Transcript Chap 6 - Civ of Americas

Chapter 6
Civilizations of the Americas
Prehistory – A.D. 1570
Chapter 6, Section 1
Civilizations of Mesoamerica
Geography of the Americas
Geography of the Americas
 About
12,000 years ago, people migrated
across the Bering land bridge
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Probably followed herds of game across the
bridge
Some may have paddled to the land now
known as Alaska
 About
10,000 B.C. global warming took
place...the bridge disappeared and people
migrated throughout the Americas
Regions of Americas
 North America
 Middle
or Mesoamerica
 South America
Adapting to New Environments
 Latin America
consists of Mesoamerica
and South America
 Very diverse land

Sierra Madre and Andes Mountains (very
high)
• These create geographic isolation

Other plains and highlands found throughout
 Amazon
River...4,000 miles long
 Dense rain forests
Climate of Americas
 The
area of the early civilizations was
located in tropical climate
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Very warm
Very wet
Civilization Arises with the Olmecs
 From
around 1500 B.C. to 500 B.C. the
Olmecs established the first American
civilization
 Little is known about the Olmecs
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They did not build true cities but pyramid
shaped temples
People would come from nearby villages for
ceremonies
Common people lived in surrounding villages
The Olmecs
 Most
intriguing sign of the Olmec were the
carved heads...huge stones that weighed
as much as 40 tons
 The Olmecs established a social system
that spread throughout Mesoamerica
 Influenced later civilizations such as the
Maya
The Olmecs
 Were
the earliest American civilization
 Had powerful priests and aristocrats at the
top of society
 Built ceremonial centers
 Spread influence through trade
 Introduced tradition of priestly leadership
and religious devotion
Maya Build Widespread Civilization
 By
300 B.C. the Maya had built large
cities, such as El Mirador in Guatemala
 By 250 B.C. the Maya GOLDEN AGE
(known as the Classic Period) began

City states flourished from the Yucatan
Peninsula in Southern Mexico through Central
America
Mayan Agriculture Thrives
 The
Maya were able to sustain large
populations by creating their own farmland
 The Mayas lived in swampy areas...as a
result they built elevated land and farmed
it
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These elevated fields would catch and hold
water
A system of canals allowed them to regulate
the water
Powerful City – States Emerge
 Mayan
civilization was dominated by a
series of city-states
 Cities were populated by up to 50,000
 Large pyramid temples dominated the city
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Used for sacrifice and ritual
Some were tombs for kings
 Largest
Mayan city was Tikal
 Mayan cities developed roads and trade
networks between one another
Mayan Government and Society
city – state had its own ruler (usually
a male)
 Nobles served many functions to support
the ruler such as:
 Each
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Military leaders
Public works managers
Tax collectors
Law enforcers
Mayan Government and Society

Merchants formed the middle class of Mayan
society
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Wealthiest merchants were nobles
Majority of Mayans were farmers who grew:
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Maize
Beans
Squash
Fruit Trees
Cotton
Mayan Religion
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Polytheistic
All good, bad and forces of nature were
determined by the gods
Human sacrifice was a staple part of the Mayan
religion
Blood was offered up to the gods
Most sacrificed victims were taken in battle
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
Competing royalty were especially pleasing
Sacrifices took place on the pyramid temples
Mayan Religion
 High
priests practiced daily rituals to keep
the gods happy
 High priests and royalty would also take
their own blood in search of messages
 Ritual ball game was played and the
priests would look for signs from the gods
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Losers were sacrificed
Mayan Achievements

Great architecture
 System of writing
 Great astronomers
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Most accurate calendar in the world at that time
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Priests used messages from the stars to interpret the
gods wishes
365 days
Developed a number system and understood
the concept of zero
Mayan Decline
 Historians
are not 100% sure as to why
Mayan civilization declined
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Mayan cities were abandoned
Possibly overpopulated or the land was over
farmed
Possible peasant revolts
Signs from the gods
 Today,
millions of Mayan descendants
continue the practice of Mayan culture
Aztec Empire Forms
 Long
after the Mayan decline, the Aztec
built and advanced civilization to the north
and west (present day Mexico City)
beginning around 1200
 Came from the north (Chechemecs) and
learned from the Toltecs (who had learned
from the Mayans)
Aztecs Settle in Mexico Valley
 Built
great capital city of Tenochtitlan
 One king ruled the Aztec empire (unlike
the Maya)
 Goal was to conquer and take prisoners
 Rulers of conquered areas were left in
place but did not have supreme rule
 Conquered areas had to pay taxes
Aztec Society
 Aztec
Religion
 Polytheistic
 Practiced daily sacrifice to please the gods
 Believed that the god Quetzalcoatl would
one day return from across the seas to
rule the Aztec
Aztec Society
 Tenochtitlan...capital
city of the Aztec
Empire
 Largest city in the world by 1500...between
150,000-200,000 people
 Located on an island
 Built elevated land to farm
 Marked by huge pyramid in the center of
the city
 Busy markets
Aztec Knowledge Expands
 We
know a lot about the Aztecs because
they wrote books about themselves
 The Aztecs educated both boys and girls
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Boys studied skills in war
Girls studied homemaking skills (women had
rights in Aztec civilization)
Achievements of Aztecs
 Built
schools and recorded historical
events
 Advanced medical practices (could set
bones)
 Architecture...Tenochtitlan was a superior
city
 Built floating farm land
Review
The first American civilization was established by
which of the following?
1)
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A
B
C
D
Olmecs
Incas
Aztecs
Indians
The reason we know so much about Aztec culture is
because…
2)
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A
B
C
D
Mr. Herthum is friends with them
They called on the phone
Historians guessed about everything
They wrote books about themselves
Chapter 6, Section 2
Andean Cultures of
South America
Culture Develops in Andes
 First
cultures of South America developed
in the Andean Region
 Andean Region includes a variety of
climates and terrains
 This narrow coastal plain is a dry, lifeless
desert crossed by occasional rivers
 The Andes Mountains are further inland
which are covered with snow
Incas
 The
Incas were the most powerful of the
Andean civilizations
 Came into power around 1100
 They stood out as the premier civilization
for 300 years
Incan Geography
 Farther
south than the Mayan and Aztec
Empires, the Inca established a large
empire in South America
 This empire stretched 2,500 miles in the
valleys of the Andes Mountains
Incan Farming
 Fed
a population of around 9 million
people
 Built complex irrigation systems that
channeled water out of the mountains
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reservoirs
 Used
terrace farming
 Used fertilizer
 Produced corn, potatoes, and beans
Incan Religion
 Polytheistic
 Paid
most worship to the Sun God
 Offered up gifts of sacrifice to the sun god
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Most often food or llamas
Occasionally would sacrifice humans
 Mummified
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their leaders
Believed that they were immortal
Incan Government
 Ruled
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by an absolute ruler (Sapa Inca)
Claimed to be divine...son of the sun
Coya was the queen and served when Sapa
was away
He owned everything
Lived in splendor...everything around him was
gold
Never wore the same clothes
 Governed
from Cuzco...the capital
Incan Government
 Complex
system of officials who carried
out government
 Had strict control over the people

