Central American
Civilizations
Lesson 1.6
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Major Central American
Cultures
• OLMEC ca. 1200-300 bce
• TEOTIHUACAN flourished 100-650 ce
• MAYAN
– Preclassic 2000 bce-100 ce
– Classic 100 -900 ce
– Postclassic 900 ce-1500 ce
•
AZTEC 1350-1519 ce
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Part 1: Olmec and Mayan
Theme: The connection between
agriculture, religion, and society
Lsn 1.6
Quick Vocab
• bloodletting rituals, cocoa, maize,
Maya, Mayan calendar, Mayan
decline, Olmec, Popol Vuh, Temple
of the Giant Jaguar, Tikal
Olmecs and Mayans
Olmecs
• Earliest known ceremonial centers is
near modern day Veracruz around
1200 B.C.
– Served as the nerve center for the first
complex society of the Americas, the
Olmecs
• “Olmec” was not what the people
called themselves
– It means “rubber people” and comes from
the rubber trees that flourish in the region
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Characteristics of
Olmec Civilization
• Intensive agricultural techniques
– Area received abundant rainfall so extensive irrigation
systems were unnecessary
– The Olmecs built elaborate drainage systems
• Specialization of labor
– Jade craftsmen
• Cities
– Built around ceremonial centers
• A social hierarchy
– Society was probably authoritarian
– Common subjects provided labor and tribute to the elite
Characteristics of
Olmec Civilization
• Organized religion and education
– Ceremonial centers, priests, temples, altars, and human
sacrifice
• Development of economic exchange
– Imported jade and obsidian and exported small jade, basalt,
and ceramic works of art
• Development of new technologies
– Excellent astronomers and mathematicians who developed
a calendar
• Advanced development of the arts. (This can include writing.)
– Created colossal human heads sculpted from basalt rock
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Olmec Head at La Venta
Decline of the
Olmec
• Olmecs systematically destroyed their
ceremonial centers and then deserted the
sites
– Statues were broken and buried, monuments
defaced, and capitals burned
• No one knows why!
• but some speculate reasons involving
civil conflicts or doubts about the
effectiveness or legitimacy of the ruling
classes
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Mayans
• Began to develop
around 300 A.D. in
what is now southern
Mexico, Guatemala,
Belize, Honduras, and
El Salvador
• Known as “The
People of the Jaguar”
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Olmec Influence
on the Mayans
• Maize
• Ceremonial centers with temple
pyramids
• Calendar based on the Olmec one
• Ball games
• Rituals involving human sacrifice
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Characteristics of a Civilization
•
•
•
•
•
•
Intensive agricultural techniques
Specialization of labor
Cities
A social hierarchy
Organized religion and education
Development of complex forms of
economic exchange
• Development of new technologies
• Advanced development of the arts. (This
can include writing.)
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Agriculture
Maize
Cacao
Agriculture
• Soil in
Mesoamerican
lowlands was thin
and quickly lost
fertility
– Mayans built terraces
to retain the silt and
therefore greatly
improved agricultural
production
Cacao tree
• Raised maize,
cotton, and cacao
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Specialization
Specialization
•
•
•
•
Astronomers
Mathematicians
Warriors
Architects and
sculptors
• Potters
• Tool manufacturers
• Textile makers
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Cities
Cities: Tikal
• the Maya built more than eight large
ceremonial centers
– All had pyramids, palaces, and temples
• Some of the larger ones attracted
dense populations and evolved into
genuine cities
– The most important was Tikal
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Tikal: Temple of
the Jaguar
• 154 feet high
• Served as
funerary
pyramid for
Lord Cacao,
Maya ruler of
the late 6th and
early 7th
centuries
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Social
Hierarchy
A Mayan Warrior
A Mayan Priest
Social
Hierarchy
• King and ruling family
• Priests
• Hereditary nobility (from which came
the merchant class)
• Warriors
• Professionals and artisans
• Peasants
• Slaves
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Religion and
Education
Human Sacrifice and Bloodletting Ritual
Religion: Bloodletting
Rituals
• Mayans believed the
shedding of human
blood would prompt
the gods to send rain
to water the maize
• Bloodletting involved
both war captives and
Mayan royals
Mayan queen holds a bowl
filled with strips of paper used
to collect blood.
