Transcript Document

The Olmec, Maya, Aztec,
& Mound Builders
Mesoamerica
• Mesoamerica refers to a geographical and cultural
area which extends from central Mexico down
through Central America.
• The term “Meso” means middle. (Middle
America)
• Many important Ancient Civilizations developed
in this area.
• A civilization is a culture that has developed
complex systems of government, education, and
religion.
Mesoamerica
The
Original Olmec
Olmec Civilization
• The Olmec civilization existed
from 1300 BC to about 400
BC.
• The Olmec are believed to be
the earliest civilization in the
Americas.
• The Olmec people established
a civilization in the area we
know today as southern
Mexico.
Map of Olmec Empire:
The “Mother Culture”
• Many historians consider the Olmec civilization
the “mother culture” of Mesoamerica.
• A mother culture is a way of life that strongly
influences later cultures.
• The Olmec empire led to the development of
other civilizations, such as the Maya and the
Aztec.
Olmec Daily Life
• The Olmec were very good at
farming. The land in this region
was very fertile and food supply
was steady.
• They lived in villages near
rivers and also fished for food.
• Olmec people also were good at making
pottery and weaving.
Olmec Daily Life
• The Olmec played a game called “pok-a-tok”
where, you must shoot a rubber ball through a
stone ring without using your hands or feet.
• Huge ball courts built by the Olmec suggest
that the game was popular with spectators.
Olmec Art
• The Olmec carved large
heads from basalt, a
type of volcanic rock.
• What the giant stone
heads represent or why
the Olmec built them is
a mystery.
Olmec Technology
• The Olmec used an early form
of glyph writing to record
events, dates, and to tell stories.
• Glyphs are pictures that
represent words.
• They were incredible
astronomers.
• They developed a calendar that
was amazingly accurate for its
time.
Olmec Trade
• It is believed that the Olmec did not focus on
warfare and conquest, but instead, influenced other
cultures mainly through trade.
• Most Olmec cities served as trade centers.
• They mainly traded for luxury items
such as precious stones. Knowledge
and ideas were also exchanged at
these trade centers.
• As a result, the Olmec culture spread
throughout much of Mesoamerica.
Olmec Religion
• The Olmec worshiped several gods (fire god, corn
god) but their main god was the jaguar god.
• They believed that the jaguar god brought rain.
• Pyramids built in the center of their cities were
probably used for religious reasons.
The Mysterious Maya
400 BC–900 CE (AD)
Southern Mexico & Central America
Maya Civilization
• The Maya civilization existed
from 400 BC to about 900
CE (AD).
• At its peak, the Maya
civilization covered the
Yucatan Peninsula and
stretched down to the
northern parts of El Salvador
and Honduras.
• This area had natural barriers, such as mountains
and water, that helped to protect the Maya civilization
for 1300 years.
Discovering the Maya
• To find the ruins of ancient
Maya cities hidden deep in
the rainforest, archaeologists
had to travel on foot.
• An archaeologist is a
scientist that looks for and
studies evidence from long
ago.
Maya Farming
• Like the Olmec, the Maya were expert
farmers.
• They grew several crops but their main
source of food was corn. They called it
Maize
• Because there was plenty of food, the Mayan
population grew.
• Over time, some Mayan farming villages
grew into great cities.
Maya Cities
• The Maya were master builders.
• They did not have metal tools—they used
stone, bone, and wood tools to build hundreds
of magnificent cities.
Maya Cities
• Cities were centers of religion and learning.
• The Maya studied art, mathematics,
architecture, medicine, and music.
• Every Maya city had a palace for its ruler, a
marketplace, an open-air plaza where
people could gather, at least one huge
pyramid, a large temple, and one pok-a-tok
ball court.
• People came to town to shop,
to worship, and to watch ball
games.
Maya Cities
Two of the largest cities were
• Tikal (tee-KAHL), located in
the present-day country of
Guatemala. It’s population was
about 50,000.
• Copan (ko-PAHN), located in
the present-day country of
Honduras
QUESTION: What were three things you
could find in every Maya city?
Maya Number System
• The Maya invented
of the idea of the
number zero.
• This invention
made the Maya’s
calendar accurate.
Maya Calendar
Maya Religion
• The Maya worshipped the gods
of nature. Some of their gods
were the god of Rain, god of
Maize, and the god of Sun.
