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Land Bridge Theory. The theory that suggests that early peoples migrated from Asia on an ice bridge that allowed them to travel over the Bering Sea. The Aztecs. Main Idea: The Aztecs controlled a vast empire in Latin America using advanced methods of technology and savage practices.
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Land Bridge Theory • The theory that suggests that early peoples migrated from Asia on an ice bridge that allowed them to travel over the Bering Sea.
The Aztecs Main Idea: The Aztecs controlled a vast empire in Latin America using advanced methods of technology and savage practices.
Roots of Aztec Culture • The Aztecs emerged from the city of TEOTIHUACAN [teotiwa'kan] in the Valley of Mexico • The city itself was very well planned with pyramids for both the moon and sun. The citizens of the city worshipped powerful nature gods whose images could been seen throughout the empire.
Arrival of the Aztecs • The ancestors of the Aztecs migrated into the Valley of Mexico from the North. • According to legend, the gods had told them to search for an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in it’s beak. Once they saw this sign on a swampy island in Lake Texcoco, the Aztec settled. • Soon after settling, they shifted from hunting to farming. They used chinampas, man made islands of earth to grow crops.
Conquering an Empire • In the 1400’s, the Aztec expanded their territory through a combination of fierce conquests and alliances. • Their rule spread from the Gulf of Mexico, to the Pacific Ocean, covering almost all of present day Mexico. • The Aztecs became extremely wealthy by collecting Tributes from those they conquered. This helped them turn their city into a magnificent work of art.
Aztec Government • The Aztecs were different from the Maya in that they had one single ruler, not city states. • The Emperor was chosen by a board of nobles and priests. • While there was an upper class, a majority of Aztecs were commoners who farmed the land
Human Sacrifice • The believed in Huitzilopochtli, the principal god in Aztec culture. • The Aztecs erected an enormous pyramid-tower above central Tenochtitlan where the committed acts of human sacrifice to appease their god, Huitzilopochtli. • Most of the victims were prisoners of war, but some noble families offered up members to have the gods look well upon them.
1.) One widely accepted theory suggests that the ancestors of Native American Indians migrated to the Americas from Asia by crossing the (1) Appalachian mountain range (2) Bering Strait land bridge (3) Atlantic Ocean (4) Great Plains 2.) One way in which the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas were similar is that they (1) traveled to the Western Hemisphere from Africa (2) had developed advanced civilizations before the arrival of Columbus (3) settled in the desert of the southwestern United States (4) left no evidence to help us understand their cultures
According to this diagram, which feature was a characteristic of both the Maya and Aztec civilizations? (1) creation of floating gardens (2) use of the number zero (3) improvement of fishing methods (4) creation of a writing system