Ch 7 – Civilizations of the Americas

1. Ch 7 – Civilizations of the Americas

3. Major Pre-Columbian Civilizations

4. The Olmecs1400-500 BC

5. Geography • lived in the tropical forests along the Mexican Gulf Coast

6. Religion • probably polytheistic • rich tombs & temples suggest powerful class of priests • Olmec people attended religious ceremonies Rain Deity

7. Achievements • built ceremonial centers of pyramid-shaped temples • most known for giant carved stone heads moved without wheeled carts or animals • invented a calendar • carved inscriptions seen as a form of writing

8. ruins of an Olmec temple

9. Giant Stone Head one of the four Olmec colossal heads at La Venta This one is nearly 9 feet tall.

10. The Olmec Calendar

11. Sixty-two signs incised on a block of serpentine date to the first millennium B.C. and are thought to be the earliest writing in the New World. The Cascajal block, an artifact of the Olmec civilization, was found by road builders in a pile of debris.

12. Politics • Most Important Legacy– civilization led by priests who performed the religious ceremonies Olmec priest

13. Economics & Society • farming & trade • Social Hierarchy: • priests at the top • followed by aristocrats • everyone else on the bottom

14. The AztecsAD 100 – 1519

15. Geography • located in the Valley of Mexico • a high plateau in central Mexico • ringed by snowcapped volcanoes Aztec capital

16. Religion • polytheistic • priests performed rituals to please the gods • Huitzilopochitli – chief god, the Sun God • battled forced of darkness each night and was reborn each morning • humans were sacrificed to appease the gods • usually POWs

17. Sacrificing Neighboring Tribes to the Sun God

18. Wall of Skulls, Tenochtitlán

19. Achievements • Teotihuacán - early people’s capital • well planned, wide roads, huge temples, & apartment buildings • culture influenced the Aztecs Pyramid of the Sun

20. Achievements • Tenochtitlán - Aztec capital of a complex well ordered empire • built on a swampy island in the middle of Lake Texcoco (site of present-day Mexico City)

21. Achievements • built chinampas to create more farmland • raised corn, squash, beans • canals created for transportation • causeways linked the city to the mainland chinampas – 15’ to 30’ wide

23. Achievements • priests recorded laws & historical events • ran schools for nobles’ sons • used knowledge of astronomy & math to foretell future • accurate calendar • medicine • original taco • chocolate Aztec Calendar

24. Politics • emperor - a single ruler chosen by a council of nobles & priests to lead in war • nobles served as judges, officials, & governors of conquered lands

25. Economics • farming • war • tribute payments from conquered peoples brought immense wealth

26. Society AD 1500 – empire numbered 30 million people • emperor at top of society • nobles enjoyed special privileges • warriors could earn noble status by killing or capturing enemy soldiers • farmers made up majority of society • slaves – POWs or criminals (had legal rights) • class of traders were protected by Aztecs • worked as spies • priests were in a class all their own

27. The MayaAD 300 - 900

28. Geography • flourished in Yucatán Peninsula through much of Central America • Tikal – capital (present-day Guatemala)

29. Tikal – Main Court

30. Religion • polytheistic • priests performed sacrifices high on temples while people watched below • priests held great power • only they could conduct ceremonies to ensure good harvests & success in war

31. Mayan priest, Apocalypto

32. temple scene, Apocalypto

33. Achievements • cleared rain forests for farmland • built raised fields that caught & held water • built channels to drain excess water • books made of tree bark • accurate time measurement • invented a numbering system & understood concept of zero

34. Mayan Glyphs sky king house child city Mayan Mathematics

35. Achievements • pyramid shaped temples covered with elaborate carvings that recorded events in Mayan history • developed a hieroglyphic writing system • accurate 365-day solar calendar & 260-day calendar based on the orbit of Venus

36. Mayan Glyphs

37. Chichen-Itza Temple

38. Chichen-Itza Observatory

39. Chichen-Itza Ball Court

40. Mayan Calendar

41. Politics & Society • chiefs ruled each city • nobles served as military leaders • officials managed public works, collected taxes, & enforced laws • farmers were majority of population • priests held great power • women occasionally governed on their own or in the name of a young son

42. Economics • wealth came from trade • farming also supported fast growing cities • corn, maize, beans, squash, fruits, cotton, flowers • farmers paid taxes in food underground granary

43. Mayan warrior, Apocalypto

44. Mayan warrior, Apocalypto

45. Mayan, Apocalypto

46. The IncaAD 1438 - 1533

47. Geography • located in the Andes Mountain range of South America • present day Ecuador, Peru, & Chile • capital at Cuzco

48. Religion • polytheistic • powerful priest class served the gods • chief god – Inti, the Sun God • religion tied to daily routines • festivals celebrated with ceremonies, sports, & games • “Chosen Women” were trained to attend the Inti • studied religion, prepared food & drink, made clothes of Sapa Inca & Coya

49. Inti, the Sun God

50. Achievements • language called Quechua • “All Roads Lead through Cuzco” – one of greatest road systems in history • 12,000 miles through mountains & deserts • suspension bridges built over chasms (better than Rome’s) • temples w/ stones cut so precise they survived earthquakes (no mortar used) • best metal workers in the Americas • practiced surgery on skull • terrace farming