• They believed that without the help of these
important gods, there would be no crops and
everyone would starve.
• To get help from the gods, the Maya fasted,
prayed, and offered sacrifices.
• Most sacrifices were animals but occasionally they
did made human sacrifices.
Maya Religion
• The Maya had many religious ceremonies,
performed by priest, on top of the pyramids.
• Priests were the most powerful people in the Maya
civilization.
• The priests decided when to
plant crops and when people
could marry and to whom.
Before doing pretty much
anything, one had to ask for a
priest’s approval.
The Legend of Mirrors
The Maya believed that one
could communicate with a god
by looking into a mirror.
Legend says…warriors going
into battle wore mirrors on their
backs. The idea was that if an
enemy warrior tried to sneak up
on a Maya warrior, a demon
might reach out from the
underworld and snatch the
enemy.
The Mysterious Downfall
• Around 800 CE the Maya
began to abandon their cities
and their population declined.
• The reasons for these events
are still a mystery.
• The demise of the Maya
Civilization may have been
caused by food shortages,
disease, or wars.
The
Awesome
Aztecs
Introduction
The Aztec tribe lived in ancient
Mexico for about 400 years.
For the first 200 years, the Aztecs
were constantly on the move. No
one wanted the Aztecs as
neighbors. The Aztecs practiced
human sacrifice. They believed that
if their gods were not fed, they
would not do their jobs. The sun
god would not bring up the sun,
and everyone would die.
Introduction
To keep their gods happy, the Aztecs believed
that human sacrifice was necessary. They used
people to feed their hungry gods.
Some of the people they sacrificed
were Aztecs. However, most of
the people they sacrificed were
captured from neighboring tribes.
This did not make them popular
with their neighbors. Sooner or later,
their neighbors would band together to
chase the Aztecs away.
Aztec Civilization
• The Aztec tribe lived in southern Mexico from about
900 CE (AD) to 1521.
• In the 1100s the Aztec settled in the Valley of Mexico
on the swampy shores of Lake Texcoco and on a
small island in the lake.
• The Aztec named this
place Tenochtitlan
(te noch tee TLAHN)
and it eventually
became the capital of
their civilization.
Mighty Tenochtitlan
• Tenochtitlan had broad avenues, beautiful
plazas, markets, temples, and palaces.
School
• To build Tenochtitlan into the city
they wanted, the Aztec knew that
they would need many engineers,
builders, and other specialist.
• To solve this problem, the Aztecs
set up a system of public schools.
• All Aztec children went to school
where they learned Aztec history,
religion, and a specialized
profession.
All-Girls School
There were three different
schools: one for girls, and
two for boys.
Girls learned about religion
and were trained to be good
wives and mothers. They
learned how to cook, sew,
and how to care for their
children. They also learned
how to make beautiful
woven textiles.
Sons of the Upper Class
Sons of the upper class went to the
nobles’ school. Sons of wealthy
traders and merchants also went to
this school. They studied law, writing
(hieroglyphics), medicine,
engineering and building,
interpretation of dreams and omens,
and self-expression. They also learned
about their history and religious
beliefs.
It was a tough school. The boys were
humiliated and tormented to toughen them up.
Sons of Commoners
and Slaves The other boys’ school was for
sons of commoners. Its main
goal was to train warriors and
farmers. Boys had to sleep
under skimpy blankets. They
were given hard bread to eat.
The commoners’ school also
taught history, religion,
manners, correct behavior, and
important rituals, along with
singing and dancing.
Specialized Professions
• Aztec children were trained to be
a specialist in some area. Boys
studied how to be farmers,
traders, engineers, builders,
astronomers, and doctors.
• Students who became builders
and engineers designed and
built the amazing Aztec cities,
including the capital city of
Tenochtitlan.
Aztec Life
• At first, live was hard on the swampy land, but the
Aztec gradually built up the city.
• They built causways and bridges to connect the
island to the main land.
• A causeway is a raised road or path usually built
across a body of water.
Farming
• To solve the issue of growing
crops in a swampy area, the
Aztec built chimampas.
• Chinampas are “floating”
gardens built on a series of rafts,
which were anchored to the lake
bed. They piled dirt on top of the
rafts and grew crops on them.
