The Americas Develop

1. The Americas Develop An original Power Point presentation by David Knapp

2. Where is US?- Where is Latin America?- Where is Mexico?- Where was the first civilization on earth?- How did they arrive in the Americas?

3. - What countries existed in the Americas when the first people arrived? • What languages did they speak? • What's the largest city in the world?

4. The 3 Sisters • In a technique known as companion planting, the three crops are planted close together. Flat-topped mounds of soil are built for each "cluster", about 30 cm (1 ft) high and 50 cm (20 in) wide, and several maize seeds are planted close together, in the very center of each mound. When the maize is 15 cm (6 inches) tall, beans and squash are planted around the maize, alternating between beans and squash. • The three crops benefit from each other. The maize provides a structure for the beans to climb, eliminating the need for poles. The beans provide the nitrogen to the soil that the other plants utilize and the squash spreads along the ground, monopolizing the sunlight to prevent weeds. The squash leaves act as a "living mulch," creating a microclimate to retain moisture in the soil, and the prickly hairs of the vine deter pests

5. What do you see?- Where are we with respect to contemporary countries? • - Note that the city was built on an island - does anyone know why Tenochtitlan was built here? • - The Aztecs first really took power in 1325 • - Columbus arrived in 1492 • - The Spaniards under Cortes arrived in 1519 when the Aztecs were at the height of their power.

6. What do you see? • Note - there are two key spots we'll be visiting- one is visible here, and the other is not • What most amazed visitors to the city was the huge size of the Aztec capital: Studies indicate that the population was anywhere from 200,000 to 500,000, with 300,000 perhaps the most likely. It was the fifth largest city in the world at that time.

7. What do you see here?- to European eyes they had "every kind of fruit imaginable" • - The figure in the center is most likely NOT the emperor (even though that may have been the intention of the drawer, Diego Rivera). The emperor rarely left the palace and when he did he was accompanied by many people and people bowed before him. • It is most likely a judge because there were always numerous judges and soldiers on hand to settle disputes immediately. • - When trading, they would haggle on prices ­ there weren't any set prices.

8. What do you see? Can you guess the purpose of the buildings? (Note the blood) • the four images painted above the entrance represent each of the first four suns, which were, in order, the jaguar sun, the sun of wind, the sun of rain, and the sun of water • our sun is the sun of movement or earthquakes. The image representing this and the other suns can be seen on the famous Aztec "calendar“ • the snakes represent the god Quetzalcoatl (the feathered serpent). He was the god of many things including the wind and learning • The ruins of these pyramids were discovered in the 60's by accident by someone working on the tunnels for the subway. They had been mostly destroyed by the Spaniards when they took the stones to build their own churches and buildings

9. Incas

10. The Inca tribe was not the first tribe of people to live in the Andes Mountains. People were living and farming in the western part of South America as early as 2000 BCE. Some archaeologists say they began farming as early as 5000 BCE. Like other ancient civilizations, these early people worshiped many gods. They built towns, worked metals, and made beautiful pottery.   • Three thousand two hundred years later (3200 years later), the Incas were a small band of people who lived peacefully in a region that would become the modern day country of Peru. Their capital was the town of Cuzco. The leader of the Incas was known as the Inca, which means emperor. • Like the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt, the Inca had absolute rule over his people, which is why his people were called the Incas (the Inca's people.) The ruling Inca usually treated his people with care. Like most ancient rulers, he lived in luxury. The royal family had the finest of everything, while his people were hard working peasants. • The Inca tribe quarreled now and then with neighboring tribes. For the most part, life was peaceful.

11. One day, around 1430 CE, a neighboring tribe started a war with the Incas. This was very upsetting to the Inca ruler. In those times, in South America, warring tribes usually killed the people they conquered. And the Incan army was losing badly. • The Inca ruler did not wish to die. He convinced himself that if he accepted defeat, the warring tribe might spare the royal family. The Inca ruler knew that even if they did spare the royal family, they would still kill most of the common people. • The ruler's son, Pachacuti, could not believe his father was considering sacrificing his people. Pachacuti acted. He called on the gods to help him.