Early Civilizations of the Americas

1. Early Civilizations of the Americas Teotihuacan, Mayan, & Aztec

2. Timeline of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Peoples In the notes space: Make a hypothesis about 2 ways the societies on the timeline came to their “ends”

3. Where were the great Meso- and South American Civilizations? Mexico Circa 1500 CE Mexico Belize Guatemala Chile Peru • Hypothesize 2 ways in which the Inca and Aztecs and Maya may have interacted. • What are 2 elements of physical geography that allowed the Incan Empire to remain relatively isolated from the rest of the continent?

4. Teotihuacan Settlements begin circa 500 BCE Pyramid building c 100 BCE Pyramids honor sun, moon, butterfly, feathered serpent Approx. population: 125,000 people, biggest city in world at time! Mysterious “death” approx 650 CE; site later used by Tolmec and Aztec peoples • Hypothesize why pyramid building was a common style of architecture in early civilizations. • Hypothesize why early religions through out the world focused on nature deities.

5. Maya—200 CE- 900 CEBelize, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras Tikal • How do we know what we know? • City ruins—temples, homes, streets • Writing: Popol-Vuh holy book, glyphs • Artifacts: art, sculptures, murals, pottery • What was it like? • Collection of city-states--centers of political, religious, social, economic life • Each city-state ruled by “god-king” What other ancient civilizations viewed their leaders as gods? Do you think any countries today view their leaders as gods? Explain.

6. Maya: Culture • Polytheistic (100s of gods) astronomers • Calendar: 365 day solar + 260 day religious cycle (like astrology) • A cycle lasts 5,125 years (2012 doomsday?) What 2 things does the Mayan calendar tell us about their culture?

7. Maya • Writing • 100s of glyphs represent sounds or words --Numbers --base 20 What are 2 important functions of a written number system? (For what might the Maya have used their written number system?)

8. Aztecs: Greatest Empire of Mesoamerica • Circa 1200 CE Aztecs (poor nomads from northern Mexico deserts known as the Mexica people) arrive in central Mexico Valley • Find remains (old buildings, some settlements of people) of Teotihuacan and Toltec societies and build civilization there • Cultural diffusion—Aztecs influenced by culture of Toltecs What is an example of cultural diffusion that occurred when the Europeans started settling in North America?

9. Aztec Government & City structure • Military powerhouse—took over smaller societies throughout Mexico • Demand “tribute” (gold, maize, cacao, cotton, jade) or respond with brutality • Rule by all-powerful Emperor • Cities will planned, engineered—center around Temples, rivers for transport, floating gardens for farming • Tenochtitlan—capital city built on an island (most ruins lie under modern day Mexico City) Why might the Aztecs have build their capital city on an island?

10. Aztec Social Hierarchy • Emperor • Nobility: Military generals, priests, government officials • Commoners: merchants, artisans, soldiers, farmers who own land • Slaves Why are military generals higher in social status than soldiers? How do you think they chose who to enslave?

11. Aztec Culture • Polytheistic—thousands of gods • Ritual human blood sacrifice to Sun God—Huitzilopochtli • Need for sacrificial victims fueled war machine • Calendar similar to Mayans’ Why do you think the Aztec sacrificed people to the Sun God? (what do you think they thought they would get in return?) What inference can historians make about the Aztec and Mayan just by the fact that their calendars were very similar?