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Mesoamerican CulturesBELL WORK 1. What would happen if the entire city of Murfreesboro
disappeared? 2. What proof would there be of our existence? 3. What do you think future generations would be able
to infer about Murfreesboro?
Learning Intention:Mesoamerican Cultures
Success Criteria: I can explain the impact of geographic features and climate on the
agricultural practices and settlement of the Maya, Aztec, and Incan
civilizations.
I can describe the social, economic, and political characteristics of
the Maya, Aztec, and Incan civilizations.
Friday 2-28-20
Mesoamerican CulturesBELL WORK 1. List 3 things that you found interesting about the
Mayas2. List 3 things that you found interesting about the
Aztecs.
Learning Intention:Mesoamerican Cultures
Success Criteria: I can explain the impact of geographic features and climate on the
agricultural practices and settlement of the Maya, Aztec, and Incan
civilizations.
I can describe the social, economic, and political characteristics of
the Maya, Aztec, and Incan civilizations.
Monday March 2nd
Mayans, Aztecs and Incas7.56 Explain the impact of geographic features and
climate on the agricultural practices and settlement
of the Maya, Aztec, and Incan civilizations.
7.57 Describe the social, economic, and political
characteristics of the Maya, Aztec, and Incan
civilizations, including: oral traditions, class
structures, religious beliefs, slavery, and
advancements (e.g., astronomy, mathematics, and
calendar
Olmec• stonemasons
• built cities with stone buildings
• built temples
• farmers and traders
• the first civilization to build pyramids
• built colossal heads• Disappeared no one sure
about what happened to the Olmec
Who were the Olmec?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhQRDrJowuM
Mayans - Timeframe
300 A.D. - 900 A.D
Not sure how the empire arose there are 2 theories:
1. Developed from the Olmec civilization and other area influences
2. A pre-Columbian culture developed virtually on its own
Economy and Trade (Farming)
Mayans - Political System
• Maya had rulers and a ruling class
• Their kings were powerful and claimed to be descended from the Gods
• They had independent city-states
Mayans - Social System – Roles of Peoplpevery strict classsystem, very hardto move up
This society had Slaves.
Mayans - Religious BeliefsMayan religion was characterized by:
• the worship of nature gods (especially the gods of sun, rain and corn)
• a priest class• astronomy and astrology• rituals of human sacrifice • building of elaborate• pyramidal temples.
Mayans - Architecture
large stone temples and monuments
Mayan - Accomplishments
Developed 2 calendars by using astronomy
1. religious ceremonies
2. planting and harvesting
Hieroglyphic alphabet
Mayan - Art and Oral Tradition
Written language
Alphabet
Mayan - Decline
•Not sure why this civilization collapsed maybe• conflict and war• erosion and soil overuse
and a decline in food
Mayan Interesting Fact
They invented a ball game that was a matter of life or death, literally. The rules were that the ball couldn't touch the ground and the players couldn't hit the ball with their hands and/or feet. The team that lost was killed and used as a sacrifice.
They created rubber balls that came in soccer and baseball size. You had to get the ball into a small gold ring.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJxz4XlKOGU
Aztecs - Timeframe
1200 A.D. - 1521 A.D.Started as hunters and gathers.Legend – a wandering group of hunter-gathers, the Aztecs had a belief that one day they would receive a sign from the gods. They would
see an eagle perched on a great cactus with “his wings stretched toward the rays of the sun”. In its beak, the eagle would hold a long-snake. When they saw this eagle, the Aztecs would know they had found the place where they would build a great city.
In 1325 the Aztecs took refuge on an island in Lake Texcoco. There the priests saw the eagle just as the gods promised. So they built their city and called it Tenochtitlan.
