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Pre-Columbian Civilizations In the Americas

Pre-Columbian Civilizations In the Americas. Early Human Migrations. Major Pre-Columbian Civilizations. The Mayans. Lands of the Maya. Political Characteristics. Never form a unified political system Do create a unified culture Larger city-states dominated smaller city-states

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Pre-Columbian Civilizations In the Americas

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  1. Pre-Columbian Civilizations In the Americas

  2. Early Human Migrations

  3. Major Pre-Columbian Civilizations

  4. The Mayans

  5. Lands of the Maya

  6. Political Characteristics • Never form a unified political system • Do create a unified culture • Larger city-states dominated smaller city-states • Large city-states built elaborate commercial and religious centers • Chichen-Itza

  7. El Castillo at Chichen Itza

  8. Maya Economy • Cultivated maize, cotton, and cacao • Increased agricultural production by draining swamps, terraced fields, and irrigation ditches • Led to environmental degradation • Hereditary nobility controlled most of the land • Maya merchants came from ruling class • Traded primarily in luxury products

  9. Maya Religion • Polytheistic • Cosmos consisted of three layers: the heavens, the human world, and the underworld • Priests could communicate with residents of both supernatural worlds • Mayan developments: calendar, writing system, and mathematics • Used to determine religious holidays

  10. Maya sacrifice • Had to please the gods via sacrifice • Piercing of bodies with needle • Human Sacrifice • Sacrificed prisoners of war, slaves, and children

  11. Mayan Bloodletting

  12. Mayan Ball Game

  13. Mayan Calendar

  14. Maya Decline • Maya city-states were abandoned or destroyed between 800-900 CE • Causes for decline include: • The disruption of trade after the decline of Teotihuacan in Central Mexico • Environmental degradation caused by overpopulation • Epidemic disease

  15. The Aztecs

  16. Rise of the Aztecs • Aztecs (Mexica) migrate to Lake Texcoco in central Mexico c. 1325 • Founded city of Tenochtitlan in 1325 • Empire started in 1434 • Aztec kings represented civil power and served as a representative of the gods on Earth

  17. Aztec Government • City-states ruled by a speaker chosen from the nobility • The Great Speaker, ruler of Tenochtitlan, was in effect an emperor • Increasingly considered a living god • Conquered peoples maintained some autonomy if they paid tribute

  18. Human Sacrifice • Human sacrifice was a typical part of Mesoamerican religion • Aztec expand practice into a cult where military supplied war captives for sacrifice • Why? • Political purposes • Population control • Cannibal kingdom

  19. Human Sacrifice

  20. Tenochtitlan “The Venice of the Americas

  21. Chinampas

  22. Aztec Society • Women’s primary role was the household • Women spent six hours a day grinding corn; restricted women’s rights • Marriages were arranged • Polygamy existed amongst the nobility • Women could inherit property

  23. The Inca

  24. Inca Economy • Unlike Aztecs, not a lot of trade • Tried to be self-sufficient • Primarily agricultural • Terrace farming & complex irrigation • Over 200 types of potatoes • Inca Socialism • Used forced labor for massive projects

  25. Terrace Farming

  26. Inca Technology • Built a complex system of roads and bridges • 2500 miles of roads • Used a system of runners to carry messages throughout the empire • Beautiful pottery, cloth, and metalworking • Quipu • Masonry

  27. Bridges and Roads

  28. Quipu

  29. Inca Metalworking

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