Transcript Pre-conquest Latin American Civilizations

Latin America Geography Quiz
Tomorrow
• Know the 3 regions in Latin America: Mexico,
Caribbean Islands, South America and know
countries
• Know the geographical features: isthmus
(connects two pieces of land), archipelago (chain
of islands) peninsula (land surrounded by 3
bodies of water)
• Know the longest river and largest mount. range
• Know what languages are spoken and major
religion
Pre-conquest Latin American
Civilizations
Maya
Aztec
Olmec
Incan
The Olmecs
• Can be considered the first major
civilization in Mexico
• Like the Nile, the Coatzacoalcos River
basin provided nutrient-rich soil and
water ways
• Flourished from 1500 B.C.E to 400 B.C. E.
• Probably the first Mesoamerican culture
to use the concept of “zero”
The Coatzacoalcos River Basin
The Olmecs, continued
• First to play the Mesoamerican
ballgame
• Known for their “giant” head artwork
• First in the Western hemisphere to
develop a writing system
• Their religion was polytheistic and the
Olmecs were the first to practice
bloodletting in Mesoamerica
Big Heads
Mesoamerican ballgame goal
The Maya Civilization
• Mesoamerican Civilization located in
Mexico and Central America
• The Maya Civilization can be traced as far
back as 2600 B.C.E., and many people still
speak Mayan to this day
• Known for having the only fully
developed written language in the
Americas prior to European Conquest
• Had the most sophisticated calendar of
Pre-Columbian civilizations: December 21th,
2012 starts a new cycle
Mayan syllabic language
“writing”
Dec 21st 2012: What will happen?
Maya civilization: continued
• Was comprised of many kingdoms.
One hereditary “ajaw” ruled over a
capital city and several lesser towns
• Maya cities differed greatly because
they were built according to
topography; limestone was the most
common stone used
• Maya religion was polytheistic and
based on cycles interpreted by a priest,
the Maya also practiced human
sacrifice
Chichen Itza
The Inca Empire
• Located on the West Coast of South
America, centered around the Andes
Mountains
• Was the largest empire in Pre-Columbian
America
• Between 1438 – 1532, the Incas acquired
large portions of land through conquest
and assimilation
• The empire was divided into 4 sections,
each with its own leader that took orders
from the King, or Sapa Inca
Sections of the Inca Empire
The Inca Empire, continued
• The Incas did not have a written language;
they used quipu, or knotted string to
record data
• Incas had many deities and believed in
reincarnation
• In 1532, the Spanish arrived ready for
conquest during a civil war
• Within a few years, smallpox wiped out a
large portion of the Incas; up to 95%
Quipu
The Aztecs
• Around 1100 C. E., the Aztecs migrated
from the north to the shores of Lake
Texcoco, located in Central Mexico
• By 1434, the Aztecs were demanding
tribute and military support throughout
the region
• Often the empire did not govern over
conquered lands; they demanded
tribute
Lake Texcoco
Aztec Sacrifice and Agriculture
• Many lands were purposely not
conquered in order to provide a supply of
sacrifice victims
• The sacrifices honored their god of sun
and war, Huitzilopoctli
• The Aztecs also developed an ingenious
system to farm on swamplands called
chinampas
• Chinampas were man made islands
anchored to the lake bottom by trees
Chinampas