Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
National Palace (Mexico) wikipedia , lookup
Fall of Tenochtitlan wikipedia , lookup
Tepotzotlán wikipedia , lookup
Templo Mayor wikipedia , lookup
Aztec warfare wikipedia , lookup
Aztec Empire wikipedia , lookup
Human sacrifice in Aztec culture wikipedia , lookup
Aztec cuisine wikipedia , lookup
Civilizations of Middle America Chapter 7.1 The Aztecs of Middle America evolved a complex system of religious beliefs. Their religions, like those of many other people, included a belief that the world would someday come to a fiery end. According to the Aztec Legend of the Five Suns, the universe had been created and destroyed four times in the past. People living under the First Sun had been destroyed by jaguars. People living under the Second Sun were swept away by wind. People living under the Third Sun perished in the fire and ash of volcanoes, while those living under the Fourth Sun had been swallowed by water. The Fifth Sun represented the time of the Aztec empire: "This is our sun, the one in which we now live. And here is its sign, how the Sun fell into the fire, into the divine hearth. . . And as the elders continue to say, under the Sun there will be earthquakes and hunger, and then our end shall come." The Legend of the Five Suns reflects the important role of the sun in Aztec religion. It also suggests a feeling of helplessness in the face of the harsh forces of nature. Despite this sense of impending doom, the Aztecs were able to create a remarkable civilization. In order to do so, they built on the achievements of earlier peoples. To understand more about these early American civilizations, we must go far back in time to the arrival of the first people in the Americas. I. Geography: The Americas Perhaps as early as 30,000 years ago, small family groups of Paleolithic hunters and food gatherers reached North America from Asia. This great migration took place during the last ice age. At that time, so much water froze into thick ice sheets that the sea level dropped, exposing a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska. Hunters followed herds of bison and mammoths across this land bridge. Other migrating people may have paddled small boats and fished along the coasts. A. Global Warming About 10,000 B.C., the Earth's climate grew warmer. As the ice melted, water levels rose, covering the land bridge under the Bering Strait. The global warming, along with the hunting skills of the first Americans, may have killed off large game animals like the mammoth. People adapted by hunting smaller animals, fishing, and gathering fruit, roots, and shellfish. These nomadic hunter-gatherers slowly migrated eastward and southward across the Americas. B. Regions What lands did the first Americans explore and settle? The Americas are made up of the continents of North America and South America. Within these two geographic regions is a cultural region that historians call Middle America. Middle America, which includes Mexico and Central America, was home to several early civilizations. Great mountain chains form a spiny backbone down the western Americas. In North America, the Rocky Mountains split into the East and West Sierra Madre of Mexico. The towering Andes run down the length of South America. The continents are drained by tow of the world's three longest rivers, the Amazon of South America and the Mississippi of North America. The first Americans adapted to a variety of climates and resources. Far to the north and south, people learned to survive in icy, treeless lands. Closer to the Equator, people settled in the hot, wet climate and thick vegetation of the Amazon rain forests. Elsewhere, hunters adapted to conditions in deserts like the Atacama of Chile, in woodlands like those in eastern North America, and on the fertile plains of both continents. C. The Agricultural Revolution In the Americas, as elsewhere, the greatest adaptation occurred when some people learned to cultivate plants and domesticate animals. Archaeologists think that farming was partly a response to the disappearance of the large mammals. With fewer animals to hunt, people came to depend more on other food sources. In Mexico, or perhaps farther south, Neolithic people began cultivating a range of crops from corn and beans to sweet potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, and squash. These changes took place slowly between about 8500 B.C. and 2000 B.C. Early farmers learned to domesticate animals. In South America, domesticated animals include the llama and other creatures valued for their wool. However, the Americas had no large animals such as oxen or horses that were capable of bearing heavy loads or pulling wagons. This lack of draft animals would limit development in some areas. In the Americas, as in Africa and Eurasia, the agricultural revolution helped to cause other changes. Farming people settled into villages. Populations expanded. Some villages grew into large religious centers and then into the great cities of the first American civilizations. II. The Olmecs The first American civilization, the Olmecs, emerged in the tropical forests along the Mexican Gulf Coast and lasted from about 1400 B.C. to 500 B.C. Archaeologists know very little about the Olmecs, but rich tombs and temples suggest a powerful