CHAPTER 16 PEOPLES AND EMPIRES IN THE AMERICAS

1. CHAPTER 16PEOPLES AND EMPIRES IN THE AMERICAS

2. PACIFIC NORTHWEST • Area covered Oregon to Alaska • Rich in resources • Kwakiutl, Nootka, and Haida societies relied heavily on the sea • Differences in wealth led to the creation of social classes • Potlatch = Ceremony where families showed their rank and wealth by giving away food, drinks, and gifts

3. HOHOKAM • Southwest • Used irrigation to successfully grow corn, beans, and squash • Influenced by Anasazi • Used pottery which showed contact with Mesoamerican societies in the south

4. ANASAZI • Lived in Four Corners region (Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico) • Built pueblos - huge cliff-dwellings and apartment-style villages; built in 900s AD • Pueblo Bonito is one of the largest villages • By 1200 AD, all pueblos of this culture were abandoned

5. MISSISSIPPIAN • Last of the great Mound Builder societies • Lived in wooded lands east of the Mississippi River • Leaders were priests • Built gigantic temple-topped pyramids • Created thriving villages based on farming and trade • Cahokia – large village with a population of 30,000

6. NORTHEASTERN WOODLAND PEOPLES • Great Lakes region and upper New York State • Many different tribes did clash over land in this region • Five tribes united to form the political alliance known as the Iroquois League • The League promoted joint defense and cooperation • Believed in the Great Spirit

7. MAYA • Located in southern Mexico and northern Central America • Tikal – major city located in Guatemala • Used a codex to keep track of important historical events; it was written on a bark-paper book • Glyphs - created 800 hieroglyphic symbols and carved them into stone • Based their calendar on careful observations of the planets, sun, and moon • Developed math and astronomy to support religious beliefs • Popol Vuh – book that tells the Maya’s story of creation • Decline of their civilization occurred several hundred years before the Spanish arrived (800s AD) due to civil war, population growth, over-farming, famine, and disease

8. TEOTIHUACAN • First major civilization of central Mexico • Organized as a city-state • Center of a thriving trade network • Most valuable trade item was obsidian – green or black volcanic glass used to make weapons

9. TOLTEC • 900 AD • Mesoamerican culture that ruled Mexico for 300 years before the Aztec • Built pyramids and temples • Warlike people who built and empire through conquest

10. QUETZALCOATL • Toltec ruler, Topiltzin, changed his culture’s religion by introducing this deity • Depicted as a Feathered Serpent • He was also a main god for the Aztec • His followers believed his return would result in a golden age

11. AZTEC • 1200 AD • Valley of Mexico • Warlike people who built and empire through conquest • Believed in human sacrifice; blood was needed to satisfy gods • Were resented by conquered peoples because the Aztec would sacrifice them • 1428 - Entered into the Triple Alliance with Texcoco and Tlacopan

12. TENOCHTITLAN • Early 1500s • Planned city with a population of between 200,000 and 400,000 • Capital of the Aztec empire • It was built on an island • Engineers built causeways (raised roads) to connect city to mainland • Huge center of trade

13. INCA • 1400-1532 • Built the largest Mesoamerican empire (large portion of the west coast of South America) • Began in Andes mountains • Government was supported by taxes, bureaucracy, and road system • Pachacuti was the ruler who expanded Inca kingdom into an empire • Mita – labor tribute; all capable citizens had to work for the state for a certain time period every year • Ayllu – extended families used for community work projects; built canals and terraces • Quipu – knotted strings used to record data • Decline of Inca – rivals fought for throne and arrival of the Spanish