Ancient%20Cultures%20of%20Central%20and%20South%20America:%20The%20Maya,%20Aztec,%20and%20Inca

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Ancient Cultures of Central and South
AmericaThe Maya, Aztec, and Inca
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Mayan Civilization

• Mayans
• Developed in Mexico around 2600 BC
• Spread throughout the Yucatan Peninsula
• The Mayans were at their height between 600-900
  AD

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Mayan Writing

• Had hieroglyphic writing
• Has not yet been fully translated
• Words were formed from combinations of signs
• Had almost 800 signs!

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Maya Technology

• Had a very complex and accurate calendar
• Their calendar was adopted by other nearby
  nations, like the Aztecs

The pyramid was used as a calendar four
stairways, each with 91 steps and a platform at
the top, making a total of 365, equivalent to
the number of days in a calendar year.
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Fall of the Mayas

• No one really knows why the Mayan civilization
  fell, but it could have been any combination of
  these reasons
• Not enough food
• Earthquakes
• War
• Invasions
• Disease
• The Mayan civilization had fallen by 900 AD

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Ms. Currys trip to the Mayan Ruins
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Ms. Currys trip to the Mayan Ruins
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A Mexican cenoté
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A Mexican cenoté
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Aztec

• The Aztec civilization began around 1100 AD
• They gained lots of power and wealth because they
  controlled trade
• After about 300 years, they had become the
  largest empire Mexico had ever seen

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Aztec Writing

• The Aztec Language was based on symbols
  representing writing.
• They would combine symbols to create sentences.

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Mythology

• There was an Aztec myth about a god named
  Quetzalcoatl
• He was the most important god
• He was the god of intelligence and creation
• Stories say that he was a white-faced man

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Spanish Arrival

• Spanish explorer Hernan Cortez arrived in Mexico
  in 1519
• Aztec emperor Moctezuma II thought Cortez was a
  god

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Fall of the Aztecs

• Cortez took the emperor prisoner
• The Aztecs began to fight the Spanish, but the
  Spanish were too powerful
• Cortez conquered the Aztecs in 1521

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Station 4Inca

• Look at the slides about the Inca civilization.
  Fill in the chart with all the correct
  information.

• Skim the section in the chapter (pages 479-483)
  to answer the handout questions. Do not just
  fill these in and be done with itmake sure they
  are correct! Hint, hint!

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Inca Civilization

• Began around 1250 AD in South America
• It is the only major civilization that existed in
  South America
• Most people were farmers

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Inca Achievements

• Built massive buildings made of stone blocks
• Produced art of gold and silver
• No written language

Machu Picchu (Mah-choo Pee-choo)city on a
mountain. Built by the Incas for their leader
Pachacuti. Its important because it contained a
lot of artifacts that told archaeologists about
the Incas.
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Fall of the Incas

• Francisco Pizarro, from Spain, came to the Inca
  civilization in 1530
• When the Incas would not convert to Christianity,
  the Spanish attacked
• The Inca leader, Atahualpa (ah-tah-wall-pah), did
  not have the men to fight against the Spanish
• Atahualpa tried to get the Spanish to accept 24
  tons of gold and silver (about 48,000 pounds) to
  save his life, but they killed him anyway
• Spanish defeated the Incas in 1537 and took
  control of the area