Transcript Early American Civilizations ppt

Early
American
Civilizations
The Earliest Americans
• Between 30,000 – 10,000
BC, nomadic groups crossed
a land bridge (created by
falling sea levels during an
ice age) from Asia to North
America
• After 10,000 BC, the ice age
ended, the land bridge
disappeared, and they
became isolated
• These peoples eventually
spread throughout the
American continents
The Olmec Civilization
• About 1400 – 500 BC
• First large American
civilization, lived along
the Mexican gulf coast
• No real cities, but rather
villages built around
complex central
ceremonial centers
• Ruled by a priest class,
built massive
monumental pyramids for
religious use
The Mayan Civilization
• 300 – 900 AD
• Centered on the
Yucatan peninsula and
Central America
• Lived in large cities built
around towering
pyramid-temples
• Built roads to support
their extensive trade
with other peoples
Mayan Society
• Mayan city-states ruled by
independent kings, but priests
were still very powerful
• Complex class structure
• Upper class included king,
priests, warriors, and
merchants
• Farmers had to give crops to
ruler and serve in the army
• Slaves held the lowest position
in society
• Slaves included orphans,
slaves’ children, and people
who owed money
Mayan Advances
• Advances
– Hieroglyphic writing
system
– Made books from bark
– Highly accurate, 365 day
calendar
– Performed advanced
mathematical
calculations
– Built an elaborate trade
network with
neighboring civilizations
Mayan Collapse
• The cause for Mayan
collapse is unknown, but
around 900 AD, the people
abandoned their cities
• Excessive wars may have
been a factor
• An extreme drought,
brought on by deforestation
may have also contributed
• A mix of these events is
probably responsible for the
decline
The Aztec Civilization
• 1200 – 1521 AD
• Settled in the Valley of Mexico,
which had been home to an
earlier civilization centered on
the city of Teotihuacán which
had prospered from about 100
– 750 AD.
• Aztecs built a new city called
Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City)
on man-made islands in the
middle of a shallow lake
• Eventually ruled most of
Mexico, numbered over 30
million in population
Aztec Society
• Ruled by a single
emperor who was
selected by a council of
priests and nobles
• Slaves, who were
usually prisoners of war
or criminals, had rights
under the law and could
own land and buy their
freedom
Aztec Advances
• Had formal schools for
the sons of nobles
• Further developed the
Mayan calendar system
• Advanced mathematics
• Advanced medicine:
could set bones, fill
cavities, & treat fevers
• Advanced building
techniques, including
canals, bridges, &
pyramids
Aztec Religion
• Practiced human
sacrifice to appease
their many gods
• As time passed, more
and more sacrifices
were required
• By the time the Spanish
arrived, the Aztec may
have been sacrificing as
many as 10,000 people
each year
Aztec Collapse
• Believing that the Spanish
under Hernán Cortés
were gods, and fearing
that the Spanish had
allied themselves with the
Aztec’s enemies, the
Aztec allowed them to
enter the capital
• Cortés betrayed the
hospitality of Aztec
emperor Moctezuma and
conquered the city in
1521
Pre-Incan South America
• The Chavin: developed
the ability to work gold;
domesticated the llama
• The Mochica: developed
advanced ceramic pottery
and irrigation systems
• The Nazca: laid out
strange patterns of white
stone on the Nazca
Desert floor which can
only be seen from the air
The Incan Civilization
• 1438 – 1533
• Founded by the first
Sapa Inca (or emperor),
the king of the city-state
of Cuzco, Pachacuti.
• The Inca quickly came
to rule nearly the entire
Pacific coast of South
America
Incan Government
• Ruled by the Sapa Inca,
whom the Inca believed was
divine (a god)
– Political and religious leader
of the Inca
– He owned everything and
everyone in the empire
– His government used local
governors and bureaucracy to
maintain control
– Excellent road system and a
trained, professional army
allowed quick response to any
threat or rebellion
Incan Advances
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Built and maintained an extensive
network of roads (12,000 miles),
bridges, and tunnels
Developed system of record keeping
called quipu; quipu were knotted
strings of different lengths and colors
Had communication stations along
roads to send runners from station to
station with messages very rapidly
Large cities of Machu Pichu and
Cuzco (the capital)
Used terraces to allow farming on
mountainsides
Accomplished surgeons, using
antiseptics and anesthesia
The Quipu System
Incan City of Machu Pichu
Incan Collapse
• Spanish conquistadors led
by Francisco Pizarro took
advantage of a recent civil
war and a smallpox
epidemic in the Incan
Empire to attack
• Captured and killed the
last Sapa Inca, Atahualpa,
even after the Incan
people agreed to pay a
massive ransom for his
release