First Cities and Empires in the Americas
The Olmec, Maya, Aztec and Inca civilizations exited in what is now Mexico, Central America, and South America, centuries prior to the arrival of
European explorers and colonizers. These civilizations numbering of millions of people rivaled any of the great civilizations in other parts of the
world. They were very advanced and accomplished. The created arts and tools, and also ways to keep time; they developed a system for counting
and writing.
THE OLMEC CULTURE
THE MAYA CULTURE
Lived on the Gulf Coast of Mexico between 1200
BCE and 800 BCE.
Culture:
Stone houses, drainage systems and monuments,
like giant heads made of basalt which represented
the Olmec kings that ruled the great cities of San
Lorenzo and La Venta.
They lived in a fertile region that allowed them to
farm for thousands of people.
They ruled through a centralized monarchy.
The Olmec civilization declined and collapsed by
300 BC.
The Mayan civilization reached its peak between 250 CE and 900 CE.
They had an agriculture-based society that grew maize, beans, squash and other vegetables.
There may have been up to 2 million in population at its highest point.
They lived in the rainforest regions of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize.
They ruled through religious leaders; this type of government is called a theocracy.
Priests believed the gods were in the stars, sun and moon.
They studied astronomy and math which allowed them to predict eclipses and to develop a
365-day calendar.
Their writing system was based on hieroglyphics, or symbols that represent sounds, ideas, or
things.
What were the possible reasons for the
decline of the Olmec?
A system of trade:
The Maya traded maize and vegetables in city markets for goods like cotton textiles, pottery,
salt, and deer meat.
They developed a network of roads for exchanging goods and used canoes to ship luxury goods
like turquoise jewelry, jade statues, and cacao beans along Mexico’s east coast
Why did Maya Civilization decline?
Around 1200 CE, cities were abandoned.
Researchers think it may have been because of overpopulation,
drought, and war.
The Maya people did not disappear like the Olmec; instead,
descendants of the Maya now live in Mexico, Guatemala and Central
America
THE AZTEC CULTURE
The Mexica, also known as the
Aztecs were a powerful group of
warring people Mexico. On
Lake Texcoco, an island in
central Mexico, legend says they
saw an eagle with a snake in its
beak; they believed this was a
sign from the god,
Huitzilopochtli. There they built
their city, Tenochtitlan.
At its peak, Tenochtitlan was
one of the largest cities in the
world. It was a busy center of
trade—built with Aztec skill,
knowledge, and human labor.
Laborers, including slaves,
worked day and night for the
priests and nobles.
It was built by digging soil from the bottom of the lake to construct bridges of earth called
causeways, which linked the island to the shore. There, they created fields by filling parts of
the lake with soil.
They built floating gardens called chinampas which allowed them to grow flowers and
vegetables on the lake.
In the 1400s before the European arrival, they created a powerful military empire that
conquered neighboring peoples who were forced to pay tribute in food and goods to the
Aztecs. They also took slaves to labor in cities and villages.
Aztec culture revolved around their religious beliefs. In order to please the gods, they
performed human sacrifices to ensure an abundant harvest.
Sources say that up to 20,000 people were sacrificed per year. During the dedication of the
temple to Huitzilopochtli, up to 80,000 may have been sacrificed.
The first Europeans to come into contact with the Aztecs were Hernan Cortes and a group of
more than 500 Spanish soldiers who marveled at the Aztec city when they rode into it in 1519.
After that, Spain led vigorous exploration and colonization of the Americas.
THE GREAT INCA EMPIRE OF SOUTH AMERICA
In the highlands (mountain region) of South America, the Inca built
Cuzco, their capital. They were the largest of all early civilizations. In
1438, emperor Pachacuti expanded the Inca empire. The Inca empire
stretched more than 3,000 miles from Colombia to N. Argentina and
Chile. They were warring people who conquered their neighbors with a
powerful army. They used clubs, spears, and spiked copper balls on
ropes as weapons. Many neighboring people just submitted to the Inca.
Those that did not accept Inca rule were harshly punished.
The Inca believed they came from the sun god. They were expert
metallurgists who made gold jewelry and gold gifts for the gods. They
built great cities for religious ceremonies, like Machu Picchu in the
Andes mountains. They cut terraces (broad platforms) into the steep
mountain slopes for farming. Stone walls retained the soil and plants in
place. They grew maize, squash, tomatoes, peanuts, chili peppers,
cotton and potatoes.
Challenges: Managing such a vast empire was difficult. They built 10,000 miles of roads paved with stones over mountains, deserts
and forests to link their vast empire. Bridges made of rope made it possible to travel over deep canyons and river valleys. Runners
carried messages from the emperor in Cuzco throughout the empire. Quechua was the
official language, but they had no written language. They did, however, invent a
system for keeping records using a string called a Quipus—different colors of string
and special patters helped the Inca keep track of information about resources.
