600-1450 C.E.
Originally created by Ms. Susan M. Pojer Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua, NY
Pre-Colombian Societies
 Mesoamerica
– Teotihuacan
– Maya
– Toltecs
– Aztecs
 Northern Peoples
– Southwest Desert Cultures
– Mound Builders- The Mississippi Culture
 Andean Civilizations
– Moche, Paracas, Nazca
– Inca
Major Pre-Columbian Civilizations
Classic-Era Culture of
Mesoamerica
600 - 900 C.E.
Lands of the Mayans
The Yucatan
Peninsula
Chichen-Itza
Chichen-Itza - Observatory
Chichen-Itza - Ball Court
Mayan Cultivation
of Maize
Chac, God of Rain ->
Mayan Underground
Granaries: Chultunes
Overview of Tikal (Guatemala)
Temple of the Masks
Tikal Jungle View at Sunset
Tikal - Main Court
Tikal:
Temple
of the
Masks
Tikal - Wall Mask of the Rain God
Mayan Glyphs
sky
king
house
child
Mayan
Mathematics
city
Mayan Glyphs
Mayan Drinking Cup for
Chocolate
Mayan Warfare
 The Mayan Kingdoms fought constantly with each
other. Typically, the victors destroyed the peoples
they defeated.
 Warriors won prestige when they brought back
important captives from neighboring kingdoms.
Ultimately, most captives would spend their lives as
slaves or sacrificial victims to the Mayan gods.
 Between the ninth and eleventh centuries C.E.,
Chichen Itza organized a loose empire that brought
a measure of political stability to the northern
Yucatan.
Mayan Society and Religion
 Apart from the kings and ruling families, Mayan
society included a large class of priests, who
maintained an elaborate calendar, knowledge
of writing, astronomy, and mathematics.
 Like many other early civilizations,
specialization of labor helped to establish
distinct social classes.
 Peasants and slaves fed the entire society and
provided physical labor for the construction
of cities and monuments.
Quetzalcoatl:
The God of Wisdom & Learning
Maya
 Between 800 -900 C.E. cities abandoned Why?
– Trade disrupted
– Tropical agriculture
– Slash and burn
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Religious, genealogies, Historical events
No wheel, pulleys, beasts of burden
Patrilineal but traces of women rulers
Mayan Calendar
– Ritual calendar
– Solar Calendar
 Maya cosmos
– Heaven, earthly existence, dark underworld
– December 23, 2012?
Teotihuacan
 Expanding human populations led to congregations of
people in cities and to the emergence of what is believed
to be the largest city in the Americas.
 At its high point, about 400 to 600 C.E., Teotihuacan was
home to almost 200,000 inhabitants, a thriving
metropolis with scores of temples, several palatial
residences, busy markets, and hundreds of workshops
for artisans and craftsmen.
 Like the later Maya, the residents of Teotihuacan built on
the cultural foundations of the Olmec.
 They played the ball game, adopted the Olmec calendar,
and expanded the Olmec’s system of writing.
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan
 Religious architecture
 Sun, Moon, and 20 smaller pyramids
 Human sacrifice was performed?
 Floating Gardens
 No evidence of single rulers
 Collapse of Teotihuacan is unknown
 Conflict, HEI, Class conflict
C. 650 C.E.
Post-classic Period in
Mesoamerica
900-1500 C.E.
Toltecs c. 800-1000
 Possible satellite population
 Borrowed heavily from Teotihuacan
 given credit for all great Mesoamerican achievements
 First conquest state
 Established Tula around 968 C.E.
 Art more warlike and violent character
 Two chieftains or kings ruled the Toltec state
 Around 1156 C.E. northern invaders overcame Tula
 Toltecs influenced the later Mexica or Aztec culture
Toltec Capital, Tula
“Toltec” means artisan
Tula- Pyramid
Impact of Maya and Aztec?
Lands of the Aztecs
Mexica or Aztecs
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Arrived after collapse of Tula
Served as serfs and mercenaries
Population grew as did power
1325 C.E. began construction Capitals
– Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco
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Military success leads to lakeshore gains
Introduced Monarchial system
Aristocrats selected rulers
Military expansion leads to stratification of society
Leaders legitimated their rule through rituals
Populations of urban areas over 150,000
Tribute payments were common- 1/4 was food
1500 C.e.- Capital and surrounding areas 500,000
Aztec View of Tenochtitlan
Modern
Mexico
City
Ruins of the City Center,
Tenochtitlan
Three Plazas
Aztec
Spanish
Mexican
The Codex
Mendoza :
The Founding
of
Tenochtitlan
Tenochtitlan: The “Venice” of the
Americas
Aztec Chinampa or Floating Garden:
15 ft. to 30 ft. wide
Tenochtitlan - Chinampas
Aztec Writing
Aztec Math
Aztec Sun Stone -- Calendar
Aztec Sun Motifs
Aztec Codex
(15c Manuscript)
The Aztecs
Were
Fierce
Warriors
Aztecs Sacrifice Neighboring
Tribes to the Sun God
Heart Sacrifice
on an Aztec Temple Pyramid
Wall of Skulls, Tenochtitlan
Sacrificial Statue?
Tenochtitlan
Aztec Gold
Moche c. 100-800 C.E.
 Dominated north of Peru
 Cultural distinction
 No unified political structure
 Irrigation of crops
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– Maize, beans, manioc
– Coca for ceremonies
Theocratic society
Gold / Graves robbed by Spanish
All weaved
Canals led to decline
No political leader?