• The gardens were quite
successful. The Aztecs grew chili
peppers, squash, corn, tomatoes,
and beans.
Floating Gardens
As the Aztec population grew, more
food was needed. To solve this
problem, Aztec engineers created
“floating” gardens. They built a
series of rafts, which they anchored
to the lake bed. They piled on dirt
and grew crops. They made
walkways out of mud and reeds to
connect the floating rafts.
The gardens were quite successful.
The Aztecs grew chili peppers,
squash, corn, tomatoes, and beans.
Aztec Religion
• The Aztecs believed that
human sacrifice was
necessary to feed their
gods.
• They believed that if their
gods were not fed, they
would not do their jobs.
Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec sun god.
War
• War was an important part of Aztec life.
• The Aztec conquered over 400 cities in Mexico.
• The Aztec often used the prisoners they captured as
slaves or as human sacrifices to feed their gods.
The Fall of the Aztec
• In 1521, Spanish conquistadors and their
Native American partners defeated the Aztec
and ended their empire.
• A conquistador is a Spanish soldier.
• Tenochtitlan was destroyed and a new capital,
Mexico City, was built on top of the ruins of
the destroyed city.
The Incredible
Incas:
Children of the
Sun
Who Were the Incas?
The Incas were a small tribe of South
American Indians who lived in the city of
Cuzco, high in the Andes Mountains of
Peru. Around 1400 CE, a neighboring
tribe attacked the Incas, but the Incas
won. This was the beginning of the Inca
Empire.
In only 100 years, the Inca Empire grew so
big that it expanded into what are now the
modern countries of Ecuador, Peru, Chile,
Bolivia and Argentina.
Inca Government
One thing that helped the Incas grow so rapidly
was their system of a strong central
government. Everybody worked for the state,
and in turn the state looked after everybody.
Sapa Inca: The head of government was the
Inca, sometimes called the “Sapa Inca” (“the
Only Inca”). The Sapa Inca was all-powerful.
Everything belonged to the Sapa Inca. He
ruled his people by putting his relatives in
positions of power. Since punishment was
harsh and swift, almost no one broke the law.
Common People Had
No Freedom
The Incas were very class conscious and were
divided into nobles and common people. The nobles
pretty much did what they wanted, while the common
people were tightly controlled by the government.
Commoners could not own or run
businesses. They could only do their
assigned jobs. The law did not allow them
to be idle. Even the amount of time they
had to sleep and bathe was controlled by
a government official.
Service Tax
Local officials kept an detailed census. A census
is an official count of all the people in an area and
how they each make a living.
Each common person was listed in the
census. Each person listed had to pay
a tax. The Incas loved gold and silver,
but they had no use for money. The
people paid their tax each year in
physical labor—serving in the army,
working in the mines, or building roads,
temples, and palaces.
Harsh Government
Controls
Laws dictated who should work where, and when.
Local officials had the power to
make all decisions about the lives of
the people they ruled. Inspectors
visited frequently to check on things.
Breaking the law usually meant the
death penalty. Few people broke the
law. Tight government controls kept
the common people fed, clothed,
and enslaved.
Government Questions
1. What was the service tax?
2. Who decided how much
service tax was due?
3. Who was the head of Inca
government?
4. What freedoms did the
common people enjoy?
Geography
Another thing that helped the Inca
Empire grow so rapidly was its
geography. The empire had three
main geographical regions:
1. The Andes Mountains
2. The Amazon jungle
3. The coastal desert
Each was a natural barrier. The Incas made their
home between the jungle and the desert, high in
the Andes Mountains of South America.
Andes Mountains
The snow-capped Andes Mountains run
north to south. They have sharp ragged
peaks and deep gorges.
The Incas built bridges across the
gorges so they could reach all parts
of their empire quickly and easily. If
an enemy approached, the Incas
could burn the bridges. They made
suspension bridges from rope,
pontoon bridges from reed boats, and
pulley baskets from vines.
Inca Roads
High in the Andes Mountains, the Incas
connected their empire with 14,000
miles of well-built roads. Some
sections of road were over 24 feet
wide. Some were even paved. Some
roads were so steep that the Incas built
stone walls along the edge to prevent
people from falling off the cliff.
The roads belonged to the
government. No one could travel the
roads without special permission.