Download Study Sheet: (Test Review) Unit 6 The Americas

Test Review/ Study Guide: Unit 6 – The Americas
Time
Periods:
Olmec
 lasted around 1000 years
 Olmec culture lived in BC
Maya
 existed for more
than 3500 years!
 Based in Mesoamerica
 lived in the lowlands of
Mexico
 Olmec lived in lowlands
 Based in
Mesoamerica
 lived in the lowlands
of Mexico
 Located in present
day Mexico
 Yucatan Peninsula
 Olmec did not build large
cities like the Maya
Built great cities:
 Copán
 Palenque
 Tikal
 Uxmal
 Chichén Itzá (in
Yucatan
Peninsula)
Built great cities:
 Tenochtitlan (in lake
Texoco)

 Mayas were ruled
by kings and priests
 Montezuma II
Geographi
c Areas:
Cities:
Rulers &
Governme
nt:
Aztec
 lasted around 1000
years
 Aztecs lived in AD
 Based in
Mesoamerica
 Located in present
day Mexico
 Lake Texoco
Inca

 Andes Mountains
 Based in Peru
 Incas lived in
highlands
 Incas lived in the
mountains
 Incas lived in the
mountains of Peru
and used llamas to
help with farming
 Lima, Peru
 Cusco- Incas rose
and established
their capital at
Cusco; Andes
Mountains
 Machu Picchu
 Pachacuti- Inca
ruler greatly
expanded the
empire while
commissioning
many monumental
building projects
 Incas were ruled by
an established
government
 Ways that the Inca
government kept
control of such a
large empire:
‒ Having trained
administrators
and similar
buildings in
each province of
the empire
‒ An advanced
road system
that allowed
‒
‒
 Deeply religious and built
pyramids
 Played games with rubber
balls
 Built temples and pyramids
to worship and remember
their gods
 Mummified and buried
kings
 Worshipped sun god
Religious
Traditions,
etc.:
 Olmec practiced "slash +
burn farming"
Farming:
 Deeply religious and
built pyramids
 Played games with
rubber balls
 The Maya practiced
human sacrifices
 Built huge
ceremonial temples
where they
performed human
sacrifices
 Worshipped many
gods (polytheistic)
 Maya worshipped
the sun god,
creator, moon
goddess, & maize
god. They believed
that the gods each
controlled different
aspects of life. Gods
were believed to
help or harm the
Maya. People
offered blood and
pierced skin to give
the gods blood the
keep them happy.
 On occasions,
human sacrifices
were made. Hearts
were offered to the
stone carvings of
the gods.

 Maya practiced
"slash + burn
farming"
 Deeply religious
 Worshipped many
gods (polytheistic)
 Human Sacrifices
 Worshipped sun god
 Aztecs established
irrigation systems &
built terrace form
structures (terrace
farming)
communication
across the
empire
The ayllu
system of
community
work
treated the
conquered
people well

