Ancient Mesoamerica & South America

1. Ancient Mesoamerica &South America By Martha Ofuani Elian Salemink Courtney Dowd Bethany Comegys

2. Where were they? • Mesoamerica – - appeared along the Gulf coast • South America: - appeared near sea level along the Pacific coast - in the Andes Mountains

3. Mesoamerican Civilizations • Olmec, c. 1500 – 400 B.C.E • Maya, c. 2000 B.C.E – 900 C.E • Zapotec, c.1400 B.C.E – 900 C.E • Teotihuacan, c. 300 B.C.E – 750 C.E • Toltec, c. 900 – 1170 C.E • Aztec, c.1100-1521 C.E.

4. Olmecs • Had full time priests and shamans and believed in may different gods. • First in Western Hemisphere to write, they used “Epi-Olmec” ( similar to hieroglyphics) • Had huge stone structures and carvings like pyramids, heads, ball game courts, and burial mounds. • Had higher class, merchants/warriors, and farmers/artisans/sculptors. • Traded greenstone and marine shells through long distance networks. • Made a Mesoamerican calendar and invented zero.

5. Maya • Headed by hereditary ruler • Believed in cyclinical nature of time and there was an underworld,

6. Zapotec

7. Teotihuacan

8. Toltec

9. Aztec

10. South American Civilizations • Chavin c. 1200 – 200 B.C.E • Moche 200 B.C.E – 600 C.E • Nazca 1-600 C.E • Tiwanaku c 200 C.E. 1200 B.C.E. • Huari c. 650 – 800 C.E. • Chimu c. 600 – 1470 C.E. • Inca c1476 – 1534 C.E.

11. Chavin – North Peru • Built by the joint efforts of many nearby villages • Their temples and ceremonial centers included many gods, animals, and mixed figures • Gods inspired common religious forms in the area. • Used paintings and carvings to record and preserve their information • Had a farming society. • Paintings and carvings were reminiscent of similar figures in Chinese culture.

12. Moche - Northern Peru • Religious and political life focused on the pyramids and platforms • Created irrigation systems, monuments, and tombs where there were realistic animal figures. • Paintings and ceramic designs showed priest doing human sacrifice and engaging in warfare. • Lords were buried in special tombs, like the styles of the ancient Egyptians. • Traded from provincial centers to nearby river valleys.

13. Nazca, Tiwanku, Huari – Between Peru and Bolivia • South of Lake Titicaca • Built ritual centers and monumental structures. • Rulers irrigated high planes and crops to support, perhaps, 20,000 people. • Sun worship was the official religion for Tiwanku. • Created Nazca lines • Eventually all three cultures became abandoned.

14. Chimu – Northwest Coast of Peru • The capital, Chan Chan, was surrounded with a 35 foot high mud wall • Had palaces, temples, administrative offices, and houses for the common people. Contained 10 King compounds for each King • Built irrigation and water storage facilities, trade networks and built administritive centers in each city they dominated. • Responsible for gold work, record keeping, and aqueducts. • Chimu artwork influenced western S. America even more after they were conquered by the Incas.

15. Incans – Andes Mountains • Last and largest pre-Columbian civilization • Stretched for 2,000 miles from North to South. • CusiYupanqui was Emperor, he established a hereditary monarchy and his descendants built a great empire from his early conquests. • Employed the Mit’a system, demanded unpaid labor for public construction for part of the year for everyone • Abaicus system of numerical record for knots tied on string, called quipu, that held administrative records for the empire.

16. Abacus system of numerical record for knots tied on string, called quipu, that held administrative records for the empire. • Established state workshops to produce goods and encourage significant standardization of production. • 25,000 miles system of roads, tunnels, suspension bridges, travel lodges, and storage places. • Tax collectors gathered 2/3 of the crops and manufactured products. • Incas were polytheistic.

17. Fire Temple • A temple in ancient Peru made with man made mud bricks instead of stone and rocks. • Ability to create mud bricks showed an advanced function of society. • Temple had many altars and the locations of the altars suggest making offers to the deities and encouraging in fire worship. • Several painted walls that are possibly the oldest wall paintings in the Western Hemisphere • A place of iconographic and architectural tradition that had been previously known.

18. References • "Ancient South America.“Ancient Standard. Web. 24 Sep 2010. <ancientstandard.com>. • Hooker, Richard. "The Toltec." Washington State University. Washington State University, 06 Jun 1999. Web. 26 Sep 2010. <http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CIVAMRCA/TOLTECS.HTM