Transcript The Early Americas PPx

The Early Americas
Chapter 16
Section One:
The Maya
1. Describe the geography of where
the Early Mayans called home
• In what is now Mexico and
Guatemala
• Cleared tropical forests for
farming
• Grew maize, beans, squash
and avocado
• Deer, rabbits and monkeys
for food
• Lots of trees for building
materials
2. Define maize
• corn
3. Describe the Classic Age in Maya
history
• It was between 250 and 900 A.D.
• Cities were city-states with their own government
and king, no single rulers
• They traded often with each other
• They would trade cacao beans, obsidian, jade and
bird feathers
• Built stone temples and palaces, canals and large
plazas for public gatherings
• Stone court for a ball game they played
4. What was the Mayan Social
Structure like?
• King had the highest position (claimed to be
related to the gods)
• Priests, merchants and noble warriors were in the
upper class
• Lower class were the farmers (most of the
Mayans were this) they paid their ruler in crops
and goods
• They had slaves that carried goods along the
trade routes or worked as servants or farmers for
the upper-class
5. Describe Mayan religion
• Many gods (polytheistic)
• Each god controlled an aspect of daily life
(sun, moon, crops)
• Gods could help or harm you so to keep them
happy they offered blood from cuts on the
skin or tongue or even human sacrifices
(usually prisoners and they offered their
hearts to stone carvings of the gods)
6. What were Mayan achievements?
• Observatories so the priests could watch the
stars and plan religious festivals
• Calendars, even a 365 day one that is very
accurate
• Measured time accurately and had a symbol
for “0” (zero)
• Writing system
• Amazing art and architecture
7. Define observatories
• Buildings from which people
could study the sky
8. What factors may have caused
the end of the Maya civilization?
• Began in the 900’s AD
• Rebellion by common
people, against king
• Increased warfare between
city-states
• Lack of food (farming the
same land equals poor soil)
• Climate change (drought)
Section Two:
The Aztecs
9. How did the Aztecs rise to
power?
• WAR!! They fought fiercely
• demanded tribute
payments from the people
they conquered (cotton,
gold and food)
• They controlled a huge
trade network
10. Define causeways
• Raised roads across water
or wet ground
• This made the Aztecs very
successful in building large
cities
11. Describe Aztec Society
• The Aztec emperor was the most important
person
• Nobles were next (you inherited the position
from your father)
• Warriors and priests
• Merchants and artisans
• Farmers and laborers were the most people and
had the least power
• Slaves were the lowest social ranking
12. Describe Aztec religion and warfare
• Many gods that controlled nature and human
activities
• Regular human sacrifices to please the gods
(they used slaves or captured enemies)
• Priests would slash open their victims chests
to feed human hearts and blood to the gods
(as many as 10,000 people a year)
• They constantly waged war on people
13. What were Aztec cultural
achievements?
• Stone pyramids and statues
• Jewelry and masks from gold, gems and
feathers
• Enjoyed written stories, speeches and riddles
14. Define conquistadors
• Spanish conquerors
15. Who was Hernan Cortes and what
did he do?
• He was a Spanish conquistador
• In 1519 he led conquistadors in to Mexico to
find gold, claim land and convert natives to
Catholicism
16. Who was Moctezuma II and what
happened to him?
• He was an Aztec Emperor
• He thought Cortes was a god and gave him
gold and other gifts
• Cortes wanted more so he took Moctezuma
prisoner and he died fighting the Spanish
17. How did the Spanish defeat the
Aztecs?
• They had better weapons (cannons, armor
and swords)
• Horses (the Aztecs had never seen horses
before and were scared of them)
• Smallpox that killed most of the Aztecs
• The Aztecs surrendered by 1521
Section Three
The Incas
18. Who was Pachacuti and what did
he do for the Incas?
• A ruler of the Incas in the mid-1400’s who
began to expand their territory from a small
tribe to a much larger one
19. What was “Quechua”?
• An official Inca language
• All official business was done in this language
• It unified the empire
20. How did the Incas become
unified?
21. How was the Inca economy
organized?
• Language
• Strictly controlled economy
• The government told each
household what to do
• Everyone worked for the
government
• Villagers made cloth and
other goods for the army
• No merchants or markets,
government officials would
distribute goods and extras
were stored for
emergencies
22. Describe the social divisions in the
Incan empire
• Two main social classes:
• 1. emperor, priests and government officials in
the upper class (life of luxury, resort called
Machu Picchu)
• 2. Farmers, artisans and servants in the lower
class (most people were farmers)
• NO slavery
23. Describe the Incan religion
• The emperor came from the sun god and
never died
• Mummies of former kings were brought to
ceremonies
• Sacrificed llamas, cloth or food (rarely
humans)
• Believed certain moutaintops, rocks and
springs had magical powers (sacrifices were
held there)
24. What were the Incan
achievements?
•
•
•
•
•
Expert masonry
Highways
Pottery, gold and silver jewelry
Finest textiles
NO written language
25. Define masonry
• stonework
26. Who was Atahualpa and what
happened to him?
• The Inca’s rulers son who went to war with his
brother for the throne and won in 1532
• The civil war weakened them and the Spanish
conquistadors invaded right afterwards
27. Who was Francisco Pizarro and
what did he do?
• A Spanish conquistador
• Even though they were out numbered they
caught the Incas by surprise and killed
thousands and captured the emperor
Atahualpa
28. What happened to the Inca
empire?
• Pizarro’s people killed the emperor and took
the offering of gold and silver given to him
• Pizarro took over the Incan empire
• Spanish rule lasted in this area for 300 years
(until the 1800’s)
•
VS.