the Americas.
The Mayas
• Built splendid temples &
pyramids
• Developed a calendar
• Many theories surround
their decline including
invasion, internal revolt ,
or a natural disaster.
• Whatever the reason, the
cities were abandoned &
covered by dense jungle
growth.
Mayan Political Structures
• Built around a central
pyramid topped by a
shrine to the gods
• Some scholars believe
urban centers such as
Tikal had as many as
100,000 people
• Composed of city-states
ruled by a hereditary
ruling class
• Captured soldiers
became slaves; their
leaders were sacrificed
• Rulers claimed to be
descended from the gods
• Most Mayans were
peasant farmers
• All life was in the hands
of divine powers.
• Polytheistic; supreme
god- Itzamna
Mayan Writings & Calendar
• Sophisticated system based on
hieroglyphics
• Spanish made no effort to respect &
destroyed their writings – 4 survived.
They were written on bark & covered
with plaster
• 2 different systems for measuring time
– Solar calendar (365 days; 18
months- 20 days/ea)
– Sacred calendar (260 days; 13
months- 20 days/ea.
• Palenque holds one of the most
important collections of Mayan
hieroglyphics
Chichen Itza
The ruins of Chichen Itza are remnants
of the Toltec Empire of the Mayan
civilization.
The Aztec Civilization
• The 12th century AD began
a long migration that
brought the Aztecs to
Mexico
• They established a capital
at Tenochtitlan on an
island in the middle of
Lake Texcoco (What is
now Mexico City)
• Conquered by the
Spaniards in the 1500’s
Rise of the Aztec
• 1325 they established
their capital
• Outstanding warriors
who consolidated rule
over much of modern
Mexico
• A collection of semi
independent territories
Political and Social
Structures
• By 1500, 4 million
Aztecs
• Monarch claimed he
was descended
from the gods
• Men were warriors;
women expected to
work in the home,
weave textiles, and
raise children
Religion and Culture of the Aztecs
• Polytheistic
• God of war, sun & the
nation was
Huitzilopochtli
• Unending struggle
between good & evil
• Practiced human
sacrifice to delay their
destruction
• Monumental architecture
Destruction of the Aztec
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1519 Hernan Cortes landed at Veracruz
Arrived with a small body of troops
Received a friendly welcome from Moctezuma
Offered gifts of gold
Eventually tension arose and the Spanish captured
Moctezuma
In 1520, they drove the Spanish out
With the help of Moctezuma’s enemies Cortes attacked
the city and after 4 months the Aztecs surrendered
Many Aztecs died from European diseases such as
smallpox
They leveled the pyramids, temples and palaces and used
the stones to build government buildings
The Inca Empire
• Late 1300’s the Inca were a small
community in the area of Cuzco (high in
the mountains of Southern Peru)
• In the 1440’s, the Incas brought the
entire region under control
Incan Political Structures
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Inca means ruler
Empire included perhaps 12 million people
State built on war; all men required to serve
Supplies carried by llamas
Spoke Quechua
Built roads (24,800 miles of roads)
Extended from Columbia to a point south
of Santiago, Chile
Incan Social Structures
Incan Building & Culture
• Highly regulated
• Lived chiefly by farming
• In Mountains, the farms
were terraced
• Great Builders
• Close fitting stones & no
mortar to withstand
frequent earthquakes
• Machu Picchu
• No writing system- used
knotted strings called the
quipu
Francisco Pizarro
Incan Conquest
• 1531 Francisco Pizarro brought 180 men, steel
weapons, gunpowder, and horses
• Epidemic of small pox hit the empire- including
the emperor
• After the emperor’s death, sons fought a civil war
for control
• Atahualpa took control but was captured and
executed
• The Spanish marched on the Incan capital
• By 1535, Pizarro had established a new capital at
Lima