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Chapter 12. The Americas. Mesoamerica – advanced native civilizations of Central America – Maya, Aztec and Inca. Where did humans first originate? How did people first come to America?. Teotihuacan- est. 100 B.C.E. Largest, most important city in the Americas
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Chapter 12 The Americas
Mesoamerica– advanced native civilizations of Central America – Maya, Aztec and Inca.
Where did humans first originate? How did people first come to America?
Teotihuacan- est. 100 B.C.E. Largest, most important city in the Americas Elite farmers controlled state bureaucracy Collapsed- 650 C.E.
Maya – 200BCE – 900 CE, Yucatan peninsula (Mexico). Built cities in the jungle *Human sacrifices *Built pyramids City-states
Warfare was infused with religious meaning Only 2 women rulers
Pok-a-tok – sacred ball game of the Maya. • Using only head, knees and elbows get a rubber ball through a hoop thirty feet off the ground. • Winners = great prizes. • Losers = sacrificed.
Brutal but brilliant • Hieroglyph writing system – • One of only five original writing systems invented. • Maya math – used zero. Used a form of decimal system = five = one
Great astronomers - predict eclipses of sun and moon. Believed the earth moved through cycles of birth and destruction. • December 21st, 2012 – Mayan Day of Doom – The end of this cycle according to the Maya. • Around 900 C.E. the Maya abandon their cities and return to the jungle. No one knows why. • Great astronomers - predict eclipses of sun and moon. Believed the earth moved through cycles of birth and destruction. • December 21st, 2012 – Mayan Day of Doom – The end of this cycle according to the Maya. • 900 C.E. - Maya abandon their cities and return to the jungle. No one knows why.
Toltecs 800-1000 CE Created the first state based on military power Tula- capital Borrowed culture from Teotihuacan
Aztecs – 1200 – 1502 A.D. – warlike empire conquered all of Mexico. • Huitzilopochtli– sun and war god of the Aztecs. • Demanded constant feeding of human blood.
Flowery Death – the honor of dying and feeding the god! Thousands sacrificed a day. Volunteers and POWs.
Aztecs conquer an empire Obsidian swords Empire with a clan based society
What do you do with an empire? • Tribute • Gold and captives • Aztecs were hated by the people they ruled.
Put all that cash into the Aztec capital city!!!! • Aqueducts • Hundreds of pyramids • Some coated in gold! • Present day Mexico City Tenochtitlan –capital city of Aztecs, built in middle of lake.
Spanish invasions! • Conquistadors: conquerors. • 3 G’s • keep 1/5 of all treasure found.
Conquer or die! Cortes lands in Mexico. Burns his ships. Befriends native tribes. Met by emissaries of the Aztecs. Cortes asks if they have any gold. They say lots. “Bring it to us, for I and my companions suffer from a disease of the heart that can only be cured by gold.”
Cortez welcomed into Tenochtitlan! Montezuma: Aztec emperor! Cortes shows up in year of god Quetzalcoatl Quetzalcoatl: white skinned god who once ruled over the Aztecs. Spanish have horses, guns, and armor.
Spanish horrified by sacrifice Montezuma taken prisoner Obvious Cortez is greedy Spanish chased out of city Return 1 year later with reinforcements But, most of the Aztecs are dead…
Inca – 1438-1533 C.E., 12 million people, Andes Mountains in S. America. Empire ruled by an emperor Chiefdoms based on reciprocity and redistribution Capital city of Cuzco
Farmed the Andes Mts. Terrace farming – cutting steps into mountain sides for farming. Potatoes and corn
Inca never invented the wheel! Used llamas as work animal.
No written language Quipu –knots and colored ropes to keep track of goods and records for business.
All Inca cities destroyed except… • Machu Picchu– religious city in the clouds. • Not discovered until 1911. • 50 ton blocks cut precisely • No mortar! Everything cut perfectly. • Incan mummies!
Pizarro: Conquistador who conquers the Incas Gold, gold, gold flows into Spain making Spain a superpower.
Columbian exchange– gifts exchanged by the Old World and the New World. • America gets • Slavery • Smallpox • Conquest • Horses • Europe gets • Tomatoes • Corn • Potatoes • Squash • Chocolate • Tobacco • Syphillis