Olmec Civilization:
The Mesoamerican Frontrunners
(1200 BC – 500 BC)
Location: Gulf Coast of Mexico
Olmec Civilization
• Highly
centralized
government
• Strict hierarchy
• No specific rulers
are known
Olmec Civilization
• Polytheistic
• Practiced bloodletting
as a form of sacrifice
• Human sacrifice (maybe?)
• Religious activities performed by
a combination of rulers & priests
Olmec Civilization
• May have been the first
civilization in the western
hemisphere to develop a system
of written language
• Calendar
• Concept of zero
Olmec Civilization
• Possible Explanations for
Decline:
• Not known
• Outside invaders?
• Internal destruction?
Mayan
Civilization
(AD 250 – 900)
Location: Yucatan Peninsula
Mayan Civilization
• Composed of
city-states
• Each contained:
• Its own ruler, farmland & an
urban center built around
ceremonial temples
Mayan Civilization
Mayan Civilization
• Polytheistic
• Offerings of food,
flowers & incense
• Sacrificed humans (generally
peasants)
• Worshipped nature gods
Mayan Civilization
• Written language; similar to
hieroglyphics
• System of numbers
that included zero
• Accurate 365-day
solar calendar
The Mayan Calendar: end of the world?
It might just be coincidence, but the Mayan calendar was drawn up in
such a way that it ends completely in 2012.
The main details of the Mayan calendar were worked out nearly a
hundred years ago. They believed that human history has distinct
epochs (or "suns") of 3,000 - 5,000 years, after which there is a
catastrophic event that completely ends all existing civilisations.
According to the Mayans the present era began 13th August 3114 BC and
ends on 21st December 2012 AD.
The Mayan start date of our era is similar to the start date for the
Egyptian civilization, according to modern archaeologists.
Mayan Civilization
• Society:
• Men cultivated
crops, while women
processed them
• To support Mayan cities, farmers
paid taxes in food
Mayan Civilization
• Possible Explanations
for Decline:
• Frequent warfare
• Overpopulation  over farming 
soil exhaustion
• Peasant revolts
Aztec
Civilization
(AD 100 to 1500s)
Location: Mexico Valley
Aztec Civilization
• Single ruler – unified empire
• Theocratic government
characterized by frequent warfare
• Built an empire in Tenochtitlan by
conquering neighboring
civilizations
Aztec Civilization
• Polytheistic
• Worshipped over 1,000
gods, but the sun god
was the most important
(Huitzilopochtli)
• Made human sacrifices
Aztec Civilization
• Social Hierarchy:
• King
• Nobles (officials, judges, etc.)
• Warriors
• Commoners (farmers)
• Slaves (criminals & POWs)
Aztec Civilization
• Explanation for Decline:
• Conquered by the Spanish (led by
Hernando Cortes)
• Conquest led to destruction &
epidemic disease, specifically
smallpox
Incan
Civilization
(1400s – 1500s)
Location: Peru (South America)
Incan Civilization
• Incan
Government:
• Very efficient
with many
different levels
• Record keeping & tax collection
Incan Civilization
• The emperor
(aka the Inca)
had
total control over
the empire
• Claimed that he was the son of the
sun, or divine…
• Therefore, he also served as the
chief religious leader
Incan Civilization
• Polytheistic
• Believed in nature
gods
• Inti, the sun god, was most
important
• Offerings of food & clothing
Incan Civilization
• Built 12,000 miles
of road to unite
empire
• Runners were posted along Incan
roads to relay messages of
rebellions & natural disasters
Incan Civilization
• No flat land for
farming
• In order to overcome
this challenge, farmers used
terraces – strips of flat land
carved into steep hillsides
Incan Civilization
• Explanation for Decline:
• Weakness within the empire led
to vulnerability
• Conquered by the Spanish (led by
Francisco Pizarro)
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Location:
North, South & Central America
(and Australia)
Western Hemisphere
Population:
Total: 40 million
(10 – 12 million in Mexico; 9 million
in Peru; 3 million in the US &
Canada )
Language:
MANY languages
Health:
High infant mortality
Life expectancy (35 years)
Religion:
Spirits, magic, animism, etc.
Housing:
Dependent on region
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Location:
Europe & Asia
Eastern Hemisphere
Population:
Total: 60 to 70 million
(9 out of 10 were peasants)
Language:
National languages
1 out of 20 could read
Health:
Frequent famine
Chronic plagues
1 in 7 dead from smallpox
½ newborns died before age 15
Life expectancy (35)
Religion:
Roman Catholicism
(Protestant Reformation had not
yet occurred in )
Housing:
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Location:
North, South & Central America
(and Australia)
Western Hemisphere
Population:
Total: 40 million
(10 – 12 million in Mexico; 9 million
in Peru; 3 million in the US &
Canada )
Language:
MANY languages
Health:
High infant mortality
Life expectancy (35 years)
Religion:
Spirits, magic, animism, etc.
Housing:
Dependent on region
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Location:
Europe & Asia
Eastern Hemisphere
Population:
Total: 60 to 70 million
(9 out of 10 were peasants)
Language:
National languages
1 out of 20 could read
Health:
Frequent famine
Chronic plagues
1 in 7 dead from smallpox
½ newborns died before age 15
Life expectancy (35)
Religion:
Roman Catholicism
(Protestant Reformation had not
yet occurred in )
Housing: