Download Pre-Columbian civilizations

Worldviews of
Latin American Civilizations
What is "Latin America" ?
A name invented to denominate the regions of the
Western Hemisphere stretching from Mexico and the
Caribbean in the north to Chile in the south
Includes all of Central and South America
All originally colonized by speakers of Romance
Languages (languages descended from Latin)
Spain, Portugal, or France
Overview
Since before 7000 BC, there is evidence
of human culture in Latin America
These people are believed to have crossed
the land bridge from Asia.
Latin American people thrived into many
different nations, with different cultures.
Olmecs, Toltecs, Mixtecs
Maya
Aztec ("Mexica")
Inca
Names, names, names
Latin American people thrived into many
different nations, with different cultures.
Olmecs, Toltecs, Mixtecs
Maya
Aztec ("Mexica")
Inca
However, these peoples had many things
in common, so they are often spoken about
together
Achievements:
Mesoamerican Pyramids
Mesoamerican --> meaning "middle of America"
Pertains to the cultures of Central America: Aztecs and Maya
In most cases, first built by the Maya, then later used by the Aztec
Similar to Egyptian pyramids in shape only
Used for astrological measurements and ceremonies
Closer to sky = closer to the Sun God
Built in strategic places for the best viewing of celestial events (solstices
and equinoxes)
Pyramids at Teotihuacán
Teotihuacán: "The City Of the Gods" - giant abandoned city
Aztecs used pyramid summits for religious sacrifice
Pyramid of the Sun
Pyramid of the Moon
Temple of the Feathered Serpent (Queztalcoatl)
Mesoamerican Achievements:
Mathematics and astrology
Highly developed number system:
First to use a symbol to represent "zero"
Extremely accurate calendar
able to detect 365.25 days in the Earth's
rotation
Achievements:
Inca Records
The Inca kept exact records on strands of
knotted rope called "quipu"
Each region of the empire kept records of
births, deaths, marriages, and other social
history on their quipu
Each knot, strand, and color of rope meant
something different
They could only be read by the
"quipucamayos," people specially trained to
understand the code
Achievements:
Writing system - Maya
Only indigenous American culture to use a writing system
Both Hieroglyphic(pictures for words) and phonetic (pictures
for sounds)
Complicated system, still being deciphered
Over 800 different glyphs
Created giant stone statues called "stela" (plural: stelae) with
portraits of important officials and glyphs surrounding them to
explain their personal information and history
Achievements: Writing Systems
Aztecs had no written language, but borrowed some glyphs from
Mayan civilization
Kept records in a folded, illustrated "codexes," similar to modernday comic books
Government and Society
-all 3 empires
Theocracy - King and priests at the top
Highly structured social classes: Priests, Warriors,
Artisans, Slaves
Military
Structured military with different ranks and armor
Both the Aztecs and Incas conquered large amounts
of land, creating empires
Achievements: Agriculture
All indigenous Latin American societies had huge populations, that
they fed very well
Cultivated products that were extremely nutritious:
Over 100 types of potato
Beans
Tropical Fruits
Over generations, "invented" modern-day corn
Used to be a small weed known as "teotsinte"
Government: Empires
Aztec Empire
Developed after the Mayan empire had "disappeared",
borrowed many of their achievements and culture
Non-traditional: allowed villages and kingdoms to maintain
their previous way of life (religion/government)
All kingdoms had to pay tribute to the Aztec capital city:
Tenochitlan
The Flower Wars - "La Guerra Florida"
Empires
The Incan Empire
Developed along the Andes Mountains and coast of
South America
Two very different climates required people to
work in "mitas" (large farming areas) to provide
enough food for all
Ended up with a surplus of food and therefore a
huge population boom
Religion
Polytheistic - over hundreds of gods
Kings were also gods or priests
Gods were linked to nature
The goal of these religions was not personal salvation
(getting to "heaven" or pleasing a god), but convincing
the forces of nature to help society instead of hurt it
Human sacrifice
What is worldview?
A cultural or personal set of beliefs about the nature of the world
Answers the following questions:
How did the world come to be? (past)
What happens next? (future)
What is the right thing to do? (ethics)
How does society progress? (practice)
What am I, and what is the world? (identity)
How do I know anything? (truth)
How to find worldview
Examine a cultural artifact
What beliefs do you see?
What is the evidence of these beliefs?
The Aztec Calendar
Ancient monument, called the "Sunstone,"
dedicated to the god of the sun, Tonatiuh
Found buried under the corner of the main
square in Mexico City
Made of basalt, weighs 25 tons, nearly 12 feet
tall and 3 feet thick
How does the sunstone answer the
question of "Identity"?
To find answers about identity, ask yourself what the
artifact says about humans and the world around them
The figures in the sunstone are all gods and natural
elements, while human figures are absent
Therefore, this shows that the Aztecs saw nature as
part of themselves and did not value humans above
others
How does the sunstone answer the
question of "past, future, and truth"?
To find answers about past, ask yourself what
the artifact says about what happened in the
past
To find answer about the past, ask yourself
what the artifact says about what might
happen in the future or what they would
expect based on what they know
The Four Cosmogonic Epochs
Sunstone and Aztec worldview
What does it tell us?
Feeding the Sun god
Night and day
Cycles of death and rebirth
World is gods' creation
Importance of natural symbols/names