Mesoamerican Technology In Pre-Colubian Times (Olmec And Mayan - Aztec and Inca)) Flashcards
What does Mesoamerica mean?
- Meso = middle
- America = North and South America
Where is Mesoamerica located?
Mesoamerica is the region that is now Mexico and
Central America.
In pre-Columbian times, it was the most densely populated region of
the Americas.
Mesoamerica
Regions included in Mesoamerica?
- Region in North
America and - Central Mexico through
- Belize,
- Guatemala,
- Nicaragua,
- Honduras,
- El Salvador, and
- Northern Costa Rica
What societies flourished in the Mesoamerica Region?
Pre-Columbian societies
flourished before the Spanish colonization of the
Americas in the 15th and 16th.
What region invaded the Mesoamerica after the flourishing of pre-Columbian societies?
Spanish Colonization of the Americas in the 15th and 16th
During the Spanish Colonization in the Americas, they caused what?
Mass Genocide
Mesoamerica is home to what civilizations?
- Olmec,
- Maya,
- Aztec &
- Inca civilization.
Timeline of the Mesoamerican Civilization?
- Olmec (1200 B.C. - 600 A.D.)
- Maya (250 A.D. - 900 A.D.)
- Aztec (1200 A.D. - 1521 A.D.)
- Inca (1438 A.D. - 1533 A.D.)
- 1200 B.C. - 600 A.D.
- First known civilization to form in Central and Latin
America.
Olmec Civilization
• 250 A.D. – 900 A.D.
• Developed in what is now called the Yucatan Peninsula.
Maya Civilization
• 1200 A.D. – 1521 A.D.
• Built their capital on what is now Mexico City.
Aztec Civilizatiom
• 1438 A.D. – 1533 A.D.
• Developed in the Andes Mountains in what is now Peru.
Inca Civilization
Summary of Mesoamerican Contribution to Science and Technology
▪ Calendars
▪ Mathematics
▪ Architectural Wonders
▪ Agriculture
▪ Engineering/Hydrology
▪ Chocolates
▪ Medicine
under olmec
the immense stone heads they carved from a volcanic rock they called ___
basalt
▪ lived along the Gulf Coast of modern-day Mexico in tropical rain forests and
lowlandsfrom around 1200 BCE to 400 BCE.
▪ earliest known civilization in Mesoamerica.
▪ known for the immense stone heads they carved from a volcanic rock
called basalt.
• Archaeological evidence also suggests that they originated the
Mesoamerican practices of the Mesoamerican Ballgame—a popular game in the pre-
Columbian Americas played with balls made from solid rubber—and that they may have
practiced ritual bloodletting.
THE OLMECS
(1200 B.C. –600 A.D.)
Crops grown by Olmecs
corn and beans
At 1200 A.D. , the Olmecs significant urban centers developed at what cities?
• San Lorenzo (the earliest),
• La Venta,
• Laguna de los
Cerros,
• Tres Zapotes and
• Las Limas
Typical Olmec Goods?
Obsidian, jade,
serpentine, mica, rubber, pottery, feathers and polished
mirrors of ilmenite and magnetite.
It helped the Olmec build their urban centers of
San Lorenzo and La Venta.
Trading
The cities
used predominantly for ceremonial purposes and elite
activity; most people lived in small village.
San Lorenzo and La Venta
Where is the first pyramid of Mesoamerica located?
Pyramid of La Venta
How many deities does the Olmec have?
8
Sex of the 8 deities of Olmec?
androgynous—possessing male and female characteristics—
Olmec art is made up of?
jade, clay,
basalt, and greenstone, which is an archaeologist’s term
for carved, green-colored minera
Olmec Art Expressions?
anthropomorphic—human-shaped—
creatures, often highly stylized, using an iconography
reflective of a religious meaning
most striking art left behind by this culture (Olmec Civilization)
Olmec colossal—very big—heads.
Seventeen monumental stone representations
of human heads sculpted from large basalt
boulders have been unearthed in the region to
date.
The Olmec are considered a “______” by historians
cultural hearth
• They lived in modern-day southern Mexico
and Central America.Including the areas that are
today Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and
Honduras.
▪ They were an agriculture-based society. They grow corn,
beans, and squash, and practice many of the same crafts, such
as weaving and pottery.
▪ Their central location made it very easy to trade
and interact with other cultures from North and South
America.
V. THE MAYA
(250 A.D. –900 A.D.)
The Mayan units of time are as
follows:
- Kin = 1 day;
were numbered 0-19 - Uinal = 20 kin or day;
were numbered 0-17 - Tun = 18 Uinal;
were numbered 0 - 19 - Katun = 360 Uinal or 7,200 days; were numbered 0-19
- Baktun = 400 Tun or 144,000 days; were numbered 1-13
What did the Maya built for trading and communication?
Large and complex system of roads to stay connected with other
cities and people. These roads were used for trading goods inside and outside the
Mayan empire.
Mayan civilization left behind important architectural wonders such as:
ruins of huge ziggurat and observatories used by
astronomers.
What is the Mayan’s contribution to Science and Technology?
Created a 365 day calendar by watching the
star
Two parts of the 365 day calendar made by the Mayans?
