SS6H1: The student will describe the impact of
European contact on Latin America.
 A new people from the
North began moving
into central Mexico
called the Aztecs.
 They became the most
powerful civilization in
Mesoamerica.
 They controlled land
from the Gulf of Mexico
to the Pacific Ocean and
from Guatemala in the
south to Mexico’s
northern deserts.
 Tenochtitlan (tay-nawch-
teet-lahn)was the capital of
the Aztec Empire.
 It is now the site of Mexico
City.
 Tenochtitlan’s population
reached over 200,000,
larger than Rome and all
other European cities of its
time!
 Tenochtitlan was built in
the middle of Lake
Texcoco.
Model of Tenochtitlan in Mexico City
 Created a mathematical
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system to keep up with
their empire.
Had two different calendar
systems to organize their
empire.
Aztec society was run by
the military, so society was
dominated by warriors.
Aztecs were a very warlike
people.
Aztecs required their
enemy neighbors to pay
taxes to live on the land.
 Aztecs had a farming
system that was very
efficient.
 They used irrigation to
keep their crops growing
even during droughts.
 Families built garden plots
that floated on Lake
Texcoco’s surface.
 These plots are called
chinampas.
 Corn, beans, and peppers
were favorites that were
grown.
 The Aztecs also practiced
human sacrificing.
 They often used their
captured enemies as the
“human” requirement for
sacrificing.
 They sacrificed much like
the Mayans did, to keep
their gods happy and their
world in order.
 The Aztecs were a civilization of
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almost 15 million people.
The Cacao bean is used to make
chocolate.
The bean was so valuable that
the Aztecs used it as a form of
currency.
The beans were the “coins” of
the Aztecs.
A list of Aztec trading supplies
looked something like this
 1 small rabbit = 30 cacao beans
1 turkey egg = 3 cacao beans
1 large tomato = 1 cacao bean
Right: Cacao Pod
Below: Cacao
Pod compared to
the Cacao beans,
which are found
inside the pods.
 The Aztecs consumed
their chocolate in liquid
form
 They also put hot
peppers in it to make it
taste better.
 The chocolate was served
cold and frothy.
 It wasn’t until the
Spanish arrived and
brought it back to
Europe that it was
consumed hot.
Hernan Cortes
Vs.
Montezuma
 In search of gold, silver,
 Welcomed Cortes to
and new lands
 Upon arriving, told his
men to burn the ships
 Aztecs thought he was a
god because he and his
Spanish army arrived on
horses with guns and
cannons
 By 1521, Cortes
conquered the Aztecs.
Tenochtitlan and let him
stay at one of the palaces
 Thought the soldiers and
their horse were actually
one creature!
 Soon realized the
Spanish were after goldbattles began and he was
killed.
 Like in the case with the
Maya, people with Aztec
ancestry live in Mexico
today.
 Aztec art and
architecture are very
popular today.
 A modern version of the
Aztec language, Nahuatl,
is still spoken by
thousands of people in
Mexico.
 The picture on the right is
the Mexican coat of arms.
 To the Aztecs, this is a
very religious symbol
 To Europeans, it
symbolizes the triumph of
good over evil.
 The coat of arms depicts a
Mexican Golden Eagle
perched on a prickly pear
cactus devouring a snake.
Flag of Mexico
 Andean civilizations are
groups of cultures that
flourished in and around
the Andes Mountains of
South America.
 The most well known
Pre-Columbian
civilization of the Andes
was the Inca.
The Inca
Empire
 The Inca empire
stretched over 2,000
miles from present-day
Colombia south to
Chile.
 The Incan capital city
was Cuzco, Peru.
 The Inca built their
civilization high up in
the Andes Mountains.
 Because of this, the
Inca were known as the
“sky people.”
 Machu Pichu was built for an
Incan King.
 It is often referred to as the
“Lost City of the Incas.”
 In 2007, Machu Pichu was
voted one of the “New Seven
Wonders of the World.”
 The Inca are known for their
masonry (stonework).
