LECCIÓN 03.04 DE HISTORIA UNIVERSAL WORLD HISTORY | 3: MEDIEVAL SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA AND THE AMERICAS | 03.04: CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICAN LEGACIES AND CONTRIBUTIONS Who Were the Maya, Aztec, and Inca? 250 to 1600 CE Between 250 and 1600, the Maya, Aztec, and Inca defined the classic period of pre-Columbian Central and South America. The Incas developed a complex road system to connect the many regions of their empire. Many impressive technological feats allowed the Incas to build and control an empire among the peaks of the Andes, including the rope bridge depicted here. © Studying history is often like standing at a bridge. You are connecting people, places, and ideas across time. Civilizations are connected to the ones that came before them. The mother cultures of the pre-Columbian Americas did not die out completely. Rather, each contributed key elements of culture, ritual, social structure, and language to the three greatest and most famous civilizations of South and Mesoamerica—the Aztecs, the Incas, and the Maya. Think of the legacy of these mother cultures as a long, narrow bridge, similar to the ones built by the Incas. The bridge connects one edge of a rocky gorge to another. In the same way, the culture and traditions of one group are passed down to the next. It is likely that the engineering advances necessary for the Incas to build these bridges were made possible by the traditions passed down from earlier cultures. In this lesson, you will explore the great pre-Columbian societies of the Aztec, Maya, and Inca. You will also learn and understand how archaeologists and anthropologists use artifacts to reconstruct the past. Pay very close attention to the details of daily life and culture in these three civilizations. Your assignment will be to identify which of the three you would choose to live in and explain why. Guided Notes Select your Guided Notes to take notes on essential ideas and vocabulary terms in the lesson. Objectives 03.04 Central and South American Legacies and Contributions After completing this lesson, you will be able to: describe the roles of people in the Maya, Inca, and Aztec societies use timelines to establish cause and effect relationships explain how historians use historical inquiry and other sciences to understand the past What Is the Archaeological Method? When we talk about pre-Columbian societies, we can't just look at an ancient history book to learn how these cultures grew. Although these societies did have written languages, relatively few of their written texts have survived. Instead, we learn about these cultures through archaeology. History is the interpretation of the past through mostly primary sources. Archaeology is the study of the past through artifacts. Artifacts are objects left behind by a civilization. This includes writing in the form of carved tablets or monument inscriptions. It also includes the records of outsiders, like the Spanish after the Columbian contact. Artifacts are also bits of pottery, jewelry, roads, buildings, coins, weapons, tools, art, and anything else that an archaeologist can find. From these artifacts, archaeologists and historians try to piece together a complete story about a past culture. Unfortunately, there will always be gaps and places where we have to guess. But the reason why the Maya, Inca, and Aztec are the most famous Meso and South American societies is because we know the most about them. These societies all left behind rich archaeological records, which we continue to study today. Use the timeline to see the spread of the Inca, Maya, and Aztec societies during the preColumbian era. Archaeologists determined these dates and geographic ranges based on the age of the artifacts they found in each area. You will learn more about these civilizations in the next screen. A Timeline of South and Mesoamerican Civilizations—Text Version A timeline is shown from 200 CE to 1600 CE. Different points along the timeline mark the Mayan society between 250 and 900 CE, the Inca society from 1100 CE to 1600 CE , and the Aztec society between 1325 and 1519 CE. Review the descriptions below to better understand the proper context of each of the three civilizations. 250 – 900 CE—The Maya The Mayan city of Tikal is shown in a photograph. There are many stone temples and buildings surrounded by dense forest. The Mayan civilization flourished in Mesoamerica between 250 and 900 CE. Mayan accomplishments include a written language, sculpture, and architectural monuments, including stone pyramids like at the site of the ancient city of Tikal. 