class of priests and aristocrats. The Olmecs did not build true cities, but rather they built ceremonial centers made up of pyramid-shaped temples and other buildings. People came from nearby farming villages to work on the temples or attend religious ceremonies. The most dramatic remains of the Olmec civilization are the giant carved stone heads found in the ruins of a religious center at La Venta. No one knows how the Olmecs moved these colossal 40 ton stones from distant quarries without wheeled vehicles or draft animals. Through trade, Olmec influence spread over a wide area. The grinning jaguars and serpents that decorate many Olmec carvings appear in the art of later peoples. The Olmecs also invented a calendar and used carved inscriptions as a form of writing. But their most important legacy may have been the tradition of priestly leadership and religious devotions that became a basic part of later Middle American civilizations. III. The Mayas Among the peoples influenced by the Olmecs were the Mayas. Between A.D. 300 and 900, Mayan city-states flourished from the Yucatan on southern Mexico through much of Central America. Scientists have recently determined how Mayan farming methods allowed them to thrive in the tropical environment. Mayan farmers cleared the dense rain forests and then built raised fields that caught and held rainwater. They also built channels that could be opened to drain off excess water. This complex system produced enough maize and other crops to support rapidly growing cities. A. Temples and Palaces Towering pyramid temples dominated the largest Mayan city of Tikal (tee KAHL), in present-day Guatemala. Priests climbed steep temple stairs to perform sacrifices on high platforms, while ordinary people watched from the plazas far below. Some temples also served as burial places for nobles and priests. They Mayan pyramids remained the tallest structures in the Americas until 1903, when the Flatiron Building, a skyscraper, was built in New York City. Tikal also boasted large palaces and huge stone pillars covered with elaborate carvings. The carvings, which usually record events in Mayan history, preserve striking images of haughty aristocrats, warriors in plumed head dresses, and captives about to be sacrificed to the gods. Much of the wealth of Tikal and the other Mayan cities came from trade. Along roads made of packed earth, traders carried valuable cargoes of honey, cocoa, and feathers across most of Middle America. B. Social Classes Each Mayan city had its own ruling chief. He was surrounded by nobles who served as military leaders and officials who managed public works, collected taxes, and enforced laws. Rulers were usually men, but Mayan records and carvings show that women occasionally governed on their own or in the name of young sons. Priests held great power because only they could conduct the elaborate ceremonies needed to ensure good harvests and success in war . Most Mayans were farmers. They grew corn, beans, squash – the basic food crops of Middle America – as well as fruit trees, cotton, and brilliant tropical flowers. Men usually cultivated the crops, while women turned them into food. To support the cities, farmers paid taxes in food and helped build the temples. C. Advances in learning Along with their magnificent buildings and carvings, the Mayas made impressive advances in learning. They developed a hieroglyphic writing system, which has only recently been deciphered. Mayan scribes kept their sacred knowledge in books made of bark. Though Spanish conquerors later burned most of these books, a handful were taken to Europe and survive in European museums. Mayan priests needed to measure time accurately in order to hold ceremonies at the correct moment. As a result, many priests became expert mathematicians and astronomers. They developed an accurate 365-day solar calendar, as well as a 260day calendar based on the orbit of the planet Venus. Mayan priests also invented a numbering system and understood the concept of zero long before Europeans acquired this idea from India through the Arabs. D. Decline About A.D. 900, the Mayas abandoned their cities, leaving their great stone palaces and temples to be swallowed up by the jungle. Not until modern times were these "lost cities" rediscovered. No one knows for sure why Mayan civilization declined. Possibly, frequent warfare forced the Mayas to abandon their traditional agricultural methods. Or overpopulation may have led to overfarming, which in turn exhausted the soil. Heavy taxes to finance wars and temple building may have sparked peasant revolts. Still, remnants to Mayan culture have survived. Today, millions of people in Guatemala and southern Mexico speak Mayan languages and are descended from the builders of this early American civilization. Ms. Croft-Crossland examing the Mayan ruins in Copan, Honduras, circa 1996 IV. The Valley of Mexico Long before Mayan cities rose to the south, the city of Teotihuacan (tay oh tee wah KAHN) had emerged in the Valley of Mexico. The Valley of Mexico is a huge oval basin ringed by snow capped volcanoes, located in the high plateau of central Mexico. Teotihuacan dominated a large area from A.D. 100 to 750. A. Teotihuacan The city of Teotihuacan was well planned, with wide roads, massive templess, and large apartment buildings. Along