1 / 13

In this section you will:

Objectives. In this section you will:. Find out what Mayan civilization was like. Learn how the Aztecs built their empire and understand what kind of society they created. Key Terms. hieroglyphics (hy ur oh GLIF iks) n. a system of writing using signs and symbols maize (mayz) n. corn

lenore-fields
Download Presentation

In this section you will:

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Objectives In this section you will: • Find out what Mayan civilization was like. • Learn how the Aztecs built their empire and understand what kind of society they created.

  2. Key Terms • hieroglyphics (hy ur oh GLIF iks)n. a system of writing using signs and symbols • maize (mayz)n. corn • Tenochtitlán (teh nawch tee TLAHN) n. capital city of the Aztec empire, located where Mexico City now stands

  3. Mayan civilization thrived in Central America and southern Mexico from about A.D. 250 to A.D. 900. The Mayas built great cities that were economic, political, and religious centers. Two of the biggest cities were Copán, in present-day Honduras, and Tikal, in present-day Guatemala.

  4. Latin America: Early Civilizations

  5. Cities of the Mayan Realm

  6. The Mayas often built large pyramid-shaped temples in the middle of their cities. Mayan priests studied the stars and planets and developed two kinds of calendars. The Mayas also developed a number system and hieroglyphics. The Mayas’ main food was maize.

  7. No one knows why Mayan cities began to decline around A.D. 900, but crop failures, war, rebellion, disease, drought, or famine may have killed many Mayas. The remaining Mayas stayed in the region, and millions of them still live in Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala today.

  8. The Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Mexico in the 1100s. They settled on an island in Lake Texcoco in 1325 and built their magnificent capital city of Tenochtitlán there. By the 1400s, the Aztec civilization in Middle America was thriving, and Aztec warriors began conquering other people in the region.

  9. The Aztecs grew rich from the taxes they forced conquered people to pay them. The Aztec emperor, helped by nobles, ruled over all Aztec lands, and soldiers fought in wars to expand the empire. Most of the people in the Aztec empire were farmers who created new farmland by building artificial floating gardens called chinampas.

  10. In Tenochtitlán’s huge temples, priests performed rituals, including human sacrifice, to please their gods. The priests used an advanced calendar based on the Mayan calendar. Priests were not only religious leaders, but were also important in society.

  11. Aztec astronomers predicted eclipses and the movements of planets. They kept records using hieroglyphics similar to those used by the Mayas. Aztec doctors made more than 1,000 medicines from plants and also practiced dentistry.

  12. Because of the power of the Aztec army, traders could safely travel long distances. Traders brought crops, crafts, weapons, tools, and luxury items to and from Tenochtitlán and other cities. Goods were carried by people called porters, and trade was usually done by barter.

  13. When Europeans explored the area in the 1500s, they found the Aztecs ruling a rich empire. Eventually, the Aztecs were conquered by Europeans.

More Related