Civilizations of the Western Hemisphere

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Civilizations of the Western Hemisphere

• The Mayans, Aztecs and Incas

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• How did humans travel from Asia to North America
  and into Meso-America?
• - Came across a land bridge connecting Asia to
  North America

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Mayans (Most advanced civilization)

• Mayan civilization was located in Mexico and the
  Central American rainforest.
• Mayan civilization was made up city-states that
  were ruled by a king. Their economy was based on
  agriculture and trade. The capital city of the
  empire was Chichen Itza.

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• The Mayans were polytheistic (belief in many
  gods). Religion was closely tied to agriculture.
  Human sacrifices were also a part of religion.
  For example, to end a drought, they might have
  given human sacrifices, so the gods would bring
  rain.

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• The accomplishments of the Mayans include
• Pyramid shaped temples
• Pictographic writing hieroglyphs
• The study of astronomy (prediction of eclipses,
  agricultural calendar)
• Number system

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Fall of the Mayans

• 900 A.D. a series of catastrophes took place. No
  one knows for sure what happened. Explanations
  include
• Farming methods wore out the soil
• War-fare between Mayan city-states
• Possible peasant revolt
• The results were a serious decline in population
  and the flight of people from cities.

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The Aztecs

• Around 1200 A.D., several groups invaded Mexico.
  The group that surfaced as the strongest was the
  Aztecs.
• The Aztec had been wandering warriors, but soon
  created a city known as Tenochtitlan. This would
  be their capital.
• Tenochtitlan grew to include pyramid temples,
  marketplaces and palaces.

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• Aztec society was very militaristic (warriors
  held the most power).
• The Aztec empire grew rapidly under rule by an
  emperor. The empire controlled Central Mexico.
• The economy of the Aztecs was based on
  agriculture and tribute from conquered peoples.

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• Aztec religion was polytheistic. They performed
  rituals on their pyramids. An example would be
  that Aztecs gave human sacrifices to the Sun god
  so that he would remain strong (warfare provided
  victims).

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• Accomplishments of the Aztecs include
• Metal working, pottery and weaving
• Fine art
• Calendars and mathematics
• Chinampas - this farming method increased the
  food supply

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Decline of Aztecs

• The Aztec empire declined in the late 1400s A.D.
  because of political and social unrest between
  the Aztecs and surrounding peoples. Those
  conflicts greatly weakened the empire.

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Incas Children of the Sun

• The Incas created an empire in the Andes
  Mountains in South America. It was ruled by an
  emperor.
• The capital of the Incan empire was Cuzco.
• Incas created fortresses, irrigation systems and
  roads.

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• The emperor helped to unify the empire by
• Moving villages
• Establishing an education system
• Creating an official language Quechua
• Building roads and communication systems (relay
  runners carried messages back and forth)
• Building an agricultural economy

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• The Incas religion was polytheistic.
• Accomplishments of the Incas include
• Quipue series of knots on parallel strings as a
  way of keeping records
• Ceramics, textiles, metals
• Medicine used anesthetics and operated on the
  brain

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• Machu Picchu was a sacred city for the Incans.

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• Achievements of all Meso-American Civilizations
  include
• a. Calendars
• b. Mathematics
• c. Writing and other record keeping systems

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Civilization Economy Religion Location Political Development
Maya Agriculture and trade Polytheistic Mexico, Central American rain forest Made up of city-states ruled by a king
Aztec Agriculture and tribute from conquered peoples Polytheistic Mexico Ruled by an emperor
Inca Agriculture Polytheistic South America Andes Mountains Ruled by an emperor