Economic Exchange
Mayan symbol for movement
Economic
Exchange
• Traveling merchants served as
traders and ambassadors to
neighboring lands and allied people
• Traded mainly in exotic and luxury
goods such as
• rare animal skins,
• cacao beans, and
• finely crafted works of art
• Cacao used as money
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
New
Technologies
Mayan Calendar
Observatory at El Caracol
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
New Technologies
• Excelled in astronomy and
mathematics
– Could plot planetary cycles
– Invented the concept of zero
and used a symbol to
represent zero
– By combining astronomy and
mathematics, calculated the
length of the solar year at
365.242 days
Mayan
numerical
system
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
New Technologies:
Calendar
• Mayan priests developed the most elaborate
calendar of the ancient Americas
• Interwove two kinds of year
– A solar year of 365 days governed the
agricultural cycle
– A ritual year of 260 days governed daily affairs
by organizing time into twenty “months” of
thirteen days each
What is interesting about this calendar?
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Art and Writing
Mayan writing
Mayan Decline
• By about 800, most Mayan populations had
begun to desert their cities
– Full scale decline followed everywhere but in
the northern Yucatan
• Possible causes include
• foreign invasion,
• internal dissension and civil war,
• failure of the water control system leading to agricultural
disaster,
• ecological problems caused by destruction of the forests,
• epidemic diseases,
• and natural disasters
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Characteristics of a
Civilization
•
•
•
•
•
•
Intensive agricultural techniques
Specialization of labor
Cities
A social hierarchy
Organized religion and education
Development of complex forms of
economic exchange
• Development of new technologies
• Advanced development of the arts. (This
can include writing.)
Aztecs
• Aztecs came into the Valley of Mexico during the
12th and 13th century A.D., and rose to be the
greatest power in the Americas by the time the
Spaniards arrived, in the 16th century.
• According to myth, Huitzilopochtli told Tenoch to
lead his people to a place of refuge on a swampy
island in Lake Texcoco. When they reached their
destination, they were to look for an eagle perched
on a cactus.
• At that location, they were to build their city and
honor Huitzilopochtli with human sacrifices. The city
they built was called Tenochtitlán: the city of Tenoch.
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Aztec
Calendar Stone
Agriculture
• Because their capital was in a
swamp they had to make
adjustments. They made Chnampias
(floating fruit and vegetable gardens)
– Important to them were
•
•
•
•
Sweet potato
Maize
Tomatoes
Cacao (Chocolate )
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Specialization
of Labor
• Just like the other cultures. People had
the chance to specialize into one craft.
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Farmers
Priests
Warriors
Mathematicians
Warriors
Architects and sculptors
Potters
Tool manufacturers
Textile makers
Cities
• Most famous and largest was the capital of the
empire. Tenochtitlan. Sometimes referred to as
the Venice of the West
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Social
Hierarchy
•
•
•
•
•
•
King
Priests
Nobles
Warriors
Commoners
Slaves
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Organized
Religion and
Education
• Believed in 1000’s of gods and
goddesses
• Emperors were the direct link of
Gods on Earth
• Sacrifice and bloodletting were a
part of their religious belief.
• Temples and Pyramids were often
gateways to speaking with the gods
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Economic
Exchange
• Economy was based on trade/barter
• Cacao beans were often used at a
form of money (i.e. 30 beans = a
rabbit and about 600= selling your
kid)
• Quachtli- type of cotton cloth that
was highly valued.
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
New
Technologies
• Prime Example is the capital itself.
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Technologies
• Others were
– Weapons
– Calendar
– Astronomy
– Mathematics
– Agricultural (Canapés)
– Dugout Canoes
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Development of
the Arts
• Mostly a form of religious expression
and was a way to pay tribute to the
gods.
• Most art in the Aztec empire was in
the form of
– Sculpture, pottery, or pictographs.