 They used no mortar (glue
for rocks) to hold the stones
together.
 Only the weight of the rocks
were used to hold them
down.
 Walls still stand today!
 Inca were known for
their beautiful gold,
silver, & bronze
pieces
 Masters of
Mathematics
 Quechua (ke-chuhwuh) was the
language of the Inca.
 In order to survive, the
Inca had to figure out a
way to farm the steep
slopes of the Andes
Mountains.
 They used terrace
farming.
 Terrace farming
provides flatland where
none is available,
decreases erosion and
water runoff.
 Instead of written words,
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the Inca used a device called
a quipu.
Quipus are sets of colored
strings with knots.
Different colors represent
different people or items
Knots represented numbers
Information about events,
populations, animals, &
supplies were all recorded
on quipus.
The quipus were sent by
“runners” from town to
town.
 Because of their massive
empire, the Inca created
an extensive road system
to link all the villages.
 Thousands of miles of
stone-paved roads
connected the entire
empire.
 The network crossed high
mountains, tropical
rainforests and deserts.
 Rope bridges spanned
rivers and valleys.
 Based on the skulls
found, scientists think
that Incans performed
brain surgery
 They would use hand
drills to drill a whole in
the skull to relieve
tension.
 Today we call them
migraines!
 Inca practiced human
sacrificing as well.
 They only sacrificed when
people were seriously
threatened by starvation or
a similar disaster.
 The Inca honored those
sacrificed, believing they
would live with the gods
forever.
 Children were usually
sacrificed because they
were thought to be purer
than adults.
 The victim would be lead up
a mountain for sacrifice.
 They would suffer from lack
of oxygen , due to the high
elevation and extreme cold.
 Because of the altitude,
Incan “mummies” have been
perfectly preserved.
 Once at the site the victim
was often drugged, some
received a fatal blow to the
head
 If drugged, they were
placed, still alive, into a hole
where they would
eventually die.
Pizzaro
Vs.
Atahualpa
 Arrived in 1532 with only
 Offered Pizarro rooms of
180 men
 Captured Atahaulpa,
leader of the Inca
 Captured the capital city
of Cuzco then moved
into other Inca lands
 By 1535, had crushed the
Inca empire
gold and silver for his
freedom- Pizarro
accepted, but then broke
the deal and had him
strangled anyway
 Incan culture is still
alive and well
throughout South
America today.
 Quechua is still spoken
by some Incan
ancestors.
 Incan historic sites are
some of the most
popular tourist
attractions in South
America.
 The civilizations of the
America’s changed forever
with the arrival of the
Europeans.
 In 1492, Christopher
Columbus arrived in the
Caribbean and began a tidal
wave of events that led to the
destruction of the great
civilizations of the Americas.
 Because of Christopher
Columbus’ exploration, many
groups of Europeans set out
to explore and eventually
conquer the Americas.
Christopher Columbus
discovered the New
World in 1492. This
event started an
exchange between
the Old World
(Europe) and the
New World (the Americas).
The moving of animals, plants,
people, and diseases from the
Old World to the New World
and from the New World to the
Old.
Food plants were exchanged.
 Cocoa, corn, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and other
foods were introduced in Europe.
Hint: Think about Thanksgiving Dinner!
1.
 Coffee, peaches, sugar, and wheat were introduced
in the Americas.
2. Indigenous population (native people) died of
diseases brought by the Europeans.
 Some of the diseases were influenza, smallpox,
measles, and typhoid fever.
 The indigenous people did not have immunity
(natural resistance) to these diseases and they did
not know how to treat the diseases.
3. Europeans introduced certain animals to the
New World.
 These included pigs, cows, goats, bees, and horses.
 The horse was a culture-changing animal because it
allowed native people to travel. The horse was also
important in hunting and battle.
The natives in South America
domesticated the llama, alpaca, and dog.
They knew nothing of the horse and were
astonished at the sight of the strange
animals the Spanish rode!
The horses abandoned by DeSoto near
the Texas border are believed to be the
beginnings of all the wild horses of North
America.