Civilizations of Meso-America

1
Civilizations of Meso-America

• Olmecs, Aztecs, Mayans and Incas

2
Teotihuacán Was the first major city in
Mesoamerica Arose around 250 B.C. and collapsed
about 800 A.D. May have had as many as 200,000
inhabitants at its height. Has a main
thoroughfare, known as the Avenue of the Dead,
had two main temples. The Temple of the Sun and
the Temple of the Moon.
3
Olmec 1300 B.C.- The first civilization of
Mesoamerica They were located in the hot and
swampy lowlands along the coast of the Gulf of
Mexico south of Veracruz. They had large
cities that were centers for religious
rituals. They carved colossal stone heads They
may have been to represent their ancestors or
gods.
4
Aztecs

• Who were the Aztecs?

• Civilization in the Valley of Mexico
• Ruled the region from 1100s to 1500s

5
Aztec Empire

• Aztec Empire
• Arrived in the Valley of Mexico in 1148
• Economy based on agriculture
• Spanned from the Pacific Coast to the Gulf of
  Mexico
• Major city Tenochtitlan
• By 1520, included 20 million people

6
(No Transcript)
7
Aztec Culture

• What was life like in Aztec Culture?

• Aztec culture divided into 2 classes, commoners
  and nobles
• Noble male children attended school until 15
• Women were subordinate to men
• Slavery was common

8
Aztec Culture

• What was life like in Aztec Culture?

• Laws were simple and harsh
• Most crimes punishable by death, beatings or
  mutilation
• Slander ( or lying) was punishable by the loss of
  your lips!

9
Aztecs
Aztec Rule Montezuma though Spanish explorer
Cortez was a returning god. Montezuma offered
gifts of gold. Excited by the riches, Hernan
Cortes and an army to defeat the Aztecs in 1520

• What caused the end to the Aztec Civilization?

10
Aztecs

• Education
• One of the first civilizations to require
  education
• Medicine
• Surgery
• Muscle relaxing medication
• Mathematics
• Idea of zero
• Accurate calendar
• Food
• Popcorn
• Chocolate
• Chewing gum
• Contributions difficult to trace because of
  destruction by Catholic missionaries

• What were some contributions the Aztecs made to
  the world?

11
Aztec Beliefs

• What were the beliefs of the Aztec people?

• Aztecs religion was polytheistic (more than one
  god), they worshiped about 1,000 different gods.
• The head of the gods was Huizilopochtlid, god of
  war and god of sun.

12
Aztec Beliefs

• What did the Aztecs Believe?

• They put their greatest efforts into making
  strong, beautiful temples to please their gods.
• Their arts had a part in their religion. They
  drew pictures that told about their gods.
• They recorded religious events with hieroglyphics
  and even number symbols.
• They worshipped the sun god the most.

13
Aztec Beliefs

• What did Aztecs believe?

• The god of the Sun had told the Aztecs to wander
  until they found an eagle with a serpent in its
  mouth perched on a cactus growing from a rock.
  When they found this, they claimed the area
  around it, which is now known as Tenochtitlan.

14
Aztec Beliefs

• Who was responsible for worship in Aztec Culture?

• Priests and priestesses were very important
  people. They acted as doctors, and taught
  science, art, writing, music, dance, history, and
  counting.

15
(No Transcript)
16
Aztec Beliefs

• Where did people worship?

• Religious ceremonies took place in a temple
  called a teocalli.
• This temple had sacred pools for ceremonial
  cleansing, gardens, living quarters for a priest,
  and racks to hold the skulls of victims.
• Religion played a great part in Aztec life.

17
(No Transcript)
18
Aztec Beliefs

• How did Aztecs worship?

• Sacrifice was one of the main events in the Aztec
  religion.
• Priests made human sacrifices to make the sun god
  happy.
• Aztecs fought in wars to capture men to
  sacrifice.
• On God's Feast Day, they killed their slaves for
  the gods.
• Human sacrifices were offerings to the sun and
  earth so that food would grow.

19
(No Transcript)
20
Mayan Civilization
Pre-Classic(2600 B.C.E-250 B.C.E) Classic (250
C.E-900 C.E) Mayan Collapse Post-Classic period (
1000-1600 C.E)
21
Mayan Civilization

• Where did Mayan Civilization occur?

Southern Mexico Yucatan peninsula, and modern
Chapas, and Tabasco in Mexico
22
Mayan Society

• What was life like in the Mayan Civilization?

• Land divided into states (major city and
  surrounding towns) were headed by a ruler who
  was often a priest

23
Mayan Society

• What was life like in the Mayan Civilization?