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Quick Vocab
• Cuzco, Inca roads, quipu, terrace
farming
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Inca
Inca
• By the 13th Century, the Inca had
established domination over the
regional states in Andean South
America
• In 1438, Pachacuti launched a
series of military campaigns that
greatly expanded Inca authority
– Success bred success and the
Inca empire expanded
• By the late 15th Century, the Inca
empire covered more than 2,500
miles, embracing almost all of
modern Peru, most of Ecuador,
much of Bolivia, and parts of
Chile and Argentina
Characteristics of a Civilization
•
•
•
•
•
•
Intensive agricultural techniques
Specialization of labor
Cities
A social hierarchy
Organized religion and education
Development of complex forms of
economic exchange
• Development of new technologies
• Advanced development of the arts. (This
can include writing.)
Agriculture
Llamas
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Agriculture
• Intensive agricultural
techniques
– Inca empire spanned many
types of environments and
required terraces to make
farmland out of the
mountainous terrain
– Chief crop was the potato
– Herded llamas and alpacas
for meat, wool, hides, and
dung (used as fuel)
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Specialization of
Labor
Inca textile
fragment
Specialization of
Labor
• Large class of bureaucrats to support
centralized government
• Much fewer skilled craftsmen
– Some potters, textile workers, and tool
makers
– Inca designated different specialties for
captured people to meet the society’s needs
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Cities
Cities: Cuzco
• Inca capital at Cuzco served as the
administrative, religious, and ceremonial
center of the empire
• May have supported 300,000 residents
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Social
Hierarchy
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Social
Hierarchy
•
•
•
•
•
Rulers
Aristocrats
Priests
Bureaucrats
Peasant cultivators of common
birth
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Social
Hierarchy
• Chief ruler was king and was an absolute
and infallible ruler
• Dead rulers retained their prestige even
after death
– Remains were
– Were seen as intermediaries with the gods
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Social Hierarchy
• Priests often came from royal and aristocratic
families
– They lived celibate and ascetic lives
– Influenced Inca society by education and religious
rituals
• Large class of bureaucrats to support
centralized government
– Bureaucrats often were drawn from the loyal ranks of
conquered people
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Social Hierarchy
• Peasants worked lands allocated to them
– Surplus supported the ruling, aristocratic, and
priestly classes as well as providing public relief in
times of famine or to widows
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Religion and
Education
Inti Raymi, the feast of the sun
Religion and
Education
• Main god was Inti, god of the sun
• Sacrificed agricultural produce or animals rather than
humans
• Believed in life after death where an individual received
rewards or punishments based on the quality of his
earthly life
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Economic
Exchange
Inca gold
Economic
Exchange
• Inca society did not produce large
classes of merchants or skilled
artisans
• Locally they bartered among
themselves
• Long distance trade was supervised by
the central government using the
excellent Inca roads
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Economic
Exchange
• Gold, the Inca’s most
valuable commodity,
proved to be their
undoing when
Spanish
conquistadors
destroyed much of
the empire in the
early 1500s in search
of gold
• The Spanish melted
down almost all the
gold so few works of
art remain
Arrival of Francisco Pizarro in
South America
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South
America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
New
Technologies
Major Roads of
the Inca Empire
•
New
Technologies:
Roads
Allowed the Inca government
to:
– maintain centralized control
– move military forces quickly,
transport food supplies where
needed,
– tying the widespread territories
together
• Rest stations were built a day’s
walk apart
• Runners were positioned at
convenient intervals to deliver
government messages
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Art and Writing
Quipu (khipu)
Art and
Writing
• The Inca had no
writing
• Instead they kept
records using a quipu
– A array of small cords
of various colors and
lengths, all suspended
from a thick cord
– By tying knots in the
small cords, Inca could
record statistical
information
586 on a quipu
SSWH 8 – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America
(a) Explain the rise and fall of the Olmecs, Mayan, Aztecs, and Inca empires.
(b) Compare the cultures of the Americas: including government, economy, religion, and the arts
of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas