Transcript Pre-Colombian civilizationsx

Let’s take a look at the Pre-Colombian civilizations: Aztec, Maya
and Inca
The Aztecs were the latest of a series of Native Americans to rule Central Mexico. They
were preceded by Nahuatl, Toltecs, Mixtecs and other groups that were conquered
by the Aztec Nation.
A Nahuatl woman depicted in one of the surviving Codex.
A Toltec warrior
At the time of the arrival by Hernán Cortés and his crew, the Aztecs controlled
several million people from their capital of Tenochtitlan. It is possible to describe
the culture of the Aztecs as bloody as well as highly efficient. The dedication of the
Temple to Huitzilopochotl, the Sun God, cost the lives of an estimated 80,000 persons
according to contemporary accounts. You can see why the Spaniards called him
“Huichilobos”
Don’t be shocked, they even recorded the event:
The Aztecs were also builders and effective farmers, even without metal other than
gold, silver and copper.
They ruled from their capital of Tenochtitlan, what is today Mexico City.
The Spanish view of the Aztec capital
of Tenochtitlan, by far the largest city
in all of America.
Aztec farming fed this population—along with the protein from the sacrificial
victims offered to the gods (not all the time but frequently enough to alienate
most of their so-called allies and tributary peoples0
This was the traditional system of farming which introduced corn to
Western Europe
An idealized view of a typical milpa:
The other system was the use of “floating gardens” located in Xochimilco which
supplied much of the foods for the capital city
Gold
Since the Spaniards were interested in gold and not so much in artifacts, much
Was melted down for shipment back to Spain. See “Nuestra Sra de Atocha
The Mayans
Briefly, the Mayans ruled from centuries before Christ until perhaps 1100 the area
known today as the Yucatan Peninsula and modern day Guatemala, extending some
control into areas of El Salvador and Honduras. They are known for the great
pyramids, religious centers such as Tical, Copan and other places, where the famous
ball courts can be seen today. The Mayans were the world’s best astronomers and
without glass, metal or any tools that we know of, they devised the best calendar
of all time, accurate to within .00025 of a day. Only the advent of the atomic clock
improved on the Mayan calendar!
The Mayan ball court:
Hoops. Anyone? Remember, the losers get sacrificed!
While brilliant, the Mayans were also rather violent and as bloody as their
neighbors to the North
Lady Xoc, aunt-wife of king Shield Jaguar II,
drawing a barbed rope through her tongue. AD 709
Presentation of captives to a Mayan ruler, c. AD 785
The Mayan Calendar
The demise of the Mayan Civilization is generally
Attributed to the climatic conditions that resulted
In repeated crop failures that undermined the
Power of the rulers and caused violence between
Rival cities.
The Inca
an American Indian people of Peru who in the two centuries before
the Spanish discovery of America conquered an area stretching from
the southern border of present-day Colombia to central Chile.
Centering on the city of Cusco (Cuzco) in the Peruvian Andes, the Inca
domain included the coastal and mountain regions of Ecuador, Peru,
Bolivia, and the northern areas of Chile and Argentina--the only true
empire existing in the New World at the time of Columbus, and the
greatest political achievement of the American Indians. In the native
language the term ``Inca'' was the title of the Indian emperor.
Why was Pizarro so interested in the Incas? Look at this:
And this:
Get the idea?
Someday, while you are young and healthy, try and make it to this
place: Machu Pichu. Nobody knows why it was built; nobody knows
what it was used for.
Thanks, I’ll be here all week