AP World History
Developments in the
Americas, 600 C.E. to
1400 C.E.
PrePresentation Outline
1) Neolithic Civilization in Mesoamerica
(Olmecs)
2) Maya
3) Aztecs
4) Inca
5) Comparisons (Social + Political)
11) Neolithic Civilization in
Mesoamerica (Olmecs)
• Olmecs were the first
civilization to emerge
in Mesoamerica
between 1600 and 400
B.C.E.
• Olmecs built villages
and trade networks
• They developed the
first written language
• Olmecs did not create
the kinds of institutions
seen in Mesopotamia
or Egypt
• First to develop
Mesoamerican ball
game
• Brutal spectator
sport which also
included ritual
sacrifice
lOlmecs-Decline
• Archaeological evidence
suggests that several
volcanic eruptions and
devastating earthquakes
occurred in Southern
Mexico which led to the
collapse of Olmec
civilization
2) Maya
•Southern Mexico
(Yucatan Peninsula),
Central America
•Began around 800
B.C.E and lasted until
around 800C.E.
Maya - Political
The Maya were organized into city states
ruled by a single King.
• City-states
– Relatively autonomous, but united under one king
• Warfare
– Cites within Mayan territory were often at odds
with one another and war was for capturing slaves
or sacrificial victims for religious purposes.
Maya – Social, Cultural
Their largely agricultural peasant population
was bound to nobility by ties of loyalty and
religion.
• Social structure
– Kings, priests, nobility
– Merchants
– Peasants, slaves
• Gender
– Traditional roles for women
Maya - Economic
• Agricultural
– Slash and burn
– Terrace, ridge field
– Maize, cotton
Maya - Decline
• The decline of the Maya is unclear.
• Around 800 CE they bean to abandon their
cities.
• Disease, drought, internal unrest have all
been proposed as possible reasons for their
demise.
3)Aztecs
• 1150 C.E.- 1450 C.E.
• Central Mexico
• Capital city was
Tenochtitlan
Aztecs - Political
• More than anything the Aztecs are known for their
expansionist policy and professional army which
allowed them to dominate nearby states and demand
heavy taxes and captives. *Remember they are
Expansionist + militaristic
– Built an empire of 12 million people, but despite this
they didn’t have a bureaucratic form of government.
– Autonomy was given to conquered areas as long as
they paid the tribute (taxes) demanded of them.
– Roads built to link the empire = trade grew.
• Inter-territorial trade
Aztecs – Social, Cultural
• Social Structure
– Due to expansion the Warrior elite become dominant
(majority of people were peasants or slaves)
• Gender
– Women were subordinate; polygamy was common
– Women could inherit could property
– Generally had to run the household, skilled crafts (weaving)
and to some extent commerce
• Religion
–
–
–
–
Military and religion were interlinked
Obtaining sacrifices was a military goal
Various deities were worshiped
Tens of thousands killed annually.
4)Inca
• Early 13th century1450 C.E.
• Peruvian Andes
• Capital city = Cuzco
Inca - Political
• Expansionist like the Aztecs.
– Controlled 2000 miles of South American
coastline.
– Professional standing army
– Each new ruler had to ensure his place in
eternity by securing new land due to the practice
of split inheritance = conquest.
Most united empire!
1. Established a bureaucracy managed by nobles
2. Had a unified spoken language (Quechua)
3. Also built a complex system of roads
•
The Inca practice of Split
Inheritance was the process in
which a ruler's chosen successor
obtained all political power and
rights, while the ruler's other male
descendants received all the
monetary treasures
• For this reason, effort was made by
rulers to secure as much land as
possible, to ensure not only wealth
for one's descendants but also to
secure a place for eternity. The
Inca believed that the quality of
afterlife one would experience was
dependent on how much one
gained on earth.
Inca – Social, Cultural
• Society
– Like the Mayans and Aztecs they had no large animals =
the prime source of labor was human. (THIS WHY THEY
RELIED ON SLAVES SO MUCH!!)
– Most of the population were peasants who worked the
land or construction projects.
– Peasants had to give a proportion of their harvest to the
ruling classes and to support famine relief and large cities.
• Gender
– Women subordinate - had to run the household, skilled
crafts (weaving) and to some extent commerce
– Could Inherit property and pass property onto daughters
– Women could play a role in religion.
Inca – Religion
• Inti: sun god, owns all
– The concept of private property didn’t exist.
– The ruler was viewed as having descended from the
sun and therefore owning everything on earth.
– Smaller-scale sacrifice compared to the Aztecs and
Mayans (often sacrificed material goods or animals)
– Very strong Moral quality = rewards for good
behavior and punishments for bad behavior.
– Like the Egyptians the Incas mummified their rulers
after death.
– Excellent builders = Machu Picchu
– But never developed a writing system.
– They keep account of the harvests by using quipu, a
set of knotted strings.
5) Comparisons - Politically
• Motivations for expansion
– Maya: slaves
– Aztec: territory, sacrifices
– Inca: religious
• Centralization
– Aztec and Maya: city-state autonomy
– Inca: most centralized
• Bureaucracy
• Unified language (Quechua)
• Roads
Comparison - Socially
• All
– Peasant majority
– Slavery of conquered peoples
– Women subordinate except
• Inherit land
• Commerce
• Maya: Priests, Merchant class
• Aztec: Warrior elite
• Inca: Religious elite, god-king (el Inca)
Compare Aztecs to Romans
• 1. Both built roads to tie together their empire
• 2. Generally they allowed the people the conquered
to govern themselves as along as they paid their taxes
or tribute
• 3. Adapted ideas from conquered peoples
• 4. Polytheistic
vs