Transcript Maya Civilization - Mr. Bilbrey's Digital Classroom

Maya
Civilization
I. Classic Period: 250-900 C.E.
 Located in southern Mexico, northern Central America
 Influenced heavily by older culture, the Olmecs
 Ball courts – believed that playing this game would maintain
cycles of sun and moon, bring rains
 Planned ceremonial centers, religious ceremonies
 Gods and spirits – Jaguar spirit at center
 Empire of independent city-states
 Examples: Tikal, Chichen Itza
 Each ruled by a god-king
 Centers of religion, trade
 Linked by common language, religious beliefs
II. Trade & Agriculture
 City states linked by trade routes and alliances
 Products: salt, feathers, shells, honey, textiles
 Cacao beans sometimes served as currency
 Agriculture formed basis of Maya life
 Squash, maize (corn), beans
 Once thought to only practice slash and burn agriculture
 Evidence has shown more sophisticated methods – beds
raised above swamps
III. Social Classes
 As civilization grew, more wealth and development
of social classes
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King at top, passed title to eldest
son (hereditary)
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Was a divine (god-like) figure
Noble class: warriors, priests
Middle class: Merchants, artisans
Peasant farmers (majority of population)
Slaves: criminals, prisoners of war
KING PACAL,
603-683 C.E.
IV. Religion
 Polytheistic: believed in many gods
 Believed each day was a living god, behavior was
predicted by a system of calendars
 Religious practices:
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Made offerings
Pierced or cut their bodies to offer their blood
Practiced human sacrifice, usually enemies
 Believed that it pleased the gods and kept world in balance
V. Math, Calendar, Astronomy
 Religious beliefs led to developments in math,
astronomy, and use of calendars
 Important to have an accurate calendar to know
which god is “carrying time” that day
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Identify the best times to plant crops, attack enemies, crown
new rulers
Based on careful observation of planets, sun, moon
Calculated year to 365.2420 days
Had concept of zero
VI. Written Language
 Most advanced writing system in ancient Americas
 800 glyphs, or hieroglyphic symbols
 Used for record keeping, history of civilization
 Recorded important historical events in book known as a
codex
 Only 3 of these have
survived
 Creation story recorded
in the Popol Vuh
VII. Decline
 Late 800s – many cities suddenly abandoned
 Other peoples moved into areas being abandoned,
disrupted Maya civilization
 Theories
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Increased warfare between city-states disrupted trade,
increased economic hardship
Population growth, over-farming caused food shortages,
famine, disease
 When the Spanish arrive in the 1500s, Maya divided
and weak, easily conquered
 Examples of Mayan ruins
Aztec Civilization
(Late 1100s – 1500s)
I. Toltec Influence
 Toltec peoples laid foundation for Aztec
 Toltec ruled over central Mexico beginning around
900, lasted until about 1150.
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Gained power as Maya were losing theirs
Militaristic, human sacrifice a main
component of religious ceremonies
 Worshiped Quetzalcoatl, the
Feathered Serpent
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Became legend among different
peoples of Mesoamerica,
including Aztec
II. Aztec Rise to Power
 Originally poor, nomadic people from deserts of
northern Mexico
 Built up civilization from ashes of Toltec, around
Lake Texcoco
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City of Tenochtitlan
Formed Triple Alliance with other city-states, Texcoco and
Tlacopan – basis of Aztec Empire
 By 1500s, empire stretched 80,000 square miles, 5-
15 million people
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38 provinces loosely controlled through strong military and
tributes (taxes, human sacrifice)
Aztec Empire, 1200s-1500s
III. Social Classes
Emperor
Nobles – military
leaders, land owners
Commoners – merchants,
artisans, soldiers, farmers
Slaves – prisoners of war, criminals
IV. Religious Life
• Religion played a major role in daily life
• Hundreds of temples and religious structures
erected throughout civilization
• 1,000 gods
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Many adopted from other Mesoamerican peoples
Quetzalcoatl – god of learning and books, god of wind,
symbol of death and rebirth
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Depicted as both feathered serpent and pale-skinned man with
beard
• Practiced human sacrifice
– Thousands a year sacrificed to Huitzilopochtli
– Enslaved persons, criminals, prisoners of war
V. Decline
 1502 – Montezuma II crowned emperor
 Demanded even more tribute and sacrifice from provinces
 Many provinces rebelled, threw civilization into chaos
 Return of Quetzalcoatl
 Many saw bad omens all around
 The Spanish invaders represented Quetzalcoatl and downfall
of civilization
 Easily overthrew Aztec – had better weapons & disease, Aztecs
weak and divided
Inca Empire
(1200s – mid 1500s)
I. Beginnings
 Built upon foundations of older civilizations
 Chavin, Moche, Nazca, Chimor
 Settled in Valley of Cuzco in Andes Mountains
 1200s – small kingdom established
 Pachacuti took throne in 1438
 Greatly expanded control over neighboring lands
 Belief that ruler was descended from sun god
 Only men from one of 11 noble families could be selected as
leader
I. continued…
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Empire called “Land of the Four Quarters”
Encompassed 80 provinces, up to 16 million people
Used combination of military force and diplomacy to overtake
and control territories
 Hundreds of different languages, ethnic backgrounds
II. A Unified Empire
• Utilized extensive road system
• One official language – Quechua
• Economy strictly controlled by government
– Regulated production and distribution of goods
• Centralized bureaucracy oversaw entire empire
• Depended on ayllu – extended family group
– Groups divided into 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000
– Chief led each group
– Chain of command = community->regional-> central
• Demanded tribute
– Mita – labor required by all able-bodied citizens
II. Continued…
 Recording keeping
 No written language – utilized oral tradition
 Used the quipu – a set of knotted strings to record numerical
data
Knots and their position on the string indicated numbers
 Colors of the strings represented different categories of
information
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III. Religion
 Focused worship mostly on nature spirits
 Moon, stars, thunder, sun gods
 Mamakuna – unmarried women selected for a lifetime of
religious service
 Yamacuna – men who served as full-time religious workers
 Sacrificed llamas and distributed goods as gifts from gods
IV. Decline
 Huayna Capac – Inca leader during
early 1500s
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Died of disease (probably small pox)
when travelling around Ecuador
After death – empire split in two, ruled by
two sons
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Civil war weakened empire
1530s – Spanish arrived to overtake a very weak empire