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The Big Picture:
• The Western Hemisphere developed separately from
Afro-Eurasian networks of trade and interaction, and
had fewer and less dynamic trade connections within
the American Continents.
• Despite a lack of animals for domestication and ironworking technology, impressive civilizations were built.
• No pastoral societies developed due to lack of animals
for herding, but there were nomadic hunting/gathering
societies.
• Diverse environments and natural boundaries led to
diverse societies with great cultural, linguistic, and
ethnic variation throughout the Americas, and even
within regions such as Central America.
• The largest population centers were in Central and
South America.
• The earliest complex civilizations in these regions were
the Olmec along the Gulf Coast of Mexico and Norte
Chico in the Andes.
Mesoamerica:
Olmecs, Mayas,
Aztecs
Olmec: Foundation
civilization for
Mesoamerica.
Maya: Classical, golden
age civilization for
Mesoamerica.
Aztec: Developed a huge
empire (of tributary
states) in the late
postclassical period, but
started to decline right
before the Spanish
invasion.
Areas of Maya and Aztec Civilization
and Influence
Commonalities in Mesoamerican Culture and
Societies:
• Labor intensive agriculture – cultivation of maize, beans, squash,
and peppers
• Religion featuring a pantheon of female and male deities based on
agriculture, war, nature, etc.
• Understood time as a cosmic cycle of creation and destruction.
• Practiced human sacrifice
• Constructed monumental ceremonial centers
• Used a ceremonial/ritual calendar of 260 days
• Developed a hieroglyphic writing system
• Mostly city-states and small kingdoms governed the region, often
trading, interacting, and going to war with each other.
• The Aztecs built a tribute empire in Mesoamerica in the 1300’s, but
were in decline when the Spanish arrived in the 1500’s.
•Olmec refers to the first complex civilization
that developed in Mesoamerica, or Central
America. Olmec society seems to have
reached its height between 1400 B.C.E. – 500
B.C.E.
•Originally centered on the Southern Gulf
coast of Mexico, Olmec influence spread from
Central Mexico to El Salvador and farther
South.
Around 1200 B.C.E. power was centered in
the civic center of San Lorenzo; by 900
B.C.E. the power shifted to La Venta, where
many great public work projects were
constructed.
Some of the more well known works of the
Olmec civilization are the colossal basalt
sculptures of human heads and portable jade
carvings.
•Olmec civilization served as the base of
many later civilizations including the Maya
and Aztec, and therefore is regarded by
many historians as the foundation
Mesoamerican civilization.
Mayan Civilization:
The Golden Age of
Mesoamerica
El Castillo, Chichen Itza,
the Yucatan, Mexico
http://maya.nmai.si.ed
u/the-maya/creationstory-maya
The Maya
• Centered in Guatemala and Yucatan region; constructed ceremonial centers
as early as 2000 BCE; golden age of the Maya was c. 300 CE – 900 CE.
• Great cultural achievements marked this golden age:
- math system which used zero and place notation
- astronomical tables and records and the ability to predict solar
and lunar eclipses
- accurate solar year calendar
- great art and engineering
- drained hillsides and swamps for agriculture to support growing
population
- productive agriculture supported elite classes of nobles and priests
with elaborate courts and large urban centers
- For example, Tikal was a Mayan city with about 50,000 people in the
city and 50,000 in surrounding countryside
- Exotic goods were traded among the elite of competing city-states
and kingdoms.
- Dramatic and complete collapse of Mayan civilization occurred
around 900 CE. Collapse was probably due to a combo of factors
including prolonged drought, famine, disease, and warfare over
waning resources
Unexcavated
pyramid
However, the largest city in Mesoamerica in
this period was not Mayan – it was north in
the Valley of Central Mexico.
Teotihuacan
• Founded around 150 BCE, and very well
planned out and engineered.
• By 550 CE, the city housed between
100,000 – 200,000 people - - one of the
largest urban complexes in the world at the
time.
• The city contained plazas, marketplaces,
apartment complexes, wide streets,
drainage systems, and an enormous
ceremonial complex – much like the ones
the Aztecs would later build.
• Little is known about the language or history
of the people of Teotihuacan – no
deciphered records.
• Human sacrifice was practiced as part of
rituals and ceremonies.
• The Aztecs were influenced by Teotihuacan
culture.
The Aztec Empire
Tenochtitlan – the most important city-state of the
Mexica (a.k.a. Aztecs or Tenocha)
The city was established on an Island in the midst of a large lake.
Connected to the shores by causeways, supplied with fresh water by an
aqueduct, it housed a population estimated to be over 150,000. Early
Spanish observers compared its canals to Venice and were fascinated by
markets and gardens. For the Aztecs, it was the center of political and
spiritual power.
Aztec Gods and Goddesses
Religion was central to Aztec life. The Aztecs worshipped hundreds of
gods and goddesses, each of whom ruled one or more human activities
or aspects of nature. There were a large number of agricultural gods
because their culture was based heavily on farming; other gods
represented elements of nature and ancestor-heroes.
The Aztecs believed that the balance of the natural world, the
processes that make life possible, such as rain or solar energy, and the
destiny of people, depended on the will of these gods. While some
deities were benevolent, others had terrifying characteristics.
The Aztecs thought that the power of the gods should be acknowledged
and thanks given to them to keep them from becoming angry. For this
reason, monumental ceremonial centers were built and many religious
rites developed. The existence of the gods and their goodwill were
maintained by offering up the most valuable human possession-- life.
This was the origin of human sacrifice as well as rituals centered
around intense physical pain, which was often times self inflicted.
