Transcript Meso and South America Power Point

Read 10 Min
How did geography
affect the Inuit, the
Iroquois and the
plains Indians?
Bell Ringer
•Fantastic soil, rainfall, temperature allowed plentiful farming
mainly maize, squash, beans. As old as 1200 B.C.
•Olmec – first known civilization builders located in Southern
Mexico, first to create towns – contained
pyramids/courtyards/thrones/monuments/giant stone heads.
Called Mesoamerica’s “mother culture”
Verytype
realistic
features,
•What
of things
took place in Olmec society according to
distinct
OlmecTPS
statues
what
they built?
usually
•Served
as have
Ceremonial, political, religious centers, towns
- Thickfor
lipsrulers and families, lower social classes lived on
reserved
outside.
- Flat nose
- Large trade
oval eyes
•Extensive
network along Mexico/pacific coast, exported
rubber,
pottery,
fursand
and cacao
Roughly
5 ft tall
weighing
8 tons
•First
to use aover
calendar
and writing system, shared
knowledge/cultural diffusion, mysteriously died off
Mesoamerica – The First Civilizations
Partner Map p. 241
1 – How did Olmec sites vary geographically
2 – Judging from the map, what was one way in which
the Olmec spread their influence?
3 – What difficulties might the Olmec have
encountered in developing their trade routes?
• Civilization that emerged after Olmec 1000 BC, located in
Mexican state of Oaxaca (wu-HAH-kah)
•Southern Mexico farmers , 3 mountains meet together to
form Oaxaca valley
•Created the first major city called Monte Alban – first real
urban center in the Americas built atop a mountain in the
Oaxaca valley
•Huge plaza with pyramids, temples, places; would peak at
25,000 people
•Large ball court, observatory, 15 residential
neighborhoods each with its own plaza, 35,000 people
•How do you believe they declined?
•Believed that they lost the support of their people moved to
smaller villages.
Zapotec
Partner Read/Chart – Olmec/Zapotec
Toltec
•Established civilization at Tula, Central Mexico highlands,
near obsidian mine
•Major trade center due to this
•Art/Architecture show militaristic nature of it’s
inhabitants
•Established large military dominance over region did not
last long
•Social conflict led to fall of Tula and Toltec’s
•10 million people spread over 40 cities
•Practiced Slash-and-burn agriculture - burning vegetation to
clear land for planting
•Built flat terraces on hillsides in the highlands to farm?
Why?TPS
•Trade turned villages into major civilizations , jade/cotton,
always fighting with Mayan neighbors for land gain/power
•Functioned as city-states, which is??? TPS what linked
Mayan cities with one another?
•Trade, rituals (piercing of tounge/skin as blood sacrifice to
gods)/games(losers heart sacrificed to gods), religion
•Deadly game Mayan Game
Mayans
•Kings believed to communicate with gods
•Impressive buildings/architecture/canals, observed the
movements of sun, moon, planets, used a 365 day
calendar for farming – religious, first people to use
concept of 0 in math
•Writing system consisted of glyphs – symbols, codex written records in a type of bark paper book
•Why do you believe the Mayan declined?
•Unknown exact cause, believe overuse of
resources/drought/warfare/abuse of power by kings
Continued…
•Rose after Mayan decline, NW Mexico
•Migration of Aztecs legend states that war god told one of leaders
they should look for a place where they see an eagle perched on a
cactus eating a snake, there they should settle and build the a new
capital
•Aztecs migrated south to Valley of Mexico in 1100’s. All good
farmland was taken by other tribes. Aztecs saw eagle and the snake
on a swampy island in lake Texcoco, there they founded
Tenochtitlan, which is the site of which modern day city?
•Mexico City
•Mighty fighters/farmers, made alliance – partnership, with
surrounding city-states, came to rule 5 million people at one point
•Subjects required to pay tribute – tax to empire , if refused…….?
•Capital city Tenochtitlan glory of empire, 5 sq. miles, 200,000
people, one of the largest cities in the world at this time
•Based on what you know of ancient civ. what was in the city? TPS
Aztecs
•Built on an island in middle of lake, created “floating gardens” called chinampas –
piled soil on top of rafts anchored by reeds in the water, grew crops on rafts, when
crops done, loaded crops into canoes and floated them to canals
•Huge trading center for the entire empire , 60,000 visitors a day to trade cotton,
jaguar pelts, rubber. Vendors at market paid tax, usually corn, to support Aztec army
•King top of society, had gardens, zoo, thousands of servants, priests next in social
class
•Aztec religious ceremonies incredibly bloody up to 20,000 people a yr., believed that
gods needed human blood as sacrifice
•“All the walls of that shrine were so splashed and caked with blood that they and the
floor too were black. Indeed, the whole place stank abominably.” -Bernal Diaz
Castillo, The Conquest of New Spain
•Usually slaves/pow’s used for sacrfices
•Below kings, priests, warriors were merchants in social class. Many were very
wealthy from trading luxury goods. Most people in society were farmers. Very poor,
barely survived after paying tribute
•Contact with Europeans in early 1500’s quickly brought an end to the empire
Tenochtitlan
La Gran Tenochtitlan: Market Fair
at Tenochtitlan –Diego Rivera
TPS What can we depict of Aztec life from this painting
Temple @ center
of city and other
surrounding citiesa
Slaves provided
much of labor in
empire
Canals and
causeways
linked the city
People from all
over empire
came to trade
Partner Work
With a partner decipher some of these Aztec riddles and what
they represent.
A little mirror in a house made of fir branches
An eye with eye lashes
A blue bowl filled with popcorn
The sky with it’s stars
Ten flat stones we carry with us
Our fingernails
Partner Read - Mexico
Partner Activity
Plan & create a brochure about Monte Alban. Reread
the text under “Zapotec Civilization Arises.” P. 242 &
note facts and details that you want to include in your
brochures. Be detailed and use persuasive language.
Answer the following questions to help you..
•Where is it located
•How old is it
•Why is it important
•What is unusual or special or mysterious about it
•What happened to the people who lived there
•What can someone learn from a visit there