Early American Civilizations

1. Early American Civilizations

2. The Earliest Americans • Between 30,000 – 10,000 BC, nomadic groups crossed a land bridge (created by falling sea levels during an ice age) from Asia to North America • After 10,000 BC, the ice age ended, the land bridge disappeared, and they became isolated • These peoples eventually spread throughout the American continents

3. The Olmec Civilization • About 1400 – 500 BC • First large American civilization, lived along the Mexican gulf coast • No real cities, but rather villages built around complex central ceremonial centers • Ruled by a priest class, built massive monumental pyramids for religious use

4. The Mayan Civilization • 300 – 900 AD • Centered on the Yucatan peninsula and Central America • Lived in large cities built around towering pyramid-temples • Built roads to support their extensive trade with other peoples

5. Mayan Society • Mayan city-states ruled by independent kings, but priests were still very powerful • Complex class structure • Upper class included king, priests, warriors, and merchants • Farmers had to give crops to ruler and serve in the army • Slaves held the lowest position in society • Slaves included orphans, slaves’ children, and people who owed money

6. Mayan Advances • Advances • Hieroglyphic writing system • Made books from bark • Highly accurate, 365 day calendar • Performed advanced mathematical calculations • Built an elaborate trade network with neighboring civilizations

7. Mayan Collapse • The cause for Mayan collapse is unknown, but around 900 AD, the people abandoned their cities • Excessive wars may have been a factor • An extreme drought, brought on by deforestation may have also contributed • A mix of these events is probably responsible for the decline

8. The Aztec Civilization • 1200 – 1521 AD • Settled in the Valley of Mexico, which had been home to an earlier civilization centered on the city of Teotihuacán which had prospered from about 100 – 750 AD. • Aztecs built a new city called Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City) on man-made islands in the middle of a shallow lake • Eventually ruled most of Mexico, numbered over 30 million in population

9. Aztec Society • Ruled by a single emperor who was selected by a council of priests and nobles • Slaves, who were usually prisoners of war or criminals, had rights under the law and could own land and buy their freedom

10. Aztec Advances • Had formal schools for the sons of nobles • Further developed the Mayan calendar system • Advanced mathematics • Advanced medicine: could set bones, fill cavities, & treat fevers • Advanced building techniques, including canals, bridges, & pyramids

11. Aztec Religion • Practiced human sacrifice to appease their many gods • As time passed, more and more sacrifices were required • By the time the Spanish arrived, the Aztec may have been sacrificing as many as 10,000 people each year

12. Aztec Collapse • Believing that the Spanish under Hernán Cortés were gods, and fearing that the Spanish had allied themselves with the Aztec’s enemies, the Aztec allowed them to enter the capital • Cortés betrayed the hospitality of Aztec emperor Moctezuma and conquered the city in 1521

13. Pre-Incan South America • The Chavin: developed the ability to work gold; domesticated the llama • The Mochica: developed advanced ceramic pottery and irrigation systems • The Nazca: laid out strange patterns of white stone on the Nazca Desert floor which can only be seen from the air

14. The Incan Civilization • 1438 – 1533 • Founded by the first Sapa Inca (or emperor), the king of the city-state of Cuzco, Pachacuti. • The Inca quickly came to rule nearly the entire Pacific coast of South America

15. Incan Government • Ruled by the Sapa Inca, whom the Inca believed was divine (a god) • Political and religious leader of the Inca • He owned everything and everyone in the empire • His government used local governors and bureaucracy to maintain control • Excellent road system and a trained, professional army allowed quick response to any threat or rebellion

16. Incan Advances • Built and maintained an extensive network of roads (12,000 miles), bridges, and tunnels • Developed system of record keeping called quipu; quipu were knotted strings of different lengths and colors • Had communication stations along roads to send runners from station to station with messages very rapidly • Large cities of Machu Pichu and Cuzco (the capital) • Used terraces to allow farming on mountainsides • Accomplished surgeons, using antiseptics and anesthesia

17. The Quipu System

18. Incan City of Machu Pichu

19. Incan Collapse • Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro took advantage of a recent civil war and a smallpox epidemic in the Incan Empire to attack • Captured and killed the last Sapa Inca, Atahualpa, even after the Incan people agreed to pay a massive ransom for his release