The Moche aka
Chimu/Chimor
Chan Chan c.
850
Lost legacy?
Contemporary
to the IcaNazca to the
south
El Nino?
The Moche (Chimor)
Lands of the Incas
Cultural
Links
Chavin
Paracas
Ica-Nazca
Moche
(Chimor)
Cuzco
Inca
Kingdom of Cusco 1197-1438
 Kingdom of Cusco (sometimes spelled
Cuzco and in Quechua Qosqo or
Qusqu) was a small kingdom in the
Andes that began as a small city-state
founded by the Incas around the 12th
century.
 In time, through either warfare or
peaceful assimilation, it began to grow
and was succeeded by the Inca Empire
Kingdom of Cusco 1197-1438
 The Inca began as a
tribe in the Cuzco
area around the
12th century under
the leadership of
Manco Cápac
 they formed the
small city-state of
Cusco
 In time, Cusco would
become the center
of the Inca Empire
Inca Empire 1438-1533
 In 1438, under the command of the Sapa Inca
(paramount leader) Pachacuti (world-shaker),
the Incas began a far-reaching expansion into
neighboring lands.
 The land which Pachacuti conquered was
about the size of the Thirteen Colonies at the
outbreak of the American Revolution of
1776, and consisted of nearly the entire
territory of the Andes mountain range
Inca Empire 1438-1533
100 year old
empire
Multiethnic
Empire
200,000
soldiers
Pachacuti r. 1438-1463
 Reorganized the kingdom
of Cusco into an empire
 Federalist system that
consisted of a central
government with the
Inca at its head and four
provincial governments
with strong leaders
 Pachacuti is thought to
have built the citadel of
Machu Picchu, either as a
family home or as a
vacation estate
Machu Picchu c. 1450
Celestial
Location
Sacred
Space
Vacation
Home?
Machu Picchu
See
Him?
Viracocha
Universe
Sun
Moon
Stars
Civilization
The Inca c.1438-1533
 Land of the Four Corners
 By 1525, 6 million plus-> Pizarro 1526
 2,000 miles along Andes and pacific
 Centered in Cuzco
 Chiefdom based on tribute
 Conquered peoples helped economy
 Pastoralists both men & women
 Lake Titicaca to Amazon to Pacific
 Quechua still spoken
Cuzco: Ancient Capital of the Inca
(11,000 ft. above sea level)
Inca Roads
Inca Social Structure
 On top was the Sapa Inca, or the emperor
 Then came the nobles, these were often the
priests and relatives of past emperors or the
current ones.
 After, there were craftsmen and architects.
they were very high on the social ladder
because of the skill that they had was
required by the Empire for such buildings.
 Then came the working class, often just
farmers that were kept in their social
groupings. After this, were the slaves and
peasants of the society
Incan Suspension Bridges
Incan Terrace Farming
Sacsayhuman
Cusco
Inca Trail
Incan Digging Sticks
Quinoa
Ollantaytambo granaries
Maize in Incan Pottery
& Gold Work
Over 100 Different Types of Potatoes
Cultivated
by the Incans
Produce from a Typical Incan
Market
Incan Ceramic Jars
Peanut
Cacao God
Potato
Cacao Pod
Squash
The Quipu: An Incan Database
Language?
Incan Mummies
Inca Gold & Silver
Poor timing…1532
100 year old
empire
Why weren’t
they able to
stop Pisaro?
Northern Peoples
900-1500 C.E.
Southwest Desert Cultures
 Hohokam of the Salt and Gila River Valleys
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– Strongest Mexican influence
– Ball courts, platform mounds, pottery
By 1000 - elaborate irrigation system
Hisatsinom (Anasazi)-“Ancient Ones” emerge in four corners
By 600-well established economy based on:
– Maize, beans, and squash
Geometrical pottery designs
By 900 C.E.- large multistory residential and ritual centers
Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, Kiet Siel, & Canyon de Chelley
Chaco Canyon
Northwestern New Mexico
Eight large towns built in canyon
Approximately 15,000
Multilevel residences
Social life and crafts activities
Gender roles more egalitarian
Modern-day Pueblos
Chaco canyon -Kiva
Southwest Desert
Cultures
Anasazi
Hohokam
Mongollon
Hisatsinom (Anasazi) Dwellings
Hisatsinom (Anasazi) Art
Mesa Verde
Mound BuildersMississippian Culture
 In North America, the first
developed towns in the
Mississippi Valley would not
appear until around 700 C.E.
with the largest of these at
Cahokia near modern-day St.
Louis.
 Cahokia held a population of
20,000 and perhaps 40,000
lived in the region.
 A strong central authority
existed and stratification of
society but no written
records remain.
 Sun worship?
Cahokia
Mound Builders
 NY to IL
 Ontario to FL
 700-1500 C.E.
 Hunting, gathering
 Cultivation
 Contacts w/ Mesoamerica?
 Chiefdom tradition
 10,000- hereditary ruler
 Cahokia - Largest mound
 100 ft x 1037 ft x 790 ft
 30 m x 316 m x 241 m
Mound Builders
 Canoe-based trade
 Sea shells, copper
 Grand tombs
 Sacrifice of others
 Military defeat?
 Deforestation?
 European arrival…
Southern Peoples
c. 900 -1500 C.E.