TLALOC, the rain deity
TEZCATLIPOCA, (god of
Night and Sorcery)
"Smoking Mirror" (obsidian),
characterized as the most
powerful, supreme deity,
was associated with the
notion of destiny. His cult
was particularly identified
with royalty, for Tezcatlipoca
was the object of the
lengthy and reverent
prayers in rites of kingship.
QUETZALCOATL,
(the god of
civilization and
learning) "quetzal
(feather) serpent,"
had dozens of
associations.
Aztec Story of Creation
Quetzalcoatl, the light one, and Tezcatlipoca, the dark one, looked down from
their place in the sky and saw only water below. A gigantic goddess floated
upon the waters, eating everything with her many mouths.
The two gods saw that whatever they created was eaten by this monster. They
knew they must stop her, so they transformed themselves into two huge
serpents and descended into the water. One of them grabbed the goddess by
the arms while the other grabbed her around the legs, and before she could
resist they pulled until she broke apart. Her head and shoulders became the
earth and the lower part of her body the sky.
The other gods were angry at what the two had done and decided, as
compensation for her dismemberment, to allow her to provide the necessities
for people to survive; so from her hair they created trees, grass, and flowers;
caves, fountains, and wells from her eyes; rivers from her mouth; hills and
valleys from her nose; and mountains from her shoulders.
Still the goddess was often unhappy and the people could hear her crying in the
night. They knew she wept because of her thirst for human blood, and that she
would not provide food from the soil until she drank. So the gift of human
hearts was given her.
She who provides sustenance for human lives demands human lives for her own
sustenance. So it has always been; so it will ever be.
A FEW MORE AZTEC GODS AND GODDESSES
CENTEOTL: The god of corn.
CHALCHIUHTLICUE: The goddess of running Water.
CHANTICO: The goddess of Hearth Fires and Volcanoes.
CHICOMECOATL: The goddess of Corn and Fertility.
CIHUACAOTYL: a goddess whose roaring signaled War.
TEOYAOMQUI: the god of Dead Warriors.
EHECATL: the god of wind.
HUEHUETEOTL: "the old, old deity," was one of the names of the cult of
fire, among the oldest in Mesoamerica. The maintenance of fires in the
temples was a principal priestly duty, and the renewal of fire was
identified with the renewal of time itself.
The Aztec sun
calendar is a
circular stone
with pictures
representing
days, months,
and cosmic
cycles.
Like the Maya,
the Aztec
excelled in
astronomy and
mathematics.
The Center of the
Disc - Tonatiuh
Aztec Sun
Calendar
Ch. 11 In-Depth Article Questions:
The “Troubling” Civilization of the Americas
1. What is the main point of the article?
2. According to the article, how have historians tried to
explain/understand human sacrifice? (give 5 possible
reasons for the development of the practice.)
3. Are there features of 20th century/21st century society that
later generations will need to explain?
The Chavins were a religious
group that appeared in the
Central Andes in about 1000
B.C.E. From then on, they
spread through Peru, up until
they disappeared around 300
B.C.E. The scholars named them
"Chavins" after Chavin de
Huantar, a modern town in that
location. Some theories believe
that the cult appeared when
maize became the main crop in
South America. Andean Society
became more complex during
the era of the Chavin Cult. The
Chavins may have inspired the
building of other, later
ceremonial centers. After they
vanished, cities developed in the
area.
Early Andean
Civilization: Chavin
The Inca
Peoples who preceded the Inca of Peru include: Chavín (c.
850 B.C.E.); Mochica (100 C.E.– 700 C.E.)
•The Inca lived in the Andes Mountains of South America.
•The city of Cuzco was founded about 1200 C.E. and
became the capital.
•The Inca empire was founded in the mid 15th century by a
warrior-ruler named Pachacuti. This marks the beginning
of Inca expansion.
•The emperor was considered divine – “son of the sun.”
(Sapa Inca)
•The Inca were polytheistic; priests also served as
doctors; ritual sacrifice was sometimes practiced.
Important rulers were mummified and religious cults
formed around dead emperors.
•The Inca empire at its height included Peru, most of
Chile, and parts of Ecuador, Bolivia, and Argentina.
Machu Picchu, where
the Sapa Inca resided…
Llama!
Inca Empire:
Ecuador, Peru, Chile,
Argentina, Bolivia
•The Inca had a strong central government which
closely regulated the empire, and had complete
control over the economy and people’s lives. This was
one of the most highly ordered societies in history.
•Inca civilization is often described as socialistic,
meaning the government decided how resources
would be distributed and what jobs people would
hold. Villages could even be relocated for economic
purposes.
•An official language – Quechua – was promoted to
create unity. Also, roads were built to link the
empire, irrigation systems were developed, and a
system of record keeping was devised (quipus).
•The Inca empire declined due to disease, civil war,
and then the Spanish invasion began in 1533. Also,
some historians have suggested that the cults which
preserved the mummies of deceased emperors
drained resources and strained the nobility.
The Inca Rulers
The Inca emperors were known by various
titles, including Sapa Inca and Capac Apu.
Often, the emperor was simply referred to as
“the Inca.” The traditional list of Inca rulers
includes 11 emperors, in this order:
1. Manco Capac
2. Sinchi Roca
3. Lloque Yupanqui
4. Mayta Capac
5. Capac Yupanqui
6. Inca Roca
7. Yahuar Huacac
8. Viracocha Inca
9. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui
10. Topa Inca Yupanqui
11. Huayna Capac
Quipus