Who were the earliest Americans?
THE AMERICAS
GUESS HOW MUCH THE STATUE WEIGHS!
Student who comes closest gets a prize (2 mins).
8 TONS/16,000 POUNDS!!!!
INTRO VIDEO

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/28
709-discovery-atlantis-olmec-civilization-andatlantis-video.htm
AKS 36


36a explain the rise and fall of the Olmec, Mayan, Aztec and Inca empires
36b compare the culture of the Americas including government, economy,
religion, social structure, technology and the arts of the Mayans, Aztecs and
Incas
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
Who were the Olmecs and
what was their contribution
to civilization in the
Americas?
THE EARLIEST CIVILIZATIONS
HOW DID THEY GET HERE?
REVIEW OF EFFECTS OF AGRICULTURE
HOW DID PEOPLE SURVIVE BEFORE SETTLED
AGRICULTURE?
The Olmec
EARLY CIVILIZATIONS
OLMEC CIVILAZATION

Mesoamerica’s first civilization builders
 What
does “Mesoamerica” mean?
Began carving out a society around 1200 BC in
the jungles of southern Mexico
 Thrived 800-400 BC
 San Lorenzo – the oldest site

OLMEC HEARTLAND
WHAT DO YOU THINK THE OLMEC ENVIRONMENT
WAS LIKE?
WHERE WAS THE OLMEC CIVILIZATION
LOCATED?
THE ENVIRONMENT
•
Hot and humid and covered with swamps and
jungles
– Rainfall often caused rivers to flood
•
•
•
Large deposits of salt and tar and clay to
make….?
Wood and rubber from rain forest
Flooded plains near rivers provided…?




Earthen mounds, courtyards,
and pyramids
Planned ceremonial centers
Stone symbols – writing?
Ritual ball games
OLMEC SOCIETY

What do you think these
monuments, mounds,
and colossal heads tell
us about their culture?


May have represented
particular Olmec rulers
Elite ruling class
OLMEC CULTURE
OLMEC RELIGION


Believed to have prayed to a variety of nature gods
“The Jaguar Spirit”



Half-human, half-jaguar
Powerful rain god?
Earth, fertility?


Olmec trade
spanned north
and south!!!
Trade spread
Olmec influence
TRADE AND COMMERCE
DECLINE (BY 400 BCE)

What do you think happened to the Olmec?
LEGACY/IMPACT
The Olmec left their mark
 Olmec art and construction affected future
cultures like the Maya
 Olmec developed ceremonial centers, ritual ball
games, and ruling class
 Later cultures in Mesoamerica adopted Olmec
ways
 Influenced Mayan writing system
 Origin of the Mayan calendar system

SUMMARY
3 – things you learned
 2 – things you want to find out more about
 1 – question you have

THE MAYANS

Who were the Mayan’s and what triggered their
decline?
ENGINEERING AN EMPIRE
THE MAYANS
TIKAL PYRAMIDS
MAYAN CIVILIZATION
Southern Mexico into northern Central America
Includes dry scrub forest of the Yucatan
Peninsula
Also – dense, steamy jungles
Maya took on Olmec influences and blended it
with their local customs
REVIEW
What was the climate like for the Mayans?
 Where was their civilization located?

MAYAN CIVILIZATION (CONT)
 AD 250-900
= “Classic Period” of Maya civilization
 Built many cities (Tikal) in northern Guatemala
 Each city-state
Which means what for its government?
 Giant pyramids, temples, palaces, and elaborate stone
carvings
 Tens of thousands of people surrounded the city center
REVIEW

How was each Mayan location set-up in terms
of government?

Each Maya city featured a
ball court
 What happened to the
losers?
Religious and political
significance
 Maya believed the playing
of this game would
maintain the cycles of the
sun and moon and bring
rain

RECREATION
BALL GAME GEAR
Exact rules and method of
scoring are unknown.
Inscriptions indicate that
players could not use
their hands or feet to
move a solid rubber ball.
Members of the
losing team
might be
sacrificed by
beheading.
AGRICULTURE AND TRADE

City-states exchanged their local products and craft goods

No unifying currency, cacao (CHOCOLATE) beans sometimes
served as one

Maize, beans, and squash provided the basis for Maya life

King sat at the top and was
regarded as a holy figure
(hereditary)

Noble class (priests and leading
warriors)

Merchants and specialized skills

Peasant majority
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
RELIGION

What type of religion do you think they practiced?
 Polytheism – gods of corn, of rain, of war, etc.

