Who Lived Here First?

1. Who Lived Here First? Pre-Columbian Life in the Americas

2. Peoples and Cultures “First Americans:” Bering Strait land bridge Approx. 40,000 years ago Caribbean and southern plains of S. America populated last Alternative hypotheses exist Native Americans were extremely biologically homogenous (blood type O+)

3. Peoples and Cultures • 1492: approx. 50-75 million indigenous Americans • Most densely populated: Mesoamerica • Central America to northern Costa Rica • 350 tribal groups existed, divided into 150 major linguistic groups

4. “When Columbus arrived in the Caribbean in 1492, he believed that he had reached the “Indies,” something of a generic term for Asia in his day. He called the natives “indios”and this word stuck, entering into the vocabulary of many languages. The term “Native Americans” has gained wide acceptance in the last few decades, but it is also problematic. The term “America” is also Eurocentric. It is a name given to the New World by a German cartographer in the early 16th c. to honor Amerigo Vespucci, one of the best known early explorers. […] Most native groups before the Conquest simply called themselves “the people” and they saw the rest of the peoples around them as the “Other.” There is no politically correct term to employ here.” --Eakin

5. The Inca

6. Cuzco: Ancient Capital of the Inca Empire (11,000 ft above sea level)

7. Macchu Picchu • “Old Mountain” • Located on mountain ridge above Urubamba Valley/Urubamba River • NW of Cuzco • Believed to have been built as an estate for Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438-1472) • “The Lost City of the Incas”

8. Incan Suspension Bridges

9. Incan Terrace Farming What are the benefits of terrace farming?

10. Quipu: An Incan Database • Record keeping device from Andean region • Consisted of colored thread from alpaca or llama hair • Each thread held knots denoting values, numeric or otherwise • Varying number of threads

11. In what ways did the Inca use innovation to help their civilization thrive in the Andean environment? What aspects of Inca society might put them at a disadvantage upon the arrival of Spanish conquistadors?

12. The Mayans

13. Land of the Mayans

14. Major Settlements • Tikal (Guatemala) • Temple of the Masks • Chichen Itza (Mexico) • Pyramids • Ball courts • Observatory

16. Elements of Civilization Cultivated maize Constructed underground storage for grains (chultunes) Created a system of written communication, including math Worshipped multiple gods, including Chac, God of Rain

17. The Aztecs

18. Quetzalcoatl God of Wisdom and Learning Feathered serpent who guarded the boundary between earth and sky Believed to have contributed to the creation of mankind

19. Tenochtitlan Analtepetl(city-state) located on an island in Lake Texcoco, in the Valley of Mexico. Founded in 1325 Became the seat of the Aztec empire; captured by the Spanish in 1521. Became a cabecera of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and today the ruins of Tenochtitlan are located in central Mexico City. Name comes from Nahuatltetl = "rock" and nochtli = "prickly pear" and means "Among the prickly pears [growing among] rocks".

20. Tenochtitlan: “Venice” of the Americas Chinampas: “floating gardens” 15-30 ft wide

21. Written Communication Aztec Writing Aztec Math

22. Sun Motifs

23. Aztecs Sacrificed Neighboring Tribes