 Deeply religious
 Built huge
ceremonial temples
where they
performed human
sacrifices
 Built temples and
pyramids to
worship and
remember their
gods
 Mummified and
buried kings
 Worshipped sun
god
 Incas practiced
terrace farming
and used irrigation
 Olmecs were the first ones
to use Hieroglyphics
 Maya wrote in
Hieroglyphics
 Maya developed the
most advanced
writing system in
the ancient
Americas
 Mayan writingconsisted of about
800 hieroglyphic
symbols, glyphs
(some stood for
whole words, others
for symbols)
 Used glyphs to
record important
historical events,
carving their glyphs
in stone or recording
them in a barkpaper book known
as a codex. Only 3 of
these ancient books
have survived.
 Language  Glyphs
 Book Codex
 Studied astronomy
 Built giant structures and
sculptures from stone
 Studied astronomy
and developed
calendars
 Mayans made great
advances in
mathematics &
astronomy - their
knowledge of both
made them create
the Mayan calendar
 Created the concept
of zero in math
 Independent citystates (like the
Greeks!)
 City states: had
alliances and wars,
Writing
System &
Record
Keeping:
Innovation
s:
History:
 Formed as a river valley
civilization
 Oldest civilization in the
Americas
 Aztecs used terrace
farming and irrigation
 Aztecs used
Hieroglyphics
 Studied astronomy
and developed
calendars
 Built giant structures
and sculptures from
stone
 One empire heavily
focused on conquest
 Unified empires that
spread out of their
capitals
 Inca had no writing
system
 Quipus- khipus or
“talking knots”recording devicesusually consisted of
colored, spun, and
plied thread or
strings made from
cotton or camelid
fiber. For the Inca,
the system aided in
collecting data and
keeping records,
ranging from
monitoring tax
obligations,
properly collecting
census records,
calendrical
information, and
military
organization.
 Memories were
passed from
generation to
generation by story
telling.
 The Incas used
knotted ropes to
measure and
record events in
history.
 Incas built
hundreds of miles
of roads
 Highly
interconnected
empire by
advanced road
system
Reason for
Decline:
Similar to
other
Ancient
civilization
s:
but all traded with
each other and
shared a common
culture.
 Olmec gradually
 Fell due to infighting
disappeared
along with possible
famine (not enough
 Fell as a result of
food)… gradually
unproved cause
disappeared –
 Fell as a result of
unproved cause
 Maya disappeared
back into the jungle
 Maya lasted much
longer than the
Olmecs
 Maya lived much
earlier than the
Aztecs ; Also the
Maya civilization
lasted longer
 Because of their start as a
 Due to their reliance
river valley civilization and
on trade between
use of early picture
independent city
markings on tablets, the
states, the Maya
Olmec’s were similar to the
were similar to the
Egyptians.
Greeks
 One of the giant heads
sculpted by the Olmec
people. (We are unsure,
but we think they
represent the heads of past
rulers)
 Unified empires
that spread out of
their capitals
 Fell due to conquest
by the Spanish under
Hernan Cortes(Aztec were taken
over by Spanish)
 Aztec fell to Spanish
invaders
 Aztec (& Inca)
civilizations ended in
the 1500's when the
Spanish took over
 Lasted until the
Spanish conquest
by Francisco
Pizzaro- (the Inca
were conquered by
conquistadors)
 Incas were wept
out by Spanish
Settlers
 Inca (& Aztec)
civilizations ended
in the 1500's when
the Spanish took
over
 Because of their
pride in efficient and
brutal conquests, the
Aztecs were similar
to the Assyrians.
 Due to advanced
engineering in
roads/buildings
along with their
desire to make
conquered people
citizens, the Inca
were similar to the
Roman Empire.
 Quipo- “talking
knots”- recording
devices
Arts:
Facts:
 Olmec- first civilization in
the region- their culture
spread far and wide.
 1st to build sacred cities
made of stone - their art,
 Mit’a system- the
people trading their
work for food and
goods form the
Inca government
religion, ball games were
passed onto other cultures,
 Mit'a was
effectively a form
of tribute to the
Inca government in
the form of labor.
In the Incan
Empire, public
service was
required in
community-driven
projects such as the
building of their
extensive road
network. Military
service was also
mandatory.
 The Mesoamerican ball-game helped entertain the people while honoring the gods (sacrificing the winner)
 The Olmec passed their traditions like human sacrifice, the Mesoamerican ball-game and writing of cuneiform to the
Maya & Aztecs. - FALSE
 Compare the Mayan and Inca systems of keeping records. Provide at least one detail on each on how they are similar
or different:
Maya
 Maya developed the most
advanced writing system in the
ancient Americas
 Mayan writing- consisted of about
800 hieroglyphic symbols, glyphs
(some stood for whole words,
others for symbols)
 Used glyphs to record important
historical events, carving their
glyphs in stone or recording them
in a bark-paper book known as a
codex. Only 3 of these ancient
books have survived
Keeping Records:
Both:
 Calendars to keep information
about the gods and
Inca:
 Inca had no writing system
 Quipus- khipus or “talking knots”recording devices-usually
consisted of colored, spun, and
plied thread or strings made from
cotton or camelid fiber.
 For the Inca, the system aided in
collecting data and keeping
records, ranging from monitoring
tax obligations, properly collecting
census records, calendrical
information, and military
organization
 Memories were passed from
generation to generation by story
telling.
 The Incas used knotted ropes to
measure and record events in
history.