Download 1. Compare and contrast characteristics of the Mayans

Peoples and Empires of
the Americas
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
WHAT SIMILAR CHARACTERISTICS DID
THE MAYANS, INCANS, AND AZTECS
POSSESS, AND WHY DID THEIR
CIVILIZATIONS FAIL?
Pre-Columbian Societies
 Pre-Columbian – before the arrival of
Christopher Columbus
 Art highly advanced
 Gender roles established at birth
 Women held various roles including
harvesting grain, preparing food or tending
animals as well as home and children
The Maya
 Earliest civilizations in the region were the
Olmecs and Toltecs who were replaced by the
Maya
 Mayan territory stretched from Southern
Mexico to Northern Central America
 City- States included Tikal, Copan and
Chichen Itza; and were ruled by different godkings
 Most were peasant farmers , but a small class
of skilled craftsmen emerged
 Nobles were from a small hereditary class
 Cities were the center of trade and religious
ceremonies and included large palaces,
temples and pyramids
 City-states were linked through trade, trading
maize, beans and squash
Mayan Empire- Yucatan Peninsula
Chichen Itza Pyramid
Mayan Religion
 Polytheistic
 Religious practices included human sacrifice
 Calendars- 260 day religious calendar and a
365 day solar calendar made by observations
of astronomers
 Glyphs- 800 symbols for writing
 Popol Vuh- Mayans creation story
Mayan Glyphs
Mysterious Mayan Decline
 800’s- Mayan cities were abandoned
 Evidence now points to environmental
factors caused by a prolonged drought
causing a disruption of trade and agriculture
Central Mexico/Aztec Empire
 Aztec Empire was located in Central Mexico
 125,000 people
 Pyramid of the Sun at center of the city
 Crops were grown on floating gardens in wet
marshy lands (Chinampas)
 Aztecs aligned their temples based on their
astronomical observations of the sun and
moon
Mexican Flag
Aztec Society and Trade
 Class System
 Nobles ( warriors, priests, government officials)
 Commoners (Merchants, artisans, soldiers,
farmers) \Slaves (captives)
 Trade brings wealth to the Aztecs
 Tenochtitlan- located on an island
 1500 was larger than any European capital
 raised roads connected the city to the mainland
Tenochtitlan
Aztec Religion
 Polytheistic
 Centered around public ceremonies
 Human sacrifices were made to ensure that
the universe would stay in motion
 Sacrifices to the Sun god ensured the sun would
rise each day
 Sacrifice also encouraged war
 Goal of an Aztec warrior was to bring back
live prisoners for sacrificial purposes
Aztec Religious Human
Sacrifice
Problems in Aztec Empire
 Montezuma II called for more tributes and
human sacrifices from provinces led to
rebellion
 Montezuma II reduced the number of
government officials
 Weakened by civil war the Aztecs were not
able to defend themselves from the Spanish
Rise of the Inca
 Began as a small kingdom in the Valley of
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Cuzco in South America
Incan leaders were believed to be
descendants from the sun god
Only people from the 11 noble families could
be king
Worshipped dead rulers who where preserved
as mummies
King Pachacuti- Used military conquest to
conquer west coast of South America
Incan Empire
Incan Government
 Empire divided for easy management
 Standard economic system
 Uniformed speaking language (no written
language)
 Schools
 Road system
 Mita- labor tribute to Incan leaders
 Citizens worked certain days of the year
 Government controlled all economic activity
 Land was organized in geographic regions
 Each producing a different good
Incan Religion
 Polytheistic
 focused on key nature spirits
 Sacrifice of llamas, humans and goods
 Temple of the Sun in Cuzco decorated in gold
Temple of the Sun
Decline of Inca
 Early 1500’s
 height of Incan power
 King Huayna Capac dies of disease
 Civil war breaks out between his sons at the same
time the Spanish arrive