Early Civilization Flashcards
What were the Mayan people noted for?
Their Hieroglyphic script (the only known fully developed writing system in pre-Columbian Latin America)
What was the first major civilization in Central America?
The Olmecs
What famous sculpture did the Olmecs create?
“The Olmec Colossal heads”
Which was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America?
The Incas
Who conquered the Incas?
Francisco Pizarro
Who was Francisco Pizarro?
A Spanish born native, the bastard son of an infantry colonel
Who led the Incan expansion to the north?
Tapas Inca Yapunqui
Who did Francisco Pizarro first kill upon his landing and how?
Pizarro first killed Atahulpa, by garroting him to death.
What was a garrote (specifically the one used to kill Atahulpa)
A garrote was a stationary column like structure with a rope (or some kind of string) and a spike near the top of the column. The victim would be slowly pulled back into the column, where the spike would pierce the back of his head, while being strangled.
Where did the Incan civilization arise?
Around the Cusco area, Peru.
Around what year did the Conquest of different civilizations take place?
1492
What was the crusading mentality?
Convert or die; Crusaders were ruthless and brutal
What was the largest capital city in the world from 1300-1500AD?
Tenochtitlan, Aztecs
Where was Tenochtitlan built?
Tenochtitlan was built on an island in lake Texcoco, it used wooden stake like objects to support its foundations.
Who conquered the Aztecs?
Hernan Cortes
What were the floating gardens of Tenochtitlan called?
Chinampas
What is semi-sedentary?
The Forrest dwelling people who practiced “Shifting Cultivation”. A practice where semi-sedentary people built villages, but moved them frequently allowing cleared land to be reabsorbed into the forest.
What are fully sedentary people?
Permanently settled people usually settled on high plateaus or forests.
What was used as fertilizers for ancient civilizations in the Americas?
Guano, which are bird droppings, filled with nitrite.
When was Tenochtitlan captured?
1521
How did Hernan Cortez conquer the Aztecs?
He recruited disloyal tribes to his forces, swelling his numbers.
What was the capital of Spain at the time of conquest?
Toledo
Which civilization laid the foundation for civilizations to come?
The Olmecs
When did Pizarro conquer the Incas, and what was the first city in the newly established area?
1535, Lima was the first established city
When was the last Inca stronghold taken?
1572
What was the Inca economy based on?
Bartering and taxation
At the time who had the largest military in Europe?
The Spanish
Who founded the Incan capital Cusco and when?
Marco Capac Inca in 1438
