Early Latin America Civilizations

World Cultures XCh. 20 Sec. 3

World Cultures XCh. 20 Sec. 3

@ 300 CE – 900 CE

Inside a Mayan City• Mayan Civilizations ruled in

Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico & Guatemala)

• How could cities thrive in the difficult tropical forest?

• Farmers cleared the dense forest then built raised fields for crops. If too much rain fell, farmers would open channels to drain the field

Mayan Society

King

Nobles/Priests

Artisans/Merchants

Peasants/Laborers

Slaves(Prisoners of Wars/Criminals)

Trade, language, and a common culture linked the Mayas, although they had no single unified empire.

Instead, each Mayan state had its own city-state with its own king

The King controlled the military and high-ranking military officials.

Nobles/Priests helped govern the city.

Artisans and Merchants supplied the ruling class with fine cloth, gold, etc and profited from trade with other city states.Peasants and Laborers grew food

and hauled stone to build temples and palaces.

Slaves were the lowest class and were made up of prisoners of war and criminals.

Mayan Religion

• The Mayans believed that gods controlled the powerful forces of nature.

• Each day priests performed the rituals to please the gods.

• Without these rituals, the gods might send storms, drought, or other disasters.

• Temples were built in cities to honor different gods.

• Scenes on the wall in temples recorded historical events or told ancient legends.

Maya Achievements• The Mayan civilizations

shocked the Spanish and the rest of the world for its achievements. The Mayans are known for ->

• Their architecture.• Great monuments and

temples.• Developing a system of

writing known as hieroglyphics (glyphs)

• Developing a calendar• Developed complex math• Learned to use zero• Ruled for 600 years!

(Between 300-900 CE)

0

Pizarro’s Route to the Incan Empire

The Inca Empire 1197-1572

• By the late 1400’s, the Inca Empire stretched 2,500 miles across what is today Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile.

• The Inca’s were able to acquire new skills and survival techniques by learning from the people in the area and then branching out.

Incas Farming, Religion, Government (Achievements)

• Farming• Learned from earlier civilizations

about irrigations systems. (Allowing them to channel water from mountain streams into low areas.

• Came up with the concept of fertilizer.

• Religion• Polytheistic: nature based• Chief god was the Sun god• Inca means “children of the sun”• Considered gold “the sweat of the

gods.”

• Government• Inca emperor owned all lands,

mines and wealth of the empire.• Officials told people where to live

and what to do.• The government is responsible for

collecting taxes.

QUIPU

The Incan’s fall t/t Conquistadors (1572-73)

• Francisco PIZARRO • Atahualpa

• just won a civil war

• “thirst for gold”• Spanish weaponry and European

diseases• small pox• 80,000 Incan warriors defeated by 168

Conquistadors

• Pizarro vs Atahualpa

The AZTECS

• In 1325, the Aztec god Uitzilopochtli told the people where to settle when

• “you find an eagle perched atop a cactus holding a snake in its beak.”

• Soon afterwards, the Aztecs founded the city of Tenochtitlan.

• Generations later, Mexico City now stands on the spot of the former Aztec city.

• The snake, eagle and cactus have become national symbols in Mexico.

The Aztec Empire

• Government• Unlike Mayans, Aztecs had only one

ruler. (Not city-states). • Chosen by a small group of priests,

nobles and warriors.• Attacked other civilizations by 1450.

• When the Aztecs defeated a nation, they left its ruler in place.

• type of rule?• The defeated nation had to pay the

Aztecs in the form of maize, tobacco, gold, precious stones and jaguar skins.

The Aztec Empire• Religion

• Polytheistic; nature based• Priests recorded knowledge of science,

math and medicine.• Believed in human sacrifice

• Aztecs would keep prisoner of war.• They kept them as slaves or as sacrifices.

• Aztecs believed that the sacrifices would please the gods and increase their success in wars.

• This made the Aztecs the most feared and hated group throughout Mexico.

The Aztec Empire• Education:

• 1st society to educate both boys and girls.

• Boys studied the art of war. (Strategy, Combat, etc.)

• Girls studied homemaking skills and learned herbal medicine.

• Women• Gave women certain rights

in society. A woman could:

• Own property• Remarry if the husband dies• Become a priestesses,

weavers, musicians and midwives.

Tenochtitlan

• At the heart of the Aztec empire was the bustling city of Tenochtitlan.

• With a population of 150,000 people, it was considered the largest city of its time period.

• It was a trading center for the empire.

• Considered to be one of the strongest, fortified cities in the world.

The Aztecs fall t/t Conquistadors (1518-1525)

• Hernan CORTEZ• 660 men• 16 horses• gunpowder• Cannons• Mayan allies

• Moctezuma • Tenochtitlan• Humans sacrifices

• mainly POW’s

• Cortez vs Moctezuma

Questions for Consideration:

• Who was the first European to see the Pacific Ocean? • What early civilizations developed in the Americas?• What are the major achievements of these civilizations?• What are the key differences between each group?