• Very few people lived in the urban centers
• Mostly involved in agriculture

24
Mayan Society

• What was life like in the Mayan Civilization?

• Mayan civilization had unique ideas of beauty
• Crossed EyesConsidered particularly beautiful
• Babies were given objects to stare at to
  encourage crossed eyes
• High, flat, sloping forehead
• Tied boards to babies foreheads

25
Mayan Beliefs

• What did Mayan People believe?

• Polytheistic (more than one god)
• Gods were not good or evil,
• Like Aztecs, religious ceremonies closely tied to
  natural cycles ( moon phases, seasons, etc.)

26
Mayan Beliefs

• What did the Mayan people believe?

• Religious ceremonies consisted of singing,
  dancing, competitions, dramatic performances, and
  some human sacrifice
• Human sacrifice usually voluntary
• Participants gives blood or pieces (arms, tongue,
  eye, etc) to the god

27
Mayan Beliefs

• What did the Mayan people believe?

• Mayan people believed in an afterlife
• Heaven was reserved for people who died in
  sacrifice, childbirth or hanged
• Hell or xibal was for everyone else

28
Mayan Beliefs

• What was the role of priests in Mayan society?

• Believed priests could talk to gods
• Most daily life directed by priests
• Decided when to plant, who could marry,
  sometimes leaders

29
Mayan Beliefs

• What did Mayan People believe?

• Believed in the underworld, the sky and the
  Earth
• Knowing the past meant knowing the cycle of the
  present and knowing the present provided
  information for knowing the future
• This focus on time led to development of
  sophisticated calendars and time keepers

30
End of the Mayan Civilization

• Why did the Mayan Civilization end?

• It took 170 years for the Spanish to get control
  of Mayan lands.
• Mayans remained independent until the 1700s
• Mayan culture, language, and art still practiced

31
Mayan Civilization

• What are some contributions the Mayan
  civilization made to the world?

• Written language
• Calendars
• Art and architecture
• Temple building
• City development

32
Mayan Temples
33
Inca Civilization
34
Inca Location

• Where was the Inca civilization?

Along the coast of South America. Modern Chile,
Peru, parts of Argentina and Boliva Andes
Mountain Range
35
Inca Time Period

• When was the Inca civilization?

• Little historic record of where the Incas came
  from.
• No written language
• Cuzco( in modern Peru) is the center.
• Incas began spreading out from Cuzco in the 1400s
  
• eventually created one of the largest empires in
  all of history

36
Inca Society

• Royal family had absolute power
• Relationships within clans based on community and
  cooperation
• Strongly head belief that there is enough for
  everyone
• Conquered people required to pay a labor tax
  which provided roads and farmlands through the
  Andes mountains

• What was it like to live in Inca Society?

37
Inca Society

• What was it like to live in Inca society?

• Most people lived above 10,000 feet in elevation
• Worshiped at over 15,000 ft. in elevation
• Difficult today, scientists still wonder how the
  Incas did it
• Clothing made from Alpaca, and lama wool for the
  cool temperatures at high altitudes

38
Inca Beliefs

• What did Incas believe?

• Polytheistic (more than one god)
• Gods mostly tied to natural objects or events
• Main god- Sun-god
• Sun-god was the only god to have temples
• Royal family descended from the sun-god
• Referred to as the Giver of Life

39
Inca Beliefs

• What did the Incas believe?

• Worshipped with monthly festivals to honor gods
• Human sacrifice rare in Incan Culture
• Reserved for major festivals or the crowning of a
  new emperor

40
Contributions of Inca Civilization

• What contributions did Inca Civilization make?

• Engineering
• Forts built of cut stone that fit so precisely
  together they do not require mortar and are still
  standing in near perfect condition
• Highly sophisticated network of roads, more roads
  than the Romans
• Aqueducts and irrigation systems
• Advanced Surgery and Medicine
• Textiles and Ceramics

41
Contributions of the Inca Civilization
42
End of the Inca Civilization

• Why did the Inca Civilization end?

• Inspired by Cortes victory over the Aztecs,
  Francisco Pizzaro, another Spanish explorer
  invaded in 1531 with 200 soldiers
• Pizzaro captured the Incan ruler and killed him
  in 1533.
• Pizzaro did not gain complete control over the
  region until the 1560s.

43
Macchu Picchu

• Probably built at the height of the Incan
  Empire around 1450
• 7,500 feet above sea level
• Self sustaining city
• One of the great wonders of the world