Transcript Mesoamerica PP

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Earliest American civilization – Olmecs
Located in the tropical forests along the Gulf
Coast of Mexico
Lasted from 1500 B.C. to 400 B.C.
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Little information about where they came from.
Remains of temples and art suggest that they had a
powerful class of priests and nobles at the top of their
society.
Elite class ran government
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Art mostly carved from stone.
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Military
Religion
Politics
50 stone heads made of basalt, weighing 40 tons each –
required advanced technology to move the stones over 50 miles
Had a calendar.
Had a system of writing.
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Worshipped a god that
was part jaguar, part
human.
Considered the “mother
culture” of
Mesoamerica because
other cultures adopted
their advances.
Unclear how the
civilization ended –
simply disappeared.
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Heavily influenced by the Olmec.
Located on the Yucatan Peninsula and through
much of Central America.
Lasted from about 300 B.C. to 1200 A.D.
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Society
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Each Maya city had its own ruler – usually male.
Nobles served as military leaders, tax collectors, law
enforcers, etc.
Merchants formed the middle class.
Majority of Mayans were farmers.
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Grew maize, beans, squash, fruit trees, cotton, and tropical
flowers.
Some cities had slaves.
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Culture
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Large temples and palaces
made of stone
Had elaborate sculptures
on many of their buildings.
Developed a hieroglyphic
writing system.
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Famous for the 365-day
calendar based on the
movement of the sun.
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Religion
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Center of society
Very complex – worshipped many gods
Closely tied to agriculture – one of the most important
gods was the god of rain
Offered sacrifices to the gods in hopes of a good
harvest.
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Decline of Mayan Civilization
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Around 900 A.D., the Mayans abandoned many of
their cities.
By the time the Spanish arrived in 1500 A.D., the
remaining Mayans usually lived in farming villages.
Reasons for the decline of the empire are unknown,
but it is suspected that constant wars, or
overpopulation could have caused the civilization to
decline.
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Around 1200 A.D. bands of nomadic people
migrated to the Valley of Mexico – in the high
plateau of central Mexico.
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In 1325 A.D., the Aztec
founded their capital city
at Tenochtitlan.
To create more farmland
the Aztecs built
chinampas – artificial
islands.
Used these “floating
gardens” to grow beans,
squash, and maize.
Filled in part of lakes
and created canals that
linked them to the
mainland.
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Agriculture was the center
of the economy.
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People would sell their
crops at markets, or trade
with others.
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Government & Society
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One emperor – elected by a council of nobles, priests,
and military leaders.
Nobles served as judges and governors of conquered
provinces.
Warriors – could rise to the noble class by doing well in
battle.
Middle class – long distances traders
Commoners – farmed the land.
Serfs & slaves – prisoners of war & debtors – still had
rights.
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Religion & Mythology
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Polytheistic
Believed that each god had power over different
natural elements, or parts of life.
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Huitziloopochtli – patron god of the Aztecs
Quetzalcoatl – feathered serpent who reigned over earth
and water
Gods would sacrifice themselves to help the people
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Nanahuatzin – sacrificed himself to become the sun; Aztecs
made human sacrifices to give the sun the strength to rise
each day.
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Decline of the Empire
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The Aztec empire grew very quickly, but also declined
very quickly.
The Aztecs had forced the people they conquered to
pay heavy taxes.
These people became upset and caused problems in
the empire.
These problems led to the decline of the empire.
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Most powerful Andean
civilization
Located on the western
coast of South America
Lasted from about 1100
A.D. to 1500 A.D.
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Worshipped the sun and moon, as well as many
other gods & goddesses.
Expanded to become a vast empire that stretched
to include parts of modern-day Peru, Ecuador,
Bolivia, and Chile.
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Capital of the empire was Cuzco
Never developed a system of writing.
Many medical advances – surgery on the human
skull, etc.
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Farming was very
important.
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Built step terraces for
farming.
Stone walls kept the
land from being washed
away by rain.
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Farmers spent part of
the year working the
land for their
community; the other
part working the land
for the government.
The government kept
most of the harvest in
case of natural disaster.
The extra was given to
specific groups of
people.
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Also famous for
metalworking and
weaving.
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Used copper and
bronze to make useful
objects.
Used gold & silver for
making statues of gods
and goddesses, or
silverware or
decorations for the
nobles.
Wove cotton and wool
into clothing.
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Decline of the Empire
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Empire ended by civil war which weakened the
civilization to Spanish invaders.
Spanish explorers arrived in South America during the
time of the Inca.
Brought diseases such as smallpox, which the Inca
had no immunity to.
The diseases quickly destroyed the population.
The Spanish took control over what was left of the
area.