Like the civilizations in Mexico, the Inca too would be conquered by the Spanish in the
1500s.
NORTH AMERICAN PEOPLE – THE FIRST TRIBES IN NORTH AMERICA
CENTRAL AND EASTERN
NORTH AMERICA
PREHISTORIC PEOPLES
MISSISSIPPIAN
CULTURE
After 900 AD
NORTHERN PEOPLE
Northern-most North
America; Arctic
ANCIENT PUEBLOANS
Southwest U.S.
1 AD to 1300 AD
HOHOKAM
200 AD - 1400 AD
ARIZONA
DESERTS
PLAINS PEOPLES
U.S. Great Plains
Region
ADENA
Lived in Ohio
River Valley
800 BC to 100
AD
HOPEWELL
Between 200
BC and 500 AD
Farmers and
traders
Mound builders- earthen structures
Present day Illinois
Inuit people (Eskimo)
Built stone dwellings called Pueblos
Developed irrigation
Semi-nomadic; moved with
Earthworks took many forms: some
Largest earthworks
NW US, Canada, Alaska
Built network of roads that linked
systems and miles of
the buffalo and the seasons;
look like pyramids, serpent, bear,
Farms and settlements
May have been the last group
villages / pueblos
channels for water
women farmed corns, beans,
bird shapes, some mounds are
Pyramid shaped earthwork
to migrate from Asia
Pueblo Bonito in New Mexico may
Grew corn, cotton, and
squash; men hunted buffalo,
burial chambers, some have
Built with a temple on the top
Igloo builders
have been a religious and trade center
other crops
deer, antelope;
temples at the top;
Influenced by Mexico’s
Skilled fishermen
Farmers
Made pottery, carved
Lived in portable dwellings
Shells, copper, cloth, pearls found
civilizations
Hunter-gatherers
Built dwellings in steep cliffs: Mesa
stone; and etched shells
called teepees
at sites indicate trade
Hunted whales, seals, walrus;
Verde, Colorado
by using acid
Used the buffalo to make
May have been influenced by the
caribou
Abandoned their cliff dwellings in
Shells indicate trade with
homes, clothes,
cultures of Mexico & Central
Made warm, water-proof
1300s AD because of drought
coastal people
Became great horsemen after
America
clothing from Caribou skins
Hunter-Gatherers
Used seal-oil for lamps
1500s when Spain brought
Southwestern Peoples
Hopi and Zuni
Western Peoples
Farming was central to society;
Northwest coast of N. America
Maize- basic staple food
Chinook culture in Washington
Dwellings made of Adobe (mud)
state and NW U.S.
Irrigation:
Depend on forest: made
Grew corn beans, squash, melons
canoes and homes from wood,
pumpkins, fruit
and clothes from tree bark
Trade networks in Southwest US to
Fishing on the coast
Mexico
Rocky Mountains people:
Jumano- semi-nomadic; hunted,
hunted and gathered
gathered and farmed; traded through
Texas, N. Mexico, New Mex.
Apache & Navajo settle in SW 1000
years ago
Went from hunter gatherer to farmers;
also raised sheep
the horse to the Americas
EARLY NORTH AMERICAN PEOPLE – QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
1.
What are some of the accomplishments of the Olmec and why did the Olmec
civilization collapse in 300 BC?
11. What were some of the Inca’s accomplishments?
12. Who may have influenced the mound builders of the Mississippian, Adena, &
Hopewell cultures in present day U.S?
2.
What are some of the specific accomplishments of the Maya people? How did the
Maya expand contact and trade with surrounding cultures?
13. Why were earthen mounds built?
14. What did Northern and NW cultures of N. America use to survive?
3.
Why did Mayan civilization decline?
4.
Why do you think the Mayan people did not disappear altogether like the Olmec?
5.
What is a theocracy?
6.
How were the Aztec able to dominate the people around them?
17. How did plains people survive as semi-nomadic tribes?
7.
What are some accomplishments of the Aztec?
18. Why do you think the Puebloan people of the southwest U.S. built their dwellings in
the sides of cliffs?
8.
Where did the Aztec settle and create their capital? How did the Aztecs try to keep
the gods happy and why?
9.
Who and what European empire brought Aztec power and rule to an end in 1519?
15. How important was the buffalo to the Plains people?
16. How were southwestern people able to farm desert regions in N. America?
10. How were the Inca able to maintain a vast empire that stretched 3,000 miles?
19. What were the primary crops grown by the first native peoples in the Americas?
20. How do you think the introduction of the horse changed life for Native Americans of
the Plains and desert regions