STANDARD WHI.

11a, b
The student will demonstrate knowledge of major civilizations of the Western Hemisphere, including the Mayan, Aztec, and
Incan by
a) describing geographic relationship, with emphasis on patterns of development in terms of climate and physical features.
b) describing cultural patterns and political and economic structures

Mesoamerican Civilizations
Chapter 11
Sections 2 and 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.

Teotihuacn

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.

Mayan civilization
Located in the Mexican and Central American
rain forest
Represented by Chichn Itz
Group of city-states ruled by a king
Economy based on agriculture and trade
Polytheistic religionPyramids

Yucatn Peninsula
-Maya were found in the Yucatan Peninsula and Part of Guatemala
Maya: Between 300 and 900 A.D.
-Flourished during this time. We do not know why it fell into decline. The Maya
abandoned their cities, we do not know why.
Political and Social Structure
Cities-Were built around a central pyramid
Pyramid-Was topped with a shrine to the gods.
City-States-Each governed by a hereditary ruling class
Tikal, Guatemala

Mayan Kings
-Ruled the Mayan Kingdom
They claimed they were divine
Were assisted by nobles and a class of scribes
Made special blood sacrifices to maintain the kingdom.
People
-Included townspeople, skilled artisans, officials, and merchants.
Many people were peasant farmers who worked on terraced hillsides farming.
Men did the fighting and hunting, women made cornmeal and were responsible
for homemaking and raising children.

Religion

The Maya were Polytheistic.

They believed that all of life was in the hands of a divine power.
They were responsible for pleasing the gods.
Their gods were ranked in order of importance, the Jaguar was the god of night and was seen
as evil.
The Maya practiced human sacrifice to appease their gods.
Human sacrifice was also used to mark special occasions.
When a king ascended to the throne war captives were tortured and beheaded to mark the
occasion.

Accomplishments
Language
The Maya developed an independent Hieroglyphic language.
The Spanish destroyed most of the Mayan writings. They
were not seen as having any value. Their language was not
translated until the 20th century.

Calendar
The Maya developed a calendar that had two
different parts.
It had a solar calendar with 365 days, divided into
18 months with 20 days each with 5 extra days at
the end.
A Lunar calendar and a Calendar based on the
movement of the Planet Venus. This was a sacred
calendar with 260 days and 13 weeks of 20 days
each.
The Mayan calendar says our present world was
created in 3114 B.C. and the current world will
end on December 23 2012 A.D.

Aztec civilization
Located in arid valley in central Mexico
Represented by Tenochtitlan
Ruled by an emperor
Economy based on agriculture and tribute from conquered peoples
Polytheistic religion with pyramids/rituals

The Aztec began c. 12th century A.D.

Began a long migration that brought them into the Valley of Mexico.
They established their capital city at Tenochtitln.
Tenochtitln
An Aztec legend said that when the people found their new home they would see an eagle
perched on a cactus holding a snake. They saw this in lake Texcoco.
Their city was built up on rafts made from reeds and covered with dirt. They were called
chinampas. Present-Day Mexico-City is built on top of this city. The original was destroyed by
the Spanish.
Lake Texcoco-Swampy lake that was the home of the capital city. Tenochtitln means the Place
of the Prickly Pear Cactus.

Political and Social Structure

By 1500 there were about 4 million people in the Aztec Empire.
Aztec Emperor
Ruled over the Aztec Empire.
Was the supreme leader of the people.
He claimed that he was divine.
People
Made up of commoners, indentured workers, and slaves.
Most people were farmers, but they also traded with people in the surrounding areas.
Men were to be the warriors, while a womans role was to be in the home. Women were
allowed to own and inherit property and enter contracts. Women wove textiles and raised
children. They could also be priestesses.

Religion
Had a polytheistic religion based on warfare.
Huitzilopochtli
Their chief god. He was the god of the sun. The Aztec
offered him human sacrifice to give him strength to battle the forces of darkness each night so
that he could rise each morning.
Quetzalcoatl
The feathered Serpent
He believed he had left the valley of
Mexico and promised to return in triumph.

Human Sacrifice
Each Aztec city contained a pyramid where they
practiced human sacrifice as a way to postpone
the end of the world.

Destruction of the Aztec

The subjugation of the people of the Aztec
Empire bred hatred and discontent among the
people. When the Spanish arrived they did
not have a difficult time finding allies to fight
the Aztec.
Hernn Corts 1519
Spanish Conquistador who came to the valley of Mexico in 1519 with 550 soldiers and 16
horses. He was at first greeted by the Aztec Emperor Montezuma (Moctezuma). The Spanish
later kidnapped the Emperor and made him a puppet. The people rebelled and the Emperor
was killed. The Spanish barely escaped.

The Spanish returned several months later. Many of the natives had fallen ill with Smallpox.
Corts and his allies destroyed the Aztec capital and subjugated the Aztec people.

Incan civilization
Located in the Andes Mountains of South America
Represented by Machu Picchu
Ruled by an emperor
Economy based on high-altitude agriculture
Polytheistic religion
Road system

Late 1300's Inca

The Inca started as a small group that were located in Cuzco. They did not begin to become
powerful until after the fall of the Moche of Peru.
Pachacuti
Unified the Inca and established the Inca Empire.

Organization of the Empire

Incan state was built on war.
The conquered peoples were all taught the same language.
Each region was appointed a governor who answered to the
Emperor.
Road System: 24, 800 miles of Road
The Inca built roads to unify their people. Roads made travel and
communication throughout the empire more efficient.
There were rest houses and storage depots along with bridges to
span ravines and waterways.

Culture
Were required to marry from within their own social group.
Women were expected to live at home, the only alternative was to be a priestess.
Most people were farmers, they also herded llamas and alpacas.

Quipu-A system of knotted strings used by the Inca to keep records.

Great Builders
They had great buildings made of stone held
without mortar. Their roads also show their
ability as great builders.

Machu Picchu
City built at 8,000 ft above sea level.
Urubamba River
River below Machu Picchu

Defeat
The Spanish arrived in 1531
1531: Francisco Pizarro
Spanish Conquistador led a band of 180 men with
superior weapons.
The Inca, like the Aztec, were devastated by disease.
Smallpox
Devastated the Population
Civil War
After the death of the Inca Emperor a civil war broke out, Pizarro took advantage and defeated the
people.
Defeat
Pizarro and his men established Lima as the new capital of the Spanish Colony in 1535.

Achievements of Mayan, Aztec, and Incan civilizations

Calendars
Mathematics
Writing and other record-keeping systems