Central America and Age of Exploration Flashcards
20,000 years ago, a land bridge between __ and __ called __ emerged. People travelled boat or walking (over ice)
Asia, North America, Beringia.
As people migrated, they began to settle down and rely more on __
plants
Agriculture was developed in present-day Central Mexico, where __ was grown
Maize (corn crop)
Early on, people were __, but as they started agriculture, people began to __
hunter-gatherers, settle down and start civilisations.
Starting civilisations allowed them to __ and led to the development of __
focus more on their skills; complex societies.
the __ were one of the first civilizations in __
Olmecs; Mesoamerica
the Olmecs were also known as the __
mother culture
Olmecs influenced: __ and __
Mayans and Aztecs
Olmecs location
southern coast of the gulf of mexico
what was the weather + location like in the olmecs’ region?
hot, humid, covered with swamps and jungles
some resources of the olmecs’ include–
tar, rubber, stone, wood.
what was the olmecs’ government
hereditary elite class, (judicial, military, religious)
what was the olmecs’ regligion
polytheistic
achievements of Olmecs
- San Lorenzo, la Venta (major cities, art center)
- calendar
- hieroglyphic writing
- urban design
- planned ceremonial centers - art, sculptures
- pyramids
- jaguar motif (esp in art)
Olmecs decline?
poof
Olmecs date
1000 to 100bc
Mayan location
Yucatan peninsula to central America, includes Belize, guatemala, and el salvador
what was the government in the Mayans
independent city-states, with ruling chief
city states in the mayans
Tikal – palengue (temple of inscription (house of the crypt of the lord pacal?) + copan (central pyramid; largest glyph inscription on the stairway of the temple)
chicken itza –kukulcan (feathered serpent) + cenote sagrado (sacrificial well)
(ALSO HAS BUREAUCRACY NOBLES)
religion of mayans?
polytheistic
prime god of Mayans?
rain god chac
sun god of mayans
kinich ahau
mayans feathered serpent
kukulcan
achievements of the mayans
system of mathematics – concept of zero.
- predicted ellipses
- solar calendar
- almost accurate calculations of the year.
hieroglyphs
temples and pyramids
codex paper
- popol vuh – mayan myth on how the earth was created
irrigation techniques
cotton cloth
mayan decline?
poof. (famine, disease, revolts, warfare)
mayan date?
250 – 1000 ce
triple alliance (aztecs)?
texcoco, tlacopan, and teotihuacan (aztec capital)
aztec location?
near mexico city in the central valley of mexico
aztec govt.
emperor chosen by nobles + priests to lead in war
nobles served as judges and governors
montezuma II was the ruler during aztecs peak and fall.
- demanded more tribute + sacrifice -> to rebellions from provinces
- he tried to lessen the demands but too late -> citizens saw more and more bad omens.
aztec religion
polytheistic
aztec sun god
huitzilopochiti
why was the sun god important to the aztecs
light + sunrise; needed human blood as sacrifice, sun won’t rise
aztecs acheivements
tenochtitlan is aztec capital
- texcoco - minor city
herbs and medicine
process of setting broken bones and treating cavities
steambaths
calendar
adobe (sun dried brick)
obsidian (weapons)
causeways (aka roadways)
aqueducts
temples, pyramids
chinampa (small artificial islands used for farming, aka, floating garden)
art, sun as main focus
decline of aztecs:
spanish invaders (cortez) with gunpowder, smallpox
montezuma – weak; disliked due to his demands
natives aztecs sided w spanish
incan empire date?
1400 - 1500 ad
incan location
southern peru and andes mountains
what were the incans united by?
quehua(language) + religion
incan govt
ruled by a god-king who descended from the sun god w |power|, had total control of economy (regulated production + distribution of goods),
why was the incan govt efficient?
was divided into small, manageable units.
incans would send priests to conquered regions to teach them incan language, religion, and assimilate them into incan life.
who was the first Incan ruler who led the Incas to conquer Peru and to expand their territory.
Pachacuti – also created the first Incan empire
incan religion
polytheistic; sun god most imp (Inti)
incan achievements
cuzco – capital + religious center
- machu picchu,
surgery
- trepanation
- antiseptics
terrance farming –
public school systems
quechua –
iirrigation system
road systems
- chasquis
qollqas –
stone structures
quipus
what was machu picchu used for?
mountaintop city that served as a shelter for the ruler during the winter (incan)
what is trepanation?
(brain surgery w holes)
what did they grow for terrance farming? (incan)
maize and potatoes
what is quechua?
oral lang of incans
road systesm were used to
- transport military troops, trade, and mail systems
chasquis aere?
were the mail runners who ran along the roads to transport communications (oral msgs)
qollqas
storage buildings storing food (maize) for up to 7 years
quipus?
records that store number info in knotted string, like wardeaths, births, birthdays etc
decline of incans
spanish invaders (franciso pizarro) (wanted to spread catholicism)
had superior weaponary
bought diseases (led to civil war after ruler died of the diseases
what was the 3 gs of exploration?
- god (wanted to spread christianity + convert. also bc of their hatered towards muslims)
- glory (wanted fame)
- gold (gaining wealth for their home country. bc spices + resources from asia increased, but it was more expensive due to middlemen (they controlled trade), so they tried to find a sea route directly to asia to lessen the cost.)
aztecs date?
1200 – 1500 ad
incan date?
1400 - 1500 ad
caravel?
study ship w triangle sails
astrolabe
helped seamen determine their location @ sea w brasscircle w rings
magnetic compass
allowed europeans to track direction, was a chinese invention
printing press
allowed maps to be mass produced
xartographers
peoplle who make graphs
treaty of tordesillas
a vretical line in atlantic (aka line of demarcation)
land east of line – portugal
land west of line – spain
portugal complained that spain got more land, so the line was moved a bit to the west, giving portugal a bit of brazil.
prince henry the navigator
first european navigation school (taught captains, scientists, shipbuilders, instrument makers, cartographers, sailors)
interest in exploration – conquered a city in morth africa
– designed ships + sent explorers to africa (trading posts were created)
– after africa it was asia
alvise de cadamosto
sailed south along west coast of africa to the gambia river in senegal
bartholomeu dias
attempt to asia, travelled west coast of africa to southernmost tip of africa. first to get there. named tip cape of storms (bc of storms)
portugal king didnt like name – changed to cape of good hope
vasco da gama
4 ship[s from lisbon, portugal around cape of good hope to eastern africa. got to mozambique, malindi, and calicut.
^ they didnt like him cause hes christian
amerigo vespucci
italian born – explored new world along coast of south america, realised it was not india but new continenet.
pedro alvanarez cabral
got to brazil and claimed it for portugal by accident
admiral alfonso de albuquerque
SAILED AROUND CAPE OF GOOD HOPE AND BECAME governor controlled trade in east indies
