Early Civilizations/Discovering
the Americas
Chapter 12
South America & Incas
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How do you feel about sacrificing
children?
Child Sacrifice
INCAS
Incas- powerful empire that ruled South
America in the 14-1500’s
 Andes Mnts.- Where the civilization was
located
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Geography of the Americas
Mountains
 Valleys
 Plains
 Jungles
 Deserts
 Rivers
 Oceans

Incan Mountain Empire
At its peak, the Empire was 2500 miles
wide
 Early 1200’s Incas settled in the Andes
 Capital City was Cuzco (Koos Koh)
 Center of Incan Govt & Religion
 Cuzco means “Center”
 Population grew through conquests and
take overs

Incan Government
Ruler called “Sapa Inca” which means “the
emperor”
 Emperor was related to the sun god
 Sapa Inca owned all the land and divided it
up
 Under Sapa Inca was the Noble class who
oversaw the govt.
 The Inca had a census (official count of
the population)
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Incan Govt. continued
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Census helped keep track of:
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Taxes
Soldiers
Empire workers (road/gold miners/ etc)
Farmers
Farmers gave a portion of their crops to the
govt.
◦ What did the govt. do in return?
Language
Official language – Quechua (kech wuh)
 No written language
 Used quipu (kee poo) to keep records
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Greatest Achievments
Thousands of miles of paved roads
 Massive walls (constructed without
mortar) (how was this successful?)
 Mountain top buildings
 Terraces (with aqueducts)
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The Decline
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Reasons for failure
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Fighting amongst the ruling family
Workers rebelling against the strict govt.
Francisco Pizzarro and the Spanish
Lies, Weapons, and Disease
Cultures of Middle America
Objective:
 Understand the Mayans
 Discover the Aztecs

The Mayans
Mayans- culture established in the middle
Americas at the southern tip of Mexico
 Height of the culture was from 250 AD to
roughly 900 AD
 Farming culture
 Slash and burn technique
 Crops: maize, squash, beans, avacados,
peppers, papayas

Mayans
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Because maize was so important, three of
the main gods were the corn god, the sun
god, and the rain god
Mayan Religion & Govt.
Civilization divided into city-states
 Each had their own ruler and an area that
was the center for govt. and religion
 Priests and nobles also had some power
 Leaders lived in large palaces in the city
 Regular people lived on the edges of the
city

Mayan Cities
Cities held festivals to celebrate the gods
 Large temples were the site of these
celebrations and for human sacrifices
 Skilled mathematicians and priests made
calendars to follow the seasons and plan
religious celebrations
 Used hieroglyphics (made books of info
from fig tree bark)

Games
Pak-ta-tok- Mayan ball game
 Mix of soccer and basketball
 Hard rubber ball had to be put through a
hoop
 Couldn’t use hands or feet and ball cant
touch the ground

Abandoning the Cities
AD 900 the civilization declines
 Reasons (probable)
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Drought
Crop failure
Disease
War
Overuse of natural resources
People rebelling
(there are still Mayans living in Mexico)
The Aztecs
1325 Aztecs began looking for a place to
start a city
 According to legend
 Aztec war god said, “Build in the place
where you see an eagle perched on a
cactus holding a snake in its beak.”
 That place: Tenochtitlan

Tenochtitlan
Waterways and Gardens

What you would find in the city
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Open plazas
Pyramid temples
School (for sons of nobles only)
Raised walkways (causeways)
Aqueducts to bring in fresh water
Floating gardens (trees held the land
together)
Religion & Learning
Aztecs needed good harvests
Good harvests need good sun to grow
Aztec belief is that the sun needs human
blood to survive
 Lots of human sacrifice
 Aztec Scholars and priests created a
calendar modeled after the Mayan one
 13 20 day months
 Capital city of Tenochtitlan offered schools
for sons of nobility to teach them how to
run schools, govt., or scribe.
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Aztec Society
Class Structure: Emperor, royals, nobles,
priests, and military leaders, soldiers, artisans,
Farmers, and lastly, slaves
 War was a major part of life
 Boys over 15 served
 Govt Officials and Priests did not serve
 Women could not go into battle
 They could train as priestesses
 They were expected to create clothes
 Before they could do that they were
expected to make meals

The End
Spanish conquistadores
 Weapons and disease
 Conquered tribes helped the Spanish
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Cultures of North America
The Eastern Mound Builders
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From Minnesota to Louisiana (N to S)
From Mississippi to the Atlantic Ocean (E to
W)
Typically found by water sources
Hunted/Fished and gathered fruits and nuts
Eventually began farming and established
colonies
3 main groups: Adena, Hopewell,
Mississippians
The Adena
Located in the Ohio river valley
 Adams County
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What was in the mounds?
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Used as:
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Burial sites
Hide tools/weapons
Decorative objects
Items not found locally like shells and copper
(little known about their daily life)
(died out around 100 BC)
Hopewell Culture
Located all along the Ohio and Mississippi
river valley’s
 No “one” leader, each community had a
local leader
 Civilization farmed (wide variety of crops)
 Mounds show evidence of trade from the
Rockies to the Atlantic (E to W) and from
Canada to Florida (N to S)
 Change in climate and over populaiton
are probable causes of failure

Mississippians
Located in the Mississippi valley
 Farmed for survival grew corn (maize)
and beans (could be dried and saved for
drought years)
 Built tallest mound on US soil (100 ft tall)
in Cahokia village (Illinois)
 No one is sure why their civilization
disappeared

Ancestral Pueblos
AKA the Anasazi ancient SW American
tribe
 Began around 100AD
 Chaco Canyon in New Mexico is the
supposed trading center.
 Why?

Ancient Puebloans
New Mexico had cold dry winters and
hot dry summers
 Pueblos built (pueblos) stone huts
 Had round rooms called kivas for
religious gatherings
 Major droughts in the region caused them
to leave, they never returned
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Later Pueblos
Lived in the same region and built similar
pueblos
 Made crafts by hand such as baskets and
pottery
 Also farmed
 Had irrigation systems and hunted for
extra food
 Prayed to kachinas (spirits who controlled
animals, crops, and rain)
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Plains Indians
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Located West of the Mississippi but East of
the Rockies
Midwest (flat lands)
Multiple different groups with different
languages (used signing to communicate with
other tribes)
The Mandan lived in fenced in villages with
lodges and homes
The Sioux lived in Tipis that were easy to
close up and take with them to follow
animals
Arrival of Europeans
The European settlements pushed the
plains Indians farther west
 Introduction of railroads, guns, and horses
changed the Indians history forever
 Big push today to revive the culture

People of the Woodlands
Located in Canada and the US
 Hunted and fished for survival also cleared
farm land
 Created totem poles
 Used much like a family crest
 Totem poles and potlatches showed wealth
 Created the Iroquois league (Mohawk,
Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Oneida)
 Best political group in the Americas before
the arrival of the Europeans
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