Aztecs -Geographical Features
• Southern Mexico
• Build Capital on Lake Texcoco
• Capital - Tenochtitlan
• Warm and Humid Climate
enemies
Economy and Trade (Farming)
Aztecs - Social System
Strict Social Classes
This society hadSlaves
Aztec - Political System
• The Aztec Empire was made up of city-states. • At the center of each city-state was a large city that ruled the
area. • For the most part, the Aztec Emperor did not interfere with
the ruling of the city-states. • What he required was that each city-state paid him a tribute.
As long as the tribute was paid, the city-state remained somewhat independent of Aztec rule
Aztec - Religious Beliefs
• The Aztec people worshipped over 1,000 gods.
• They believed that the sun fought darkness every night and rose to save mankind. (human sacrifice every morning to help the sun god battle his way across the sky)
• Sun God - Quetzalcoatl
• A lot of human sacrifices
Aztec - Architecture
Stone temples, aqueducts,palaces, bridges, causeways, and floating gardens
Aztec - Art
Primarily a form of religious expression honoring their gods
Aztec -Accomplishments
• Floating gardens
• causeways - raised roads across bodies of water
• chewing gum and popcorn
• advances in math and astronomy
Aztec - Decline
A combination of the following:1. Too many human sacrifices - population
decreased2. Disease 3. Spanish Conquest
• Conquered by the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes in 1521
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3kWJfkqT0g&t=10s
Tenochtitlan The impossible city
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nS6MpVbB_g
AZTECS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVGvMfrN2Zw
Incas - Timeframe
1200 A.D. to 1572 A.D.The early Incas began as a small tribe in the Andes mountains. A ruler
named Pachacuti led the Incas to expand their territory through agreements with, or conquests of, other tribes.
By 1500s the Incan Empire was huge and had 1 million people.
Incas -Geographical Features
• Fertile valleys of the Andes Mountains in South America
• Capital Cuzco
Economy and Trade
(Farming)
Incas - Social SystemStrict social systems
Two main social classes:Upper ClassLower Class
The Upper Class lived in the capital of Cuzco.
This society did NOT have slaves!
Upper Class
• Kings, priests, and government officials made up the Inca upper class.
• Men worked for the government and women had household duties
• Sons went to school• Upper-class families had many privileges, such as
private schools, stone houses, and the best clothes.
Lower class
• The lower class was made up of farmers, artisans, and servants. There were no slaves in the Inca society.
• They worked on government fames, served in the army, worked in mines, or built roads.
• Children learned to farm
Inca - Political System
• It was a monarchy ruled by a single leader called the Sapa Inca (He had several officers who helped to rule the empire...often relatives of the emperor)
• In order to run the government...they acquired taxes.
(There wasn't a lot of crime in the Inca Empire, mostly because the punishments were very harsh. For example, people were often executed for cursing the gods. If they were caught stealing, they would have their hands cut off.)
Inca - Religious System
• The religion of the Inca was closely tied into the everyday life. They believed that their ruler, the Inca Sapa, was part god himself.
• The Inca believed that their gods occupied three different realms: 1) the sky 2) the inner earth, and 3) the outer earth.
• The Inca held religious festivals every month. Sometimes human sacrifice would be included as part of the ceremony
Incan - Architecture
• Advanced builders• Cities designed to blend into the
environment • Famous for their stonework -the Inca
cut their stones to such precise dimensions that they fit together perfectly. They did not use mortar to hold stones in place.
Inca - Art
Incan art was practical -pottery and cloth
Used materials that were available to them in nature
Excelled at stonemasonry and textile arts
Inca -Accomplishments
• Terrace farming
• Stone roads/paths
• Rope suspension bridges
Unlike the Mayans and Aztecs, the Incas were quite agriculturally advanced, having developed a system of irrigation to rival their European counterparts.
Inca - Accomplishments cont.
Quipu - with no written language - the Inca used quipus - to keep accounting recorders of people and goods
Inca - Decline of civilization
1.The Inca recently lost a war of the Amazon Indians
2.Europeas disease spread3.The weakened empire fell to Francisco Pizarro in
1533 AD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_-ABbHKYKU&t=29s