How did they worship?
 Prayed, made offerings of food, flowers, incense
 Offered their blood to nourish the gods
 Human sacrifice – of captured enemies
MATH AND RELIGION
Mayans believed that time was a burden carried on the back of a
god
 Very important to have an accurate calendar to know which god
was in charge of the day
 260 day religious calendar
 365 day solar calendar

MAYAN NUMERALS
WRITTEN LANGUAGE
800 hieroglyphic symbols (glyphs)
 Carved glyphs into a bark-paper book known as a codex
(only 3 survive)

 Burned by Spanish priests in 16th century

Popul Vuh – the Maya’s version of the story of creation
“Before the world was created, Calm and Silence were the great
kings that ruled. Nothing existed, there was nothing”
MAYAN WRITING
REVIEW
Why was math and religion important to the
Mayans?
 Describe their social structure.




In the 800s, the Maya suddenly
abandoned many of their cities
Invaders from the north moved
into the lands.
Reasons?
 Frequent warfare between
kingdoms
 Population growth = needed
more land
DECLINE
USE YOUR CREATIVITY

In one paragraph, write a short story about
what you think happened to the Mayans?
THE AZTECS
ESSENTIAL QUESTION

Who were the Aztecs? How did their civilization
function, thrive, and ultimately decline?
THE AZTECS
SETTING THE STAGE
Greatest empire in Mesoamerica
 Heart of civilization located around modern
Mexico City
 Ancestors of the Olmec

LOCATION
TEOTIHUACÁN
“City of the Gods”
 First major city-state of Central Mexico
 Peak population ~150,000 – 200,000
 Obsidian – Green or black volcanic rock used to
make razor sharp weapons
 Abandoned by 750 AD

TEOTIHUACÁN
PREVIEW
THE AZTECS
Arrived in the Valley of Mexico ~1200 AD
 The god of sun and warfare told them to create
a city
 Based power on military conquest

 Demanded
tribute from their neighbors (gold, jade,
maize, cacao)



Emperor
Nobles: Military, Priests,
Government Officials
Merchants, Artisans, and
Soldiers


Merchants formed a subgroup
of elite
Enslaved People
AZTEC SOCIAL STRUCTURE
TENOCHTITLAN
TENOCHTITLAN
Established by the early 1500’s
 Population 200,000 – 400,000 (larger than
London or other European Cities at the time)
 Built on an island surrounded by
marshland/water

TENOCHTITLAN
AZTEC RELIGION
Worshipped sun god
 Human sacrifice was a way to please the gods

 Enslaved,
war prisoners
 Without blood, the sun would not rise
REVIEW
Describe the beginning of the Aztecs.
 What was their social structure?
 What was their religion?
 How did they decline?

HUMAN SACRIFICE
DECLINE

Montezuma II became Emperor in 1502 and
the Empire began to decline
 He

called for more tribute and sacrifice
The Spanish Conquistadors eventually arrived
SUMMARY

Describe:
3
traits of the civilization
 3 strengths leading to power
 3 weaknesses leading to decline
THE INCAS
ESSENTIAL QUESTION

Who were the Incas and what were some of
their social innovations unique to PreColumbian culture in the Americas?




Descended from many
different civilizations in the
region
Believed Incan ruler was
descended from sun god
Located in the Andes
Mountains of Peru
Founded capital Cuzco
around 1100 AD
ORIGINS/LOCATION
INCAN GOVERNMENT

Governed by central bureaucracy?
 What
is bureaucracy?
Roads tied the empire together
 The heart of the empire of the city of Cuzco
 Ayllu – extended families that performed tasks
to large for a regular family

A
chief lead each group but they reported to the
emperor
ROADS (14,000 MILES)


Compared to modern socialism
Mita – Annual labor tribute





Work on roads, make goods, etc
Messages travelled on road
system (postal system)
No writing system
Kept detailed numerical
records using quipu
Cared for entire population
WELFARE STATE
RELIGION
Incan king was considered a descendent of sun
god
 Worshipped sun, moon, rain, thunder gods
 Young men and women would be drafted into a
lifetime of service
 Great cities – Machu Pichu

 Sun
Temple (center), public buildings, central plaza
DECLINE

During the 1500’s the empire split between
two sons after death of emperor
 Civil
War ensured weakening the empire
 Spanish (Pizarro) arrived during the last days of the
war
SUMMARY
3 – Name 3 things you learned
 2 – Things you want to find out more about
 1 – Question you have!

 It
is good to have questions!