Aztecs/Incas/Mayas Flashcards
Many people migrated across the-
Alaska-Siberia land bridge
They migrated back and forth, following animal herds as nomadic people
In the summer, this region was much warmer & habitable
What happened to the land bridge as the temperatures rose?
As the temperature rose, the ice melted in the north and thus the bridge was covered
People moved south to find-
food
Over many generations people migrated south, eventually reaching south America
There are few different climates in South America
True or False
False
There are many different climates in South America
Rivers contributed to this weather and geography by-
lake-effect cools and erosion
Did South America possess many draft animals (strong animals for farming labor)?
No
There were llamas and alpaca—which weren’t helpful
What were llamas and alpaca good for?
They don’t work with yokes, but they’re good for fur, transport and holding storage
When were South American civilizations introduced to draft animals?
Much later, Europeans came with horses, oxen and bison
Where were the Olmecs found?
Found in modern day Mexico
Religious Olmec temples suggest that there was-
a high class of priests
What was the Olmecs top priority? What does this mean for them? What did this mean for other civilizations that followed?
The Olmecs passed many of their beliefs onto others, placing religion as their top priorities.
Meaning priests and artisans were held at the top of society
The subsequent Mesoamerican civilizations were heavily influenced and followed suit
Greatest Olmec accomplishments
They built giant heads out of stone😤
Where were the Mayans located?
Southern Mexico and Central America, on the Yucatan
Mayan top farming technique-
They used “slash and burn” farming, which created nutrients (nitrogen) for plants to grow
Explain how slash-and-burn works-
A large forested area was chopped down, leaving stumps and bushes
This area was then burned
The land was now clear and ready for farming
The soil was now covered in nutrient-rich ash
Crops planted in this area would grow extremely well for a few years
After a few years, the nutrients would wear away the the soil would be ruined
Slash-and-burn was a-
short-term farming strategy – the Mayas would constantly have to find new land to slash and burn
Mayan Religion
Made tall pyramids for religious ceremony
Where was the largest Mayan pyramid?
The largest were in Tikal – unsurpassed in height in America until the 1900s
What did large pyramids show about the Mayan civilization?
These show they were organized and advanced
What was the Mayans largest city and trade center?
Tikal was their largest city and trade center
Mayan Government-
Each city had a ruler and each ruler was surrounded by nobles who helped him (DECENTRALIZED)
Mayan Social Class-
Priests had great power (This was the case because the Mayans were extremely religious – because of the Olmec influence on them)
Most men were farmers who paid their taxes in food to support the cities.
Who what the smartest civilization out of the big three?
Mayan
They were called the Greeks of the new world, due to their intelligence
Mayan Learning-
They made large advances in mathematics and science
They had two calendars
They had the first writing system of mesoamerica
Mayan Decline-
Warfare, overpopulation, heavy ending taxes?
The Mayans suddenly disappeared
Who were the Aztecs precursor?
Aztecs precursor were the Toltecs
Ancestors of the Aztecs settled in
Tenochtitlan
Where is Tenochtitlan
This is modern day Mexico city
The story of Tenochtitlan’s founding-
The story of its founding is that the Aztec people, being very religious, were told to travel until they saw an eagle eating a snake on top of a cactus – this is where they founded their capital
Chinampas-
Chinampas were floating structures made from reed and filled with soil. Crops would be planted on them, being watered from below. This was the Aztecs’ main form of agriculture
The Aztecs built their entire capital (tenochtitlan) on-
the lake
By 1500, the Aztecs had-
conquered most of Mexico & controlled over 30 million people
Aztecs took ——- from conquered people
tribute
Tribute based empire
Government and Society for Aztecs
One single king, nobles, warriors, farmers and slaves (could buy freedom with difficulty)
The Aztecs were CENTRALIZED
Aztec Religion
They were polytheistic animists
Huitzilopochtli was their most important god – the sun god
Aztec Religion and the Sun-
They called themselves the people of the 5th sun – They thought:
1) Every time the sun set it went to fight evil
2) If it rose, it had won
3) The sun had lost, and not risen, 4 times already
4) They were running out of suns
5) They needed to save their civilization by strengthening the sun
What did the Aztecs do to keep the sun strong? Was this different from previous civilizations?
Human sacrifices were given to make the sun stronger
Olmecs and Mayans had sacrifices too, but not the this extent
Aztec Sacrifices-
Conquered people were used as sacrifices and later these people would help the Spanish defeat the Aztecs (Spanish treated these people like crap anyways)
Sometimes, people in higher classes would be sacrificed – they thought it gave the sun a bigger “boost” than a lower ranking person
It was viewed as a great honor for a high-ranking family to offer a child for sacrifice
Incas were an Andean society
True or False
True
Andes Mountains – They were an Andean, not Mesoamerican society
Chavin
First people to settle in the Andes
Art & religion were influential on other groups
These people “set the stage” for later Andean society
Mochica
Built elaborate road systems, temples
Art would resemble daily life
Early people of Peru-
Chavin
Mochica
Other cultures rose and fell, but we have no info
Pachacuti
1438 Pachacuti began conquering areas in the Andes and took the title Sapa Inca
The incas were CENTRALIZED
Pachacuti’s Government
He took absolute power and claimed that he was a divine ruler
The incas were a theocracy
He had nobles run villages for him
Inca records were kept on-
quipu (knotted string)
What was built to unite the Inca Empire?
Roads
Inca Roads-
12,000 miles – this is 4 times the width of the U.S.
Only for army and messengers to use
Regular people could only walk on the side of the road
What did the Inca use to connect the mountains? What did this show?
Suspension bridges connected mountains
Show they were good engineers
All Incan roads lead to-
Cuzco – Cuzco was the Incas’ capital
The Incan language was-
Quechua
The king required this language to be spoken
Incan Farming-
Terrace farming
Mountainsides would be transformed into “steps” for farming
Government took a percentage of crops as taxes
Incan Religion-
Polytheistic
Each month had its own festival
This proved they had a calendar
The sun god Inti was the most important
Incan Decline-
Ruler never named a successor and civil war broke out
Spanish Invaders (Francisco Pizzaro)
