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The New World. The “New World”. The Americas are known as the “New World” because Europeans did not know they existed until about 1500 A.D. Mesoamerica. Meso means middle. Mesoamerica includes Mexico and Central America. The Maya. The Maya.
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The “New World” • The Americas are known as the “New World” because Europeans did not know they existed until about 1500 A.D.
Mesoamerica • Meso means middle. • Mesoamerica includes Mexico and Central America.
The Maya • Mayan civilization flourished on and around the Yucatan Peninsula (in what is now Mexico)during the first millenium A.D.
The Maya had multiple small local governments rather than one large central government. • Many Mayan cities were located in the rainforest.
Agriculture • The rainforests in which the Maya lived did not have very fertile soil. • The lack of nutrients in the soil made farming difficult. • Slash and Burn Agriculture was used to help add nutrients to the soil.
Slash and Burn Agriculture • Trees and other natural vegetation is cut down (slashed). • The vegetation is burned to add nutrients to the soil. • The heavy rains in the region wash away the nutrients within a few years, and the farmer move on to a new piece of land. • This practice was more sustainable in ancient times, when the population was much lower. • Slash and Burn is still practiced in tropical climates today. The modern population is much higher (many more people) and the practice is harmful to the environment.
Crops • Maize (corn) was the most important crop • Squash such as pumpkins • Beans • Tomatoes • Sweet potatoes • cocoa
Written Language • Pictographs (like Hieroglyphic) • Carved into stone on buildings and written on bark in books called codices.
Pyramids • Like the Egyptians, the Mayans built pyramids that were used as tombs.
Decline • Around 900 A.D. the Mayan civilization declined. • Cities were abandoned. • Nobody knows what happened to the Maya. • Mayan descendants still live in Mexico and Central America today.
The Aztecs • The Aztecs settled in what is now Mexico around 1200 A.D.
Tenochtitlan • Tenochtitlan was the Aztec capital city. • The Aztecs built a large empire, controlling many neighboring peoples.
Tenochtitlan • Built in the middle of a lake. • They created more land by adding mud and vegetation into the lake. • Swampy • Causeways led in to city
Chinampas • “Floating Gardens” • Shallow areas of the lake are sectioned off and filled with mud and decaying plant matter. • Separated by canals • Fertile with plenty of water • Very productive, yielded as many as seven crops a year
Spanish Conquest • The Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortez arrived in Tenochtitlan in 1519. • They were impressed by the grandeur and wealth of the Aztecs. • Cortez and his men wanted gold. • People who had been conquered by the Aztecs joined forces with the Spanish to overthrow them. • Within a few years the Spanish controlled what is now Mexico. • Tenochtitlan became Mexico city.
The Inca • The Inca were located in South America, in what is now Peru.
Cuzco • The Inca capital city was Cuzco.
Andes • The Inca built their cities high in the Andes Mountains. • They were well culturally adapted to their mountainous geography.
Andes • The Inca built bridges over valleys and gorges. • They could trap their enemies by cutting away the bridges.
Agriculture • The Inca adapted their farming practices to the steep mountain slopes by creating terraces.
Agriculture • The Inca’s staple crops were corn, potatoes, and quinoa. • They also grew tomatoes, avocados, squash, peppers, and peanuts.
Llamas • Large animals related to camels. • The only large animal to be domesticated in the New World. • Used for food, as pack animals, and for wool.
Old World Interaction • European diseases reached the Inca before European people. • Many of the Inca died from Smallpox. • New World people did not have the natural resistance to disease such as Smallpox.
