Latin American Civilizations

Primitive

Civilized

Latin American Civilizations

Characteristics of Advanced Civilizations

• High populations within societies• Advanced food storage and domestication of a variety of food• Complex institutions, such as organized religion and government• Written language• Specialization of jobs

Incan Empire

Characteristics of the Incan Empire

• “the land of four quarters”

• No written language, but pictographs, and quipus

• Engineering accomplishments included suspension bridges and roads that connected the empire.

• Trade included textiles, gold, silver and bronze, Peruvian livestock and agriculture; used coin money

• Terraced farms dotted the mountainous landscape and corn was grown at altitudes over 13,000 ft.; steps provided access to farms; guano used as fertilizer

• Religious ceremonies were highly complex and included human and animal sacrifices

• The supreme god of the Incas was the creator god, Viracocha

• The royal family was believed to be descended from the sun god, Inti

• Incas also practiced ancestry-worship and mummification

Mayan Empire

Characteristics of the Mayan Empire

• Highly organized religious and government systems • Religious rituals demanded involvement by all social classes • Mayan society was divided by class and status, living in kin-based groups with a

hereditary chief• Rulers were recognized as god-kings

• Hieroglyphs were their form of writing

• Mayans used two calendars, one was based on a 365-day year; the other was used for religious purposes

• Applied complex mathematical systems including the concept of zero

• Highly developed astronomical concepts

Architecture completed without the use of wheel technology

Aztec and Mayan Empires

Characteristics of the Aztec Empire• Ruled from about 1428

until 1521 CE• Tenochtitlán• Chinampas • City-states helped support

large populations, which were highly organized

• Writing included pictographs but was not as developed as the Mayan

• Mathematical concepts included a counting system based on 20

• Accurate calendar

• Had the wheel, but only used for children’s toys.

• Herbal remedies for specific ailments

• Tradition of poetry, music, and drama.

• Belief systems supported necessary human sacrifices to appease the gods; these also included child-sacrifices

• Class system was highly stratified; rulers were considered semi-divine• Highly advanced trade system, extending into Guatemala, included lake salt, cacao

and textiles (no coin money)• Today, %30 indigenous people in Mexico claim ancestry to the Aztec, 9% are purely

Spanish, %60 are mixed.

Aztec

• Corn• Chocolate• Vanilla• Rubber• Tomatoes• Suspension Bridges• Pyramids• Sewage System

Spanish

• Horses, Cattle, Pigs, Chickens• Wheeled Vehicles• Cannons• Steel Swords• Attack Dogs• Body Armor• Infectious Diseases• Immunity to Infectious Diseases