Download Mesoamerican Civilizations

Mesoamerican
Civilizations
Olmec 1300 B.C.The first civilization of Mesoamerica
They were located in the hot and swampy lowlands along the coast of
the Gulf of Mexico south of Veracruz.
They had large cities that were centers for religious rituals.
They carved colossal stone heads
They may have been to represent
their ancestors or gods.
Teotihuacán
Was the first major city in Mesoamerica
Arose around 250 B.C. and collapsed about 800 A.D.
May have had as many as 200,000 inhabitants at its height.
Has a main thoroughfare, known as the Avenue of the Dead, had two main
temples.
The Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon.
The Maya
Mayan civilization
• Located in the Mexican and Central American rain forest
-Maya were found in the Yucatan Peninsula and Part of Guatemala
Maya: Between 300 and 900 A.D.
-Flourished during this time. We do not know why it fell into decline.
The Maya abandoned their cities, we do not know why
Way of Life
• Cities-Were built around a central pyramid
– People lived in small settlements scattered throughout
the countryside.
– Large cities were religious centers and had no
permanent inhabitants.
• Economy based on agriculture and trade.
– Almost all Mayans were farmers.
Mayan Government
-Not much is known about their government system.
– Priests and nobles ran the city and surrounding areas.
People and Education
• Included townspeople, skilled artisans, officials, and merchants.
• Many people were peasant farmers who worked on terraced
hillsides farming.
• Men did the fighting and hunting, women made cornmeal and
were responsible for homemaking and raising children.
• Children learned at home from their parents.
– No formal schools or school system.
Religion
• The Maya were Polytheistic.
– Worshiped rain gods, soil gods, sun gods, corn gods etc.
– Their gods were ranked in order of importance, the Jaguar was the god of
night and was seen as evil.
• They believed that all of life was in the hands of a divine power.
– Believed all gods and humans descended from the sun and moon.
• They were responsible for pleasing the gods.
– The Maya practiced human sacrifice to appease their gods.
– Human sacrifice was also used to mark special occasions.
Pyramids were topped with a shrine to the gods.
Art and Science
Language
• Most advanced system of writing among Native
Americans.
• Similar to hieroglyphics.
The Spanish destroyed most of the Mayan writings.
They were not seen as having any value. Their language
was not translated until the 20th century.
Mathematics: advanced math systems
Art and Science
Calendar
The Maya developed an extremely accurate
calendar.
It had a solar calendar with 365 days,
divided into 18 months with 20 days each
with 5 extra days at the end.
A Lunar calendar and a Calendar based on
the movement of the Planet Venus. This
was a sacred calendar with 260 days and 13
weeks of 20 days each.
The Mayan calendar says our present world
was created in 3114 B.C. and the current
world will end on December 23 2012 A.D.
The Aztec
The Aztec began c. 12th century A.D.
Began a long migration that brought
them into the Valley of Mexico.
They established their capital city
at Tenochtitlán.
Tenochtitlán
An Aztec legend said that when the people found their new home they would see an
eagle perched on a cactus holding a snake. They saw this at Lake Texcoco.
Their city was built up on rafts made from reeds and covered with dirt. They were
called chinampas. Present-Day Mexico-City is built on top of this city. The original
city was destroyed by the Spanish.
Lake Texcoco-Swampy lake that was the home of the capital city. Tenochtitlán
means the Place of the Prickly Pear Cactus.
The Aztec
Way of Life
• Warrior society
• Highly developed military organization
• Farming was basis of economy
• Well populated cities
• Made up of commoners, indentured workers, and slaves.
• Men were to be the warriors, while a woman’s role was to be in the
home. Women were allowed to own and inherit property and
enter contracts. Women wove textiles and raised children. They
could also be priestesses.
Government
•By 1500 there were about 4 million people in the Aztec
Empire.
•Well organized government
•Emperor has supreme power over everyone
–He claimed that he was divine.
Religion
• Had a polytheistic religion based on warfare.
• Main gods were god of war and god of sun.
• Constant war and human sacrifice were required
– Each Aztec city contained a pyramid where they practiced human sacrifice as a
way to postpone the end of the world.
Huitzilopochtli
• Their chief god. He was the god of the sun.
• The Aztec offered him human sacrifice to give him strength to battle the forces of
darkness each night so that he could rise each morning.
Quetzalcoatl
• The feathered Serpent
• He believed he had left the valley of
promised to return in triumph.
Mexico and
The Aztec
• Education
– Education was controlled by the priests.
– Most children learned about history, Aztec history and
crafts.
– Some students attended special religious schools to
learn official religious duties.
The Aztec
• Arts and Science
– Flat topped pyramids with temples on top
resembled Mayan architecture.
– They had no alphabet. Used pictures and symbolic
characters for communication purposes.
Destruction of the Aztec
The subjugation of the people of the Aztec
Empire bred hatred and discontent among the
people. When the Spanish arrived they did
not have a difficult time finding allies to fight
the Aztec.
Hernán Cortés 1519
Spanish Conquistador who came to the valley of Mexico in 1519 with 550 soldiers
and 16 horses. He was at first greeted by the Aztec Emperor Montezuma
(Moctezuma). The Spanish later kidnapped the Emperor and made him a puppet.
The people rebelled and the Emperor was killed. The Spanish barely escaped.
The Spanish returned several months later. Many of the natives had fallen ill with
Smallpox. Cortés and his allies destroyed the Aztec capital and subjugated the Aztec
people.
Incan civilization
• Located in the Andes Mountains of South America
• Represented by Machu Picchu
• Ruled by an emperor
• Economy based on high-altitude agriculture
• Polytheistic religion
• Road system
Late 1300's Inca
The Inca started as a small group that were located in Cuzco. They did not begin to
become powerful until after the fall of the Moche of Peru.
Pachacuti
Unified the Inca and established the Inca Empire.
Organization of the Empire
Incan state was built on war.
The conquered peoples were all taught the same language.
Each region was appointed a governor who answered to the
Emperor.
Road System: 24, 800 miles of Road
The Inca built roads to unify their people. Roads made travel
and communication throughout the empire more efficient.
There were rest houses and storage depots along with bridges
to span ravines and waterways.
Culture
Were required to marry from within their own social group.
Women were expected to live at home, the only alternative was to be a priestess.
Most people were farmers, they also herded llamas and alpacas.
Quipu-A system of knotted strings used by the Inca to keep records.
Great Builders
They had great buildings made of stone held
without mortar. Their roads also show their
ability as great builders.
Machu Picchu
City built at 8,000 ft above sea level.
Urubamba River
River below Machu Picchu
Defeat
The Spanish arrived in 1531
1531: Francisco Pizarro
Spanish Conquistador led a band of 180 men with
superior weapons.
The Inca, like the Aztec, were devastated by disease.
Smallpox
Devastated the Population
Civil War
After the death of the Inca Emperor a civil war broke out, Pizarro took advantage and defeated
the people.
Defeat
Pizarro and his men established Lima as the new capital of the Spanish Colony in 1535.
Achievements of Mayan, Aztec, and Incan
civilizations
• Calendars
• Mathematics
• Writing and other record-keeping systems