1100 – 1600 CE—The Inca The Incan city of Machu Picchu is shown in a photograph. The city is shown built high up on a mountain with other mountains surrounding the city. There are many stone buildings. The Inca civilization existed from about the 12th century through the 16th century CE. Although its capital was Cuzco, the most famous Incan city might be Machu Picchu, shown here. Incan accomplishments include building suspension bridges and the impressive city of Machu Picchu nestled among mountains. 1325 – 1519 CE—Aztec The Aztec city of Tenochtitlan is shown through an artist's rendering. The city is shown in the center of a lake completely surrounded by water. Boats and canoes approach various parts of the city, while observers from land ride on horseback. The Aztecs were the last of the great pre-Columbian civilizations, thriving between 1325 and 1519. They were a rich culture. Although they built several cities, including Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs were also great farmers and are known for their advanced agricultural techniques. The Aztec empire ended when Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mesoamerica. Who Were the Maya? The Temple of the Giant Jaguar in Tikal, Guatemala.© From 250 to 900 CE, a span called the Mayan Classic Period, the Mayan civilization stretched across southern Mexico, Guatemala, and northern Belize. More than 20 elaborate cities were home to 5,000 to 50,000 people, and at the empire's height the Mayans may have numbered up to two million. Imagine how the archaeologists and anthropologists have felt over the past two hundred years as they have carefully uncovered the ruins of these cities from the jungle that had nearly covered them! Until recently, archaeologists thought that the Maya were peaceful people who devoted all their time and energy to ceremony and stargazing. Their cities included temples, monuments, pyramids, ball fields, plazas, and palaces. Structures were mostly cut from large stone. This stone was then decorated with carved glyphs, or characters representing the Mayan language. In the early 20th century, scholars began to understand a small number of these glyphs, which could also be found in the three surviving Mayan paper books. Many Maya still live in the Yucatan, where over 70 Mayan languages are spoken. Modern Maya largely live in small agricultural communities and practice a version of Catholicism that has been adapted to fit traditional Mayan rituals and gods. This infographic will help you organize the most important information about the Mayan civilization. Maya Infographic TEXT VERSION PDF More Similar Than You Think As you look closely at the Maya, Inca, and Aztec, you will recognize striking similarities. You should also consider the similarities and differences these civilizations had to all cultures, including your own. How remarkable is it that the Mayans had a 365-day calendar, just like the Christian Gregorian calendar used in Europe (and now the United States)? The Aztec had special religious observances in their calendar, as did their Spanish conquerors. More than the stars are aligned! Who Were the Inca? What we know about the Incas come from their oral traditions, passed down to the Quechuaspeaking peoples of Peru and Chile all the way to present. Incan traditions were also recorded by the conquering Spanish. These records tell of a large and warlike nation in the Andes that numbered 15 million at the time of the conquest (1529-1533). The Incas began as a small group not very different from other groups within the Andean region. They established their capital at Cuzco in Peru in the 12th century CE. In the 14th century CE, they began expanding by conquering neighboring groups. In order to control their growing empire and prevent rebellion, ethnic groups were separated. Large populations were forced to move to a different ethnic group’s area. From conquered populations, the Incas demanded a tax of labor. This tax could be paid with military service, construction work, or agriculture work. It was this organized and intensive system of labor that allowed the Incas to complete massive construction projects. The Incas built on the engineering accomplishments of the mother cultures that preceded them in the Andes region. This is the mountaintop city of Machu Picchu, one of the few pre-Columbian cities to have avoided destruction by the Spanish. © Machu Picchu One such achievement is the city of Machu Picchu. Tucked high in the Peruvian Andes, the sheer existence of this city is a remarkable feat of engineering. Yet it was not unusual for Incan cities. Machu Picchu is the most famous Incan city and, indeed, one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world—because it is one of the very few ancient cities that survived the Spanish conquest intact. The city was “lost” until the early 20th century CE, when archaeologists from Yale University found and began excavating the site. Today, millions of tourists visit Machu Picchu each year, either by a long, twisting mountain road or via a multi-day hike on the Inca Trail. This infographic will help you organize the most important information about the Incan civilization. Inca Infographic Who Were the Aztecs? We know as much about Aztec life and culture as we do about the Aztec’s contemporary European societies, if not more. But this is not for a happy reason. Native American perspective of a meeting between European Hernan Cortez and Native Moctezuma II.