Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The People of North America Early Civilizations in Mesoamerica Early Civilizations in South America
Objectives: 1. Identify and describe the rst inhabitants of the Americasthe hunters and gatherersand describe later inhabitants, who practiced farming 2. Discuss the great variety of climate and geographic features that contributed to the many different cultures that emerged in the Americas
Eastern Woodlands: The Mound Builders Arounds 1000 BCE, Eastern Woodlands, from the Great Lakes to the *Gulf of Mexico The *Hopewell people in the Ohio River valley, known as the Mound Builderselaborate earth mounds: tombs for the wealthy *Cahokia, near the modern city of East St. Louismassive burial mound civilization; In the 13th century, the Cahokia collapsed
Wars were commonAccording to legend, Deganawida appeared and preached the need for peace The Great Peace alliance of ve groups called the Iroquois League A council of representatives known as the Grand Council which met to settle differences among the league Women of each *clan selected the male members of the Grand Councilthe experiment in democracy
Peoples of the Great Plains The *Plains Indians cultivated beans, corn and squash Every summer, the men left their villages to hunt buffalo (stampede over a cliff) Ate the meat, used the skin for clothing, and tools from bones *tepees from skin
Peoples of the Southwest: The Anasazi Conditions are dry in the Southwest territories (Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado) sufcient raining for farming *Anasazi peoples established an extensive farming society: 500 and 1200 CE Skilled at making baskets and potterystone and *adobe (sun-dried brick) to build *pueblos
Chaco Canyon (Pueblo Bonito) in New Mexico was the center of their civilization50 year drought destroyed them A large community emerged at *Mesa Verde (buildings in the recesses of the cliff walls)drought led to its abandonment
Objectives: 1. Identify and describe the rst inhabitants of the Americasthe hunters and gatherersand describe later inhabitants, who practiced farming 2. Discuss the great variety of climate and geographic features that contributed to the many different cultures that emerged in the Americas
Objectives: 1. Characterize early Mesoamerican civilizations that ourished with fully developed political, religious, and social structures 2. Explain how the Aztecs succumbed to diseases brought by the Spanish
The Olmec and Teotihuacan *Mesoamericaareas of Mexico and Central America: civilized before the Spaniards arrived *Olmec c. 1200 BCE: swampy lowlands and coasts of the Gulf of Mexico south Veracruz; Large cities were centers for religious rituals The Olmec carved colossal stone heads, probably to represent their gods; Around 400 BCE, the Olmec civilization declined
*Teotihuacan (Place of the Gods)the rst major city in Mesoamerica Capital of an early kingdom from 250 BCE to 800 CE Trade center located near Mexico City Pyramid of the Sun, four tiers to a height of over 200 feet
The civilization of the *Maya arose on the *Yucatan Peninsula from 300 to 900 CE The Maya built splendid temples and pyramids and developed a complicated calendar Decline occurred for unknown reasons; theories include invasion, internal revolt, or natural disaster Overuse of the land led to reduced crop yields; Cities were abandoned and covered by dense jungle growth
Political and Social Structures Mayan cities were built around a central pyramid topped by a shrine to the gods The urban centers such as *Tikal may have had a hundred thousand inhabitants Ordinary soldiers were captured in battle and became slavessome were used for human sacrice
Rulers claimed to be descended from the gods and all life was in the hands of the divine powers Supreme god *Itzamna; Jaguar god of nightevil divinity Human sacrice as a way to appease the gods
Writings and Calendar The Maya created a sophisticated writing system based on *hieroglyphs Bishop Diego de Landa believed this writing was superstition and lies of the devil and burned all Mayan texts he could nd The Spanish applied their own religious views to the native civilization
The calendar was based on a belief in cycles of creation and destruction (3114 BCE to 2012 CE) Measured time according to Astronomysolar calendar of 365 days (also used to foretell the future)
The Toltec
The Northwest of presentday Mexico City who reigned from 900 CE to 1200 CE They were a erce and warlike people who conquered the Mayan lands of Guatemala and northern Yucatan *Chichen ItzaToltec capital
The Aztec
Rise of the Aztec
12th to 16th century CE, establishing their capital at *Tenochtitlan on an island in the middle of *Lake Texcoco The city featured temples, public buildings, houses, and roadways They consolidated their rule over much of modern Mexico *tribute was paid by conquered peoples
Women in Aztec society were not equal to men but they were allowed to own and inherit property and to enter into contracts Women were expected to work in the home, weave textiles, and raise childrenor become a priestesses
Huitzilopochtli, the patron war deity of the Aztec; god of the sun Quetzalcoatl, feathered serpent god The Aztec believed Quetzalcoatl would return and would be preceded by the sign of an arrow through a sapling treesimilar to a cross Aztec religion unending struggle between the forces of good and evil throughout the universe; The Aztec practiced human sacrice
In 1519, a Spanish force under *Hernan Cortes landed at Veracruz with 550 soldiers *Montezuma believed that they were representatives of Quetzalcoatl and poured out gifts of gold The Spanish took Montezuma hostage and pillaged the city eventually the Aztec drove them from the city Guns, Germs, and Steel
Objectives: 1. Characterize early Mesoamerican civilizations that ourished with fully developed political, religious, and social structures 2. Explain how the Aztecs succumbed to diseases brought by the Spanish
Objectives: 1. Describe the wellorganized militaristic empire of the Inca 2.Summarize how Incan communities undertook sophisticated building projects and established a high level of culture development
Early Civilization
Caral, located in Peru, has been identied as the oldest major city in the Americas (abandoned in 2000 to 1500 BCE) Buildings included apartment complexes and grand residences; complex irrigation system
C. 200 BCE, another advanced civilization appeared near the Pacic coast near *Ecuador along the *Moche River *Maize (corn), peanuts, potatoes, and cotton were staples The Moche people had not written language but pottery implies the dominance of warfare (prisoners and sacricial victims)
The Inca
After the Moche civilization, the kingdom of Chimor emerged only to be replaced by the *Inca In the late 1300s, the Inca a small community in the area of *Cuzco The powerful ruler *Pachacuti launched a campaign of conquest, solidifying the region under his control
Political Structures His immediate successors extended the boundaries of the empire as far as Ecuador, central Chile, and the edge of the Amazon basin All young men were required to serve in the Incan army used to create a well-organized empire divided into four quarters rulered by governors The emperor was believed to have descended from the gods
All Incan subjects were responsible for labor service, building roads (25 thousands miles) and other projects These roads extended from modern day Colombia to chile
Social Structures Incan society was highly regimented; marriage was conned social groups Many lived in farming communities and homes built of stone and adobe Terraced farms watered by irrigation
Objectives: 1. Describe the wellorganized militaristic empire of the Inca 2.Summarize how Incan communities undertook sophisticated building projects and established a high level of culture development