Ancient Mesoamerica
The Olmec, 1200-400 BCE
125 miles long and 50
miles wide
Active volcanoes and
earthquakes
Tropical lowlands and
scrub forests
Tutla Mountains break it
into microclimates,
making trade profitable
The beginnings of large-scale
organization
Not much metal, but lots
of minerals--obsidian,
jade, and fertile soil
So that means lots of
plants for domestication,
like maize, squash, beans
Organize people not for
rivers, but for drainage
and raising fields out of
wetlands
the mother culture
Established foundation of
Mesoamerican cultures to
follow
Stone architecture, calendars,
writing, magnetic compasses,
city design
Cities oriented around stone
temples, decorated with
serpents, condors, and Jaguar
men, and rubber ball courts
Shamanism and were-jaguars
Shamans are those who
assume the powers of
familiar animals; combine
intellect and power
Usually jaguars if you are an
Olmec
Jaguars were associated
with rain and fertility; rituals
of cracking whips (thunder)
and babies’ tears
center of regional trade
Ceramics and werebabies
Colossal heads,
rolled down
mountains on logs
and then rafts
Birth of Writing
Oldest date recorded
from 31 BCE
Base 20; bars are 5,
dots are singles
Followed soon after
by ritual defacing
and destruction of
monuments
The Maya, c. 300-900 CE
People of the Jaguar
Maya Agriculture
Soil in Mesoamerican
lowlands was thin and
quickly lost its fertility
“Swidden” agriculture--slash
and burn
The Maya built terraces to
retain silt
Major crops: maize, cotton,
and cacao, which they used
as money
Olmec influence
Maize agriculture, as in Popul
Vuh, the creation myth
Ceremonial centers with
temple pyramids
Calendar
Ball games (Hochtli)
Blood-letting rituals
Larger area and larger cities
Tikal
Population of 50,000 from
a surrounding area of
500,000
Ceremonial, not
commercial centers
Temple of the Jaguar
The Underworld, Place of Awe
Priests officiated at
ceremonies to keep
demons and spooky
creatures locked
inside the
underworld, where
they belonged.
A civilization based on Maize
Corn God who
undergoes birth,
death, and
resurrection.
The Legend of Mirrors
Mirrors were avenues of
communication with the
gods
Warriors wore mirrors on
their backs so that any
enemies trying to sneak
up on them would be
vulnerable to a demon
snatch from the
underworld
Temples and observatories
15
5
Birds, serpents, and alignment
with the universe
At sunset on the spring
and autumn equinoxes,
shadows create the form
of a snake slithering down
the stairway of the
pyramid until it reaches
one of the snakeheads at
the base
Each of the 4 stairways has 91 steps +
1 step on the top = 365
16
6
Maya Calendar
A “long calendar” solar year
of 365 days governed the
agricultural cycle
A ritual year of 260 days
divided into twenty
“months” of thirteen days
each
52-year cycles, ending
December 20, 2012, when
the sun will be aligned with
the center of the Milky Way
for the first time in 26,000
Huitzilopochtli Saves his
People, 1325
The Aztecs were a poor,
ragged, despised people
who survived on vermin,
snakes, and stolen food.
Their war god,
Huitzilopochtli, told them
to go to the swamps of
Lake Texcoco, known
today as Mexico City.
Tenochtitlan
Huitzilopochtli told the
Aztec leader Tenoch to
look for an eagle perched
on a cactus, growing from
a rock or cave surrounded
by water. At that location,
they were to build their city
and honor Huitzilopochtli
with human sacrifices. The
city they built was called
Tenochtitlán, the city of
Tenoch.
This is the central medallion of the
Mexican flag
Chinampas
25,000 acres of
chinampas (floating
gardens) by the time the
Spanish arrived
Woven from reeds,
plastered with mud,
anchored by cypress
roots, fertilized by night
soil.
Also attracted fish and
waterbirds
Aztec Empire
The Aztecs were not
good neighbors
They required
20,000 captives a
year for sacrifice.
War was about
captives, not killing
Tribute
The Aztec also
required lots of
tribute, like animal
skins, feathers,
cotton, food, and so
on.
So, when the
Spanish showed up,
they had lots of help
from the Aztecs’
enemies.
Moctezuma II, 1502-1520
Seventh and greatest
ruler, his name meant
“Our Angry Looking God,
He Who Frowned Like a
Lord”
Originally a priest, which
is why he knew about
Quetzelcoatl
Also a great soldier
Quetzelcoatl
As a priest, Moctezuma knew the
prophesies about Quetzelcoatl, a
tall, bearded, fair-skinned god,
returning from the east.
So when he heard that some
fishermen had seen “floating
mountains” and the people
disembarking from them were
tall, fair-skinned and bearded, he
was reluctant to fight.
the Spanish were offered gold
and feathers
The Aztec
thought they
were nuts to go
for the gold
when they had
the chance of
scoring some
quetzal
feathers
Cortez, 1512
Spanish couldn’t get
over how clean,
large, beautiful, and
sweet-smelling the
city was
(Aztecs raised
flowers)
This is a map Cortez
drew from memory
in 1515
Why did 600 Spanish win
against 1.2 million Aztec?
They brought disease with them (maybe smallpox,
maybe the common cold) that weakened the
natives; 90% of Mesoamerica’s inhabitants would
die in the first 100 years.
Horses (the Aztec thought at first the men and the
horses were one beast).
Gunpowder and Spanish fighting to kill, not to
capture.
The Aztecs had lots of enemies that helped.
Spanish horrified by sacrifice
Systematically
destroyed all
aspects of
Aztec culture.
Only four books
(codices) left
The Inca: Children of the Sun
The Incan Empire
Living on the edge of the
world
The Inca lived in the Andes
Mountains, the edge of a tectonic
plate
Bounded to the west by the
Pacific Ocean, to the east by the
Amazon basin.
Extreme temperatures and a
marginal ecosystem make trade
between zones necessary
The Incan Empire
Beginning in the 1300s, the Inca moved down
from their Andean homeland to conquer the
neighboring lands and peoples along the Pacific
coast of South America. By the time the Spanish
arrived in the early 1500s, the Inca Empire was
at the height of its power. It stretched some 2,500
miles—the approximate distance from
Washington, DC, to Los Angeles, California—and
incorporated more than 12 million people
speaking 20 different languages.
BUT: no horse, written word, wheel
Incan Roads and chasqui
The Incan Empire: 40,000 Inca, 12.5 million
subjects
Once they accepted the Inca
gods, subjects were allowed to
worship in their own way and
keep some of their local customs
and powers. To ensure loyalty to
the Sapa Inca, the newly
conquered people's most
important religious objects or
statues, huacas, were taken to
Cuzco. There they were
worshipped and cared for, but
since they were in the Incas'
power, the conquered people
would not dare rebel against
their new rulers.
•
[from PBS website on The
Conquistadors]
•
Religious beliefs
The Inca worshipped Inti, the God of the Sun. Each night
he swam under the earth to reappear the next morning in
the east. He was married to his sister, the moon.
The stars were guardians; they were arranged in
constellations shaped like the objects they guarded. The
Pleiades, which the Inca called the Storehouse, guarded
seeds and so were especially honored.
The Inca were also animists, who called specially shaped
objects worthy of worship huaca. They sacrificed children
and llama to the huaca.
Finally, they honored their ancestors, whom they
mummified.
The Sapa Inca
According to Inca beliefs, the Sapa Inca was father to all of the
men of the empire and husband to all of the women. Because the
Sapa Inca was the son of the Sun, he was married to his sister, the
Coya, who was also considered to be descended from the Sun.
One of their sons would be selected to be the next emperor.
The Sapa Inca enjoyed many privileges. He lived in his own royal
palace in Cuzco and was worshipped with absolute devotion and
obedience. The Sapa Inca wore a headdress of valuable vicunawool tassels across his forehead. Every day he wore a finelywoven garment – but only once! Each outfit was then stored for a
year, and at a special ceremony all of the clothing was burned.
When the Sapa Inca went out of his palace, he rode on a litter with
runners going in front to announce his arrival. When visitors met
with him, they were required to take off their sandals and wear
symbolic burdens on their backs. They were probably kept behind
special screens and forbidden to look at the Sapa Inca.
•
[from PBS site on the Conquistadors]
The Life of the People
Everybody, regardless of
gender or age, worked all day.
Two-thirds of what they made
went to the government but
there were no rebellions and no
discontent. The unconditional
obedience of the masses was
due to chewing the leaves of
coca, which made people the
perfect workers–they hardly ate
or slept but felt satisfied, even
happy. However, the narcotic
also led to premature aging and
a physical and mental
breakdown. Then came an
agonizing death.
•
Llamas, alpacas, and guinea
pigs, yum, yum
Llamas and alpacas were
very valuable to the Incas.
Raised for thousands of
years before the rise of the
Inca Empire, the Incas had
huge herds, which they
used for fertilizer, fuel,
sacrifices, meat, leather,
needles, flutes, and beads.
Llamas were also used for
pack animals. The coarse
hair of the llama was woven
to make sacks, heavy
blankets, and ropes.
Alpacas had softer wool,
which was woven into
clothing.
Pizarro—what follows is adopted from
the PBS website
Francisco Pizarro made his first voyage to the New World in November 1524.
After skirmishes with natives in Panama, he returned to Spain empty-handed.
Pizarro's second voyage (November 1526 to late 1527) was much larger, with
160 men and several horses carried in two ships. After some initial probing,
Pizarro's expedition split with Bartolomé Ruiz, the pilot, taking half the
command.
While sailing off the coast of what is now Ecuador, Ruiz made first contact
with the Incas. Aboard a balsa trading raft with a huge triangular cotton sail
were 20 Inca crew and passengers. The Spanish boarded the vessel and, to
their delight, saw many pieces of silver and gold, precious stones and
intricately woven fabrics. Ruiz kept three of the Inca to be trained as
interpreters. Through sign language, the captives told him that their gold came
from a land far to the south, a land of wonders.
As with Cortes and the Aztec, Pizarro’s men had an unexpected weapon—
smallpox. It killed the Inca and plunged his country into civil war. Pizarro
returned to Toledo to report to the Spanish monarchs, who granted him Peru.
Three years later, in 1532, Pizarro returned again with 160 men.
Cuzco, the Navel of the World
The main temple in Cuzco
had golden walls and golden
threads woven into the
thatched roof. In the temple
courtyard was a golden
garden. Everything inside it
was made of gold-golden
maize plants, golden clods
of dirt, golden grass, and a
life-size herd of 20 llamas
and their shepherds, also
made of gold!
The End of the Inca
One of Pizarro’s priests explained that the Spanish ruler was a
friend of God and called upon the Inca to renounce their gods.
When Atahuallpa asked the priest what authority he had for his
belief, the friar told him it was all written in the book he was
holding. The Inca then said: "Give me the book so that it can speak
to me."
Atahuallpa held the book next to his ear trying to listen to its
pages. At last he asked: "Why doesn't the book say anything to
me?" And he threw it on to the ground with a haughty and
disdainful gesture. Father Vicente shouted that the Indians were
against the Christian faith and gave the order to attack. The
Spanish emerged with their guns from the porticoes around the
square and fired in to the massed crowds of unarmed people.
They held him for a king’s ransom of gold; the Incas thought the
Spanish must eat gold because they loved it so much
Then they killed him anyway.