Transcript Pre-Columbian Civilizations in the Americas

The Americas on
the Eve of Invasion
AP Chapter 11
Major Pre-Columbian
Civilizations
Postclassic Mesoamerica
1000-1500 A.D.
Mayan civilization gone by 8th century
Chichen-Itza Observatory
Chichen-Itza - Ball
Court
Mayan Cultivation
of Maize
Chac, God of Rain -->
Mayan
Glyphs
Rise of Aztecs
Toltecs collapsed by 1150
Aztecs (Mexica) arrive by 14th century
Founded Tenochtitlan
Dominant power by 1434
Lands of the
Aztecs
Aztec View of
Tenochtitlan
Aztec Society
Driven by expansion and conquest
Stratified society under ruler
People chosen to serve the gods
Human Sacrifice
Military-class – supplied war captives for
sacrifice
Means of political terror
Moctezuma II - civil and religious power
Heart Sacrifice
on an Aztec Temple
Pyramid
Wall of Skulls,
Tenochtitlan
Sacrificial Statue,
Tenochtitlan
Religion and Conquest
Hundreds of gods
Three major divisions
– Fertility (agriculture, maize, water)
– Creator deities: (warrior sun, night)
– Warfare and sacrifice: Huizilopochtli becomes top
deity (sun god that drew strength from sacrifice)
Economy
Conquered pay food as tribute
State-controlled: tribute, markets,
commodities highly regulated
Innovations: chinampas (floating islands)
allowed multiple yearly crops
Aztec Chinampa or
Floating Garden:
15ft. to 30ft. wide
Social Gulf Widens
Noble class controlled military and priesthood
Military linked to cult of sacrifice
New class of serfs developed
Society becomes more stratified
Roles of Women
Worked fields and household
Weaving
Arranged marriages
Inherited property - politically and socially
subordinate
Empire Built on Tribute
Tribute and sacrifice drove conquest
Domination not direct control
Rise of nobility, terror and tribute contributed
to collapse
Aztec Writing
Aztec Math
Lands of the Incas
The Inca
Conquest by 1520’s from Columbia to Chile
“Split inheritance” drives conquest
Sun god represented by ruler
Temple of the Sun in Cuzco
Cuzco: Ancient Capital of
the Inca
(11,000 ft. above sea level)
Imperial Rule
Provincial governors
Bureaucracy
Local rulers
Redistributive economy
Gender Cooperation
“Complementary” ideology
Senior wife links state to moon (cosmology)
Machu Picchu
Incan Suspension
Bridges
Incan Terrace Farming
Incan Ceramic Jars
Peanut
Cacao God
Potato
Cacao Pod
Squash
The Quipu: An Incan
Database
Inca Gold & Silver
Aztecs and Incas
Similarities
 Built on earlier empires
 Excellent organizers
 Intensive agriculture under
state control
 Redistributive economy
 Kinship transformed to
hierarchy
 Ethnic groups allowed to
survive
Differences
 Aztecs have better
developed trade, markets