Review and Discussion

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Chapter 12

• Review and Discussion

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Geography of the Americas
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The Olmecs, 1400 B.C.E-1200 B.C.E

• Founded the first American Civilization
• Laid the political foundation of the Mesoamerican
  societies

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Teotihuacan (450 600 CE)

• It was a religious, artistic, and trade center
  that had great influence on succeeding
  civilizations.
• Elites
• Controlled the state bureaucracy, tax collection
  and commerce
• Powerful elites controlled the cities and the
  nearby towns and rural peasantry.
• Religion (animism)
• Enormous pyramids dedicated to the sun, moon, and
  other gods were built along the central avenue.
• Human sacrifice was carried out

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THE MAYAN CIVILIZATION
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Maya 300-900

• The Maya established city-states
• Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and Southern Mexico
• united by a common culture but not unified by a
  common political or military system

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Mayan Government

• Each Mayan city had its local leaders, but all
  the city-states were ruled by one king

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The Maya (300-900)

• Military
• Primarily fought to secure military captives not
  territory
• Elite captives were mostly sacrificed
• Commoners enslaved
• Women
• Elite - participated in bloodletting rituals and
  other religious ceremonies
• Common agricultural and textile production

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What was life like for the Maya?

• Mayan people were farmers
• Priests were the highest people in the society
• The Maya worshipped nature animals, plants,
  water and the planets

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Mayan architecture

• Relied solely on man power, stone tools, and
  levers for the building projects

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Mayan Accomplishments

• Had a system of hieroglyphics
• Practiced astrology-developed a 365 day calendar
• Developed a counting system using 0 on a system
  based on 20
• Grew cotton, made cloth

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The Mayan Ball Court Game life or death with a
little rubber ball

• The Ball Court that was used for symbolic
  religious games.

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Aztecs

• Lived in Modern Day Mexico
• Capital Tenochtitlan (Mexico City today)
• Became an Empire and conquered other lands
• Spanish arrived in 16th century

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The Aztecs

• Society
• Clan based
• Around 1325, a monarchial system is established
• Kings increased wealth and power by territorial
  conquest
• Supported population by
• Land reclamation projects, constructing irrigated
  fields, and chinampas

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Aztec Society
Officials, governors, judges could attain a
noble social status If they killed an
enemy Farmers - Mostly captives or
criminals (many were sacrificed to the Sun God)
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The Aztecs

• Trade
• No wheel vehicles, draft animals or money was
  used
• Barter economy
• Benefited from the tributary system
• Religion
• Worshipped gods and goddesses
• Huitzilopochtli (sun god)
• Required a diet of human hearts
• Sacrificed thousands of people every year

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THE AZTECS
The Great Temple at Tenochtitlan
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Aztec Empire Map
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Tenochtitlan
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Tenochtitlan

• The city was made up of a central square
  surrounded by pyramid-temples, palaces, gardens,
  zoos, schools markets. This city reveals all
  that was the best of the Aztecs!

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Chinampas Floating Gardens

• By 1500, the Aztec empire spread from the Gulf of
  Mexico to the Pacific Ocean and numbered 30
  million people.
• Conquered by the Spanish around 1519

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Incas 1463 - 1532

• Located in current day Peru
• By the early 1500s, the Incan empire stretched
  2500 miles
• Andes to Pacific Coast (Ecuador to Chile)

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Incas

• Empire
• Built a huge empire in the Andes by 1525
• Developed a strong and professional army
• Prosperity and military strength depended on
  herds of llamas and alpacas
• Rule
• Generally left local rulers in place
• Took heirs as hostage
• imperial bureaucracy led by a king
• King was required to prove himself by conquering
  new territories
• Religion (Sun god most important)
• Rituals, feasts, sacrifices of textiles, animals,
  and other tribute goods, and occasional human
• Accomplishments
• Construction of vast network of roads (13,000
  miles)

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Pachacuti, Ruled 1438-1471The Supreme Ruler

• Pachacuti was the first INCA, or supreme ruler
• The INCA was thought to be a descendant of the
  sun god Inti

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Cuzco The Imperial Capital

• From Cuzco, the emperor ruled more than 10
  million people
• There was a system of roads, tunnels, and rope
  bridges that connected the cities of the empire

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Incan Road System The Heart of the Empire

• allowed armies and news to travel rapidly around
  the empire.
• prohibited ordinary people from using the roads
  at all.

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The Incasbuilt a complex civilization

• They imposed their own language and religion on
  the people.
• that relied on order and absolute authority
• The Incas strictly regulated the lives of
  millions of people within their empire.
• Government officials arranged marriages.

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The Incasbuilt a complex civilization

• Community leaders assigned jobs to each family
  and organized the community to work the land.
• Mita
• Farmers had to spend part of each year working
  land for the emperor and the temples.
• Government officials controlled the harvest.

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Chosen Women of the Sun

• Played a key role and honor role in Incan
  religious rituals
• Started at age 8 and trained until age 16 where
  her fate would be decided
• Made garments for the Sapa Inca
• Most remained in house of seclusion in service of
  the Sun for most of their lives

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Civilization Location Capital City Good Stuff Years
Maya The Maya were located mainly in the Yucatan Peninsula, and stretched to Belize Guatemala Tikal Hieroglyphics 365 day calendar counting system using 0-20 1000 BCE to about 900 CE
Aztec The Aztecs were located throughout Mexico The capital city, Tenochtitlan, now lies below Mexico city Built capital city over lake Texcoco Built aqueducts causeways Had zoos, schools, etc.. 1200 CE To 1500s
Inca Pacific Coast of Peru, in South America Cuzco, the Holy city System of roads, tunnels, rope bridges Performed brain surgery 1300 CE to Early 1500s