the main avenue, the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon rose majestically toward the sky. Citizens of Teotihuacan worshiped a powerful nature goddess and rain god, whose images often appear on public buildings and on everyday objects. Teotihuacan eventually fell to invaders, but its culture influenced later peoples, especially the Aztecs. B. Arrival of the Aztecs In the late 1200's, bands of nomadic people, the ancestors of the Aztecs, migrated into the Valley of Mexico from the north. According to Aztec legend, the gods had told them to search for an eagle perched atop a cactus holding a snake in its beak. They finally saw the sign on a swampy island in Lake Texcoco. Once settled, the Aztecs shifted from hunting to farming. Slowly, they built the city of Tenochtitlan (tay nawch tee TLAHN), on the site of present-day Mexico City. As their population grew, the Aztecs found ingenious ways to create more farmland. They built chinampas, artificial islands made of earth piled on reed mats that were anchored to the shallow lake bed. On the "floating gardens," they raised corn, squash, and beans. They gradually filled in parts of the lake and created canals for transportation. Wide stone causeways linked Tenochtitlan to the mainland. C. Conquering an Empire In the late 1400's, the Aztecs greatly expanded their territory. Through a combination of fierce conquests and shrewd alliances, they spread their rule over most of Mexico, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. By 1500, the Aztec empire numbered about 30 million people. War brought immense wealth as well as power. Tribute, or payment from conquered peoples, helped the Aztecs turn their capital into a magnificent city. V. The World of the Aztecs When the Spanish reached Tenochtitlan in 1519, they were awestruck at its magnificence. Henan Cortex described the city as it looked then: "The city has many squares where markets are held and trading is carried on. There is one square. . . where there are daily more than 60,000 souls, buying and selling, and where are found all the kinds of merchandise produced in these countries, including food products, jewels of gold and silver, lead, brass, copper, zinc, bones, shells, and feathers." From its temples and palaces to its zoos and floating gardens, Tenochtitlan was a city of wonders. It was also the center of a well-ordered empire. A. Government and Society Unlike the Mayan city-states, each of which had its own king, the Aztecs had a single ruler. The emperor was chosen by a council of nobles and priests to lead in war. Below him, nobles served as officials, judges, and governors of conquered provinces. They enjoyed special privileges such as wearing luxurious feathered cloaks and gold jewelry. Next came the warriors, who could rise to noble status by killing or capturing enemy soldiers. The majority of people were commoners who farmed the land. At the bottom of society were the slaves, mostly criminals or prisoners of war. Despite their low status, slaves' rights were clearly spelled out by law. For example, slaves could own land and buy their freedom. Protected by Aztec power, a class of long distance traders ferried goods across the empire and beyond. From the highlands, they took goods such as weapons, tools, and rope to barter for tropical products such as jaguar skins and cocoa beans. They also served as spies, finding out new areas for trade and conquest. B. Religious Beliefs The priests were a class apart. They performed the rituals needed to please the many Aztec gods and prevent droughts, floods, or other disasters. The chief Aztec god was Huitzilopochtli (wee tsee loh POHKT lee), the sun god. His giant pyramid temple towered about central Tenochtitlan. Huitzilopochtli, the Aztecs believed, battled the forces of darkness each night and was reborn each morning. As the Legend of the Five Suns shows, there was no guarantee that the sun would always win. To give the sun strength to rise each day, the Aztecs offered human sacrifices. Priests offered the hearts of tens of thousands of victims to Huitzilopochtli and other Aztec gods. Most of the victims were prisoners of war, but sometimes a noble family gave up one of its own members to appease the gods. Other cultures such as the Olmecs and Mayas had practiced human sacrifice, but not on the massive scale of the Aztecs. The Aztecs carried on almost continuous warfare, using the captured enemy soldiers for a regular source of sacrificial victims. Among the conquered peoples, discontent festered and rebellions often flared up. When the armies from Spain later arrived, they found ready allies among peoples who were ruled by the Aztec empire. C. Education and Learning Priests were the keepers of Aztec knowledge. They recorded laws and historical events. Some ran schools for the sons of nobles. Others used their knowledge of astronomy and mathematics to foretell the future. The Aztecs, like the Mayas, had an accurate calendar. Like many other ancient peoples, the Aztecs believed that illness was a punishment from the gods. Still, Aztec priests used herbs and other medicines to treat fevers and wounds. Aztec physicians could set broken bones and treat dental cavities. They also prescribed steam baths as cures for various ills, a therapy still in use today. To Incas 7.2 Study Guide