Everyone had to work for the government at
some point
Incan Bureaucracy
Incan Roads
 One
of the great road systems in history
 Wound 12,000 miles uniting all of the
Incan Empire
 Bridges, steps, and tunnels were
constructed
 More impressive than the Roman system
of roads
 Runners (chasqui) were at stations to
carry messages quickly
Incan Roads
 The
advanced system could carry a
message as quickly as 200 miles per day
 Armies could be notified quickly to crush
rebellions
 Roads were for official use only
Incan Roads
Incan Records
•Incans did not have a
system of writing
•They kept records with
a series of knotted
colored strings and
ropes known as quipu
•Believed to have noted
dates, population
records and harvest
records
Incan Achievements
 Complex
road system
 Terrace farming
 Record keeping through the use of quipus
 Surgery
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Used herbs for antiseptics and anesthesia
Review
1) Who was prohibited from using the roads of the
Incan empire?
a)
b)
c)
d)
the army
messengers
ordinary people
the Sapa Inca
2) Who controlled harvests in the Incan empire?
a)
b)
c)
d)
farmers
government officials
priests
soldiers
Chapter 6, Section 3
Peoples of North America
Hohokam Farm in the Desert
 Since
300 B.C. farmers have been using
the land in present day Arizona
 These farms were planted by people
called Hohokam or “Vanished Ones”
 They built a complex irrigation system with
several canals
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These canals carried water to fields as far as several
miles away
Hohokam people left their land during the 1400’s
Puebloans Build in America
 Present
day Arizona, New Mexico,
Colorado, and Utah was known as the
Four Corners
 Ancestral Puebloans built villages here
around 100 A.D.
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Between 1150 A.D. and 1300 A.D. the
Ancestral Puebloans built their famous cliff
residences
Cliff residences  housing complexes on
cliffs
Drought hurts Puebloans
 Late
1200’s  long drought forced the
Ancestral Puebloans to leave their
dwellings
 Attacks by the Navajos and Apaches
(people from the North) may have
contributed to their leaving as well
 Many Ancestral Puebloans traditions
survived among several groups of people
that followed them
Cultures Develop in the East
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Mississippians Build Bigger
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Peoples who lived in the Mississippi area built large
cities and ceremonial centers
Cahokia, greatest Mississippian center, (present day
Illinois), housed about 20,000 people
Natchez Carry on Traditions
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Mississippians left no written records and their cities
disappeared after Europeans arrived
Their traditions survived with the Natchez people
Society was divided into castes (highest caste –
called Suns)
The Inuits
 2000
B.C. Inuits (AKA Eskimos) settled in
northern Canada
 They adapted to cold Arctic climate
 Lived in small bands of people who hunted
and fished together
 Seals and other mammals provided food,
skins for clothing, bones for needles and
tools, and oil for cooking
Potlach
 Ceremony
that was practiced in Canada
and NW coast of America (still done today)
 Person of high rank and wealth distributes
lavish gifts to a large number of guests
 By accepting the gifts, the guests
acknowledge the host’s high status within
society
Iroquois Join Together
 Northeast
was home to several Native
American groups
 Iroquois language was very popular
 Iroquois League: Alliance of five groups
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Mohawk
Oneida
Onondaga
Cayuga
Seneca
Review
Housing complexes on cliffs are known as?
1)
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A
B
C
D
Cliff complexes
Cliff residences
Cliff homes
Cliff Jones
Potlach is known as which of the following?
2)
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A
B
C
D
Ceremony where all people pay tribute to the rich
Ceremony where all people pay taxes
Ceremony where all people give to the poor
Ceremony where the wealthy distribute gifts to guests