© At the beginning of the 16th century, the Aztecs were the dominant empire in Mesoamerica. Their origins are unclear, but according to Aztec myth, they were previously hunter-gatherers in northern Mexico. By the 14th century CE, they had settled on the islands of Lake Texcoco, founding the great city Tenochtitlán in 1325 CE, now underneath the heart of the booming metropolis of Mexico City. In 1519 CE, the growth of this flourishing empire was abruptly cut short by the arrival of the Spanish invaders. The conquistador Hernán Cortés took the ninth Aztec emperor Moctezuma II and threw him in prison, where he died. The Spanish battled for control over Tenochtitlan, and within one year following the death of Moctezuma II, the great Aztec empire had fallen. The conquest of the Aztec by the Spanish meant that the Spanish recorded a great deal of information about the Aztecs, both before and after the conquest. The arrival of the Europeans quickly and deeply changed Aztec culture. Although there is a huge amount of documentation of the Aztecs, it is often hard to remove the Spanish bias. But some Spaniards compiled excellent records of Aztec culture, religion, language, and social structure both before and after the conquest. This good work was often done by missionaries, who learned the Aztec language, Nahuatl, and lived in New Spain for much of their lives. This infographic will help you organize the most important information about the Aztec civilization. Aztecs Infographic TEXT VERSION PDF Review and Practice Now it’s time to practice your learning. Try this activity to review information from the lesson. Pre-Columbian Review Self-Check Questions—Text Version Associate the terms in the word bank to make comparisons between the three pre-Columbian civilizations. Put each term under the name of the culture that it belongs with. Some terms will be used for multiple cultures. Then select Check Your Answers below to see if you are correct. Pre-Columbian Civilizations Maya Inca Aztec Word Bank: Lake Texcoco Tenochtitlan Machu Picchu Andes Mesoamerica Olmec influence Calendars Human sacrifice Blood-letting Quipu Calpulli Declined before Spanish conquest Thriving at time of Spanish conquest Montezuma II Quechua Nahuatl Glyphs Big cities Polytheistic Social classes Cuzco Check Your Answers Pre-Columbian Review Self-Check Answers Here are the answers! Aztec Lake Texcoco Tenochtitlan Calpulli Montezuma II Nahuatl Inca Machu Picchu Andes Quipu Cuzco Quechua Maya Declined before Spanish conquest Glyphs Aztec and Maya Mesoamerica Olmec influence Aztec and Inca Thriving at time of Spanish conquest All Three – Aztec, Inca, and Maya Calendars Human sacrifice Blood-letting Big cities Polytheistic Social classes Assessment A photo of Hiram Bingham III standing outside his tent at Machu Picchu in 1912.© Archaeologists dig into ruins to find clues to what life was like in a past civilization. American historian Hiram Bingham had the luck to discover Machu Picchu in Peru, on July 24, 1911. As a result, he studied the Incas in more detail than others had done before. Probably the only thing better to understand the past than finding a bunch of artifacts and documents would be to travel back in time. That's exactly what you will do for this assessment! Well, in your imagination you will. Imagine you could go back in time and live among one of these Mesoamerican groups: the Maya, the Aztec, or the Inca. You can choose only one, and you should think very carefully about your choice. Consider what life was like in each civilization and what roles people had in each society. Steps: 1. Determine the civilization you would choose to live in—Aztec, Inca, or Maya. Write a complete paragraph explaining your choice, using at least three facts from the lesson about life in that society. 2. Write a complete paragraph explaining why you did not choose the other two civilizations. Use at least one fact from the lesson for each civilization in your explanation. Assessment 03.04 Central and South American Legacies and Contributions 1. 2. 3. 4. Complete the reading and activities for this lesson. Review your notes for this lesson. View the Grading Rubric before completing this assessment. Download the template, complete it, and save the assignment as "Legacies_Contributions_WH_YourName". 5. Submit the assignment to 03.04 Central and South American Legacies and Contributions.
