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Bell Ringer. How many days did the Mayan Solar Year last? What was the Round Calendar? What was a Chinampas?. Ch 9: Mayans, Aztecs, & Incas. Mesoamerica. Mayans. Believed they have existed from 300-900 C.E. Based on the Yucatan Peninsula Influenced other groups in Mesoamerica.
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Bell Ringer • How many days did the Mayan Solar Year last? • What was the Round Calendar? • What was a Chinampas?
Mayans • Believed they have existed from 300-900 C.E. • Based on the Yucatan Peninsula • Influenced other groups in Mesoamerica
Mayans: Science • Extremely good at math and science • They used a Solar Year, or a year based on the sun’s movements. • Their year was 365.242 days long.
Mayan Science • The Mayans also had a holy calendar that was 260 days long. • Once every 52 years the two calendars would line up, a unit of time they called the Round Calendar • The Mayans also invented zero in their number system.
Mayan Art & Architecture • Mayans will paint with colors made from minerals. • Mayans built pyramid like structures, with triangular archways at the top. • Archways always had 9 layers representing the 9 layers of the underworld.
Mayans will carve 5-12 FT piece of stones called steles. • These were often placed in front of temples • They normally are 3D carvings, with important dates or events carved into them
Writing • Mayans will create extremely complex hieroglyphics. • There were 100s of glyphs. • There was no 1 Mayan language, but many dialects. Up to 30 of these dialects are still spoken.
Aztecs: Science & Tech • The Aztecs will take knowledge of early groups and improve on it (Use Mayan Calendar) • The Aztecs will found their capital, Tenochtitlan, on an island. • They create artificial islands called Chinampas • These “floating gardens” could produce up to 7 crops a year.
Aztec Art & Architecture • The Aztecs were known for pottery, writing poems, their stone temples, music, and dance. • The Temples would have two stair cases, one heading to the Sun God and one to the Rain God.
Aztec Writing • The Aztecs had a pictograph writing system. • This meant that pictures would represent words, phrases, and names rather than symbolize it.
Aztec Warriors • The Aztecs would have two elite military classes: Jaguar & Eagle Warriors
The Warriors • Both groups were considered highly trained and some of the best Aztec fighters. • One of the way they proved themselves was by capturing enemies. • The better a warrior you were, the more people you could capture (12-20). • You became a man upon capturing your first enemy
Macuahuitl (ma’kwawit) • Both groups used heavy wooden clubs that had fragments of obsidian (volcanic glass) on the edges. • The glass is so sharp, and the clubs could generate so much speed, that a warrior could easily behead a person. • A Spanish warrior indicated in his personal records he saw a Macuahuitl take off the head of a horse in one swing.
Incas • Originated some time in the 12th century and lasted until the 1500s • Based in South America • Largest of the Pre-Columbian Empires • Holding such a large empire was one of their major accomplishments
Incas: Science & Tech • Amazingly good at engineering. • They had roads that went the length and width of their empire. • Were known to have carved through the sides of mountains to complete roads.
Suspension Bridges were needed for the Incas to deal with mountains and rivers. • Two ropes were anchored to heavy rocks, while other ropes were huge lower as a path way. • The Bridges may move a lot, and look scary, but are remarkable strong.
In order to use the mountains more efficiently to grow crops the Incas created terraced farming. • Each level would have support to prevent moving and drainage. • As the levels go higher the Inca would even switch the crops to what would grow best.
Inca: Medicine • Inca doctors performed procedures called trephination. • This was a process where doctors would cut a hole in your skull in order to remove bone fragments. • Many people survived the operation and lived normal lives.
Inca: Architecture • "We can assure your majesty that it is so beautiful and has such fine buildings that it would even be remarkable in Spain. ~Francisco Pizarro • Inca were masters of Architecture. • Used a style of dry stone masonry where pieces of stone were cut to fit perfectly together. • Peru is highly seismic, but Inca buildings were designed to let their stones shift slightly, and then slide back into place without damaging a wall. • Many buildings still stand today.