- Solar calendar with 365 days, divided into 18 months with
20 days each with 5 extra days at the end - Lunar calendar and a Calendar based on the movement of
the Planet Venus. This was a sacred calendar with 260 days
and 13 weeks of 20 days each.
A depiction of Mayan calendar
PERSONAL
First people to use the zero?
Mayans
Number System of Mayans?
vigesimal number system based on base 20 (and, to some
extent, base 5), probably originally developed from counting
on fingers andtoes.
The vegesimal system consisted of three symbols:
- zero - represented as shell shape
- one - a dot
- five - a bar
State of advancement in regards of book in the mayan civilization?
• The Mayans also developed a form of an early book that
recorded the exploits of their gods, daily life, news and
many more subjects.
• Their books were written on bark and folded into fan-
like structures. Many of these were sadly destroyed by
the Conquistadors but thankfully some have survived to
this day.
The mayan architecture?
▪ The Mayan built towering temples, pyramids, plazas and palaces around the
empire.
▪ The ceremonial centers usually consisted of pyramidal mounds with temples or
other buildings on top. On top of the temples, priests performed religious
ceremonies and sacrifices while people watched from the plazas below
Examples of Mayan Architecture?
- Pyramid at Chichén Itzá (In Mexico)
- Sayil Palace (600-900 A.D)
- Temple of Inscriptions (A.D. 675-A.D. 683)
- Ball Courts
• The Maya incorporated their advanced
understanding of astronomy into their temples
and other religious structures.
• Is situated according to the sun’s
location during the spring and fall equinoxes.
• At sunset on these two days, the it casts a
shadow on itself that aligns with a carving of the
head of the Mayan serpent god. The shadow
forms the serpent’s body; as the sun sets, the
serpent appears to slither down into the Earth.
Pyramid at Chichén Itzá
- One of the oldest palaces in Maya history. The palace is a three-story
building with each story set back from the one below. Instead of stacking the rooms
one above the other, they were built side by side. The whole palace was made from
stone and concrete in the Puuc architectural style. The building known as El Mirador
on the site is believed to have been used as anobservatory.
Sayil Palace (600-900 A.D)
- Largest stepped
pyramid in the region, situated in the heart of Palenque.
It was built to commemorate the ruler K’inich
Janaab’ Pakal. It is one of the best sources of
archeological information of the Maya civilization with
the inscriptions on its walls telling us much about this
great civilization. It has five entrances at the front with
carved walls, and the staircase was built to reach the
crypt situated at a higher level. Various tablets have
been found in the temple which tell us how the Maya
understood the notion of time.
Temple of Inscriptions (A.D. 675-A.D. 683)
- Used to play
traditional Mesoamerican ball games. The games had
their own rules and regulations where two teams tried
to bounce a rubber ball through a ring without using
their arms andlegs.
• The ball court usually had sloping sides, but in Uxmal,
the sides were vertical; in Tikal, the court was a triple
court and the walls were L-shaped.
• These were believed to be based on religion,
and the courts were built with their sacred nature in
mind. The games were played from north to south, and
the loser of the game had to make a sacrifice to the
gods. The sport was particularly popular in Copan.
Ball Courts
the top of Maya society; claims to be related to gods
and follows a hereditary succession
the kings, or “kuhul
ajaw” (holy lords),
They were thought to serve as mediators
between the gods and people on earth, and
performed the elaborate religious ceremonies and
rituals so important to the Maya culture were they
practice human sacrifice.
“kuhul
ajaw” (holy lords)
Mayan Agriculture?
• Although somewhat limited by their geographical location and local
plant species, Mayan farmers were expert agriculturists. Their main
crop staples included Corn (maize) but they also cultivated beans and
squash, which were often grown together with corn to provide
mutual support for each crop.
• As their population grow there is a need to double up their
production of crops thus this factor drives the Mayans to mass
produce the crops they have been utilizing to withstand the growing
population of the empire.
[Under Olmec]
the __ __ was depicted as a harpy eagle associated with rulership.
Bird Monster
Additional facts for Mayan Agriculture?
• Recent discoveries also indicate Mayan farmers grew manioc (cassava), a highly
nutritious and energy-rich root vegetable and an excellent source of
carbohydrate. It turns out that their cultivation of cassava might solve a long-
standing mystery as to how they were able to sustain such a large civilization
and population given their lack of metal tools andlocale.
• The Mayans were highly accomplished engineers and employed their skills to
develop innovative farming techniques including raised farm beds and terrace
farming. These techniques were vitally important in providing means of
reducing water runoff and erosion and turning mountainous regions into
productive farmlands.
Unusual.Mayan Crop?
Rubber
[Under Olmec]
The __ __ was shown with flame eyebrows, a bulbous nose, and bifurcated tongue.
Olmec Dragon
What is rubber?
The Maya cut slits in the bark of the rubber tree and
collected its sap. They used the dried sap to make
water-resistantshoes and clothing.
Rubber was also used to make balls.
The Maya played
games in enclosed, I-shaped courts with the rubber
balls. These ball games took on a ritual significance
and were an important part of Mayan culture.
[Under Olmec]
Deities often represented a natural element including:
The Maize deity
The Rain Spirit or Were-Jaguar
The Fish or SharkMonster
Why Mayan Civilization Declined?
• Maya were wiped out by war;
• Disruption of their trade routes;
• Maya’s agricultural practices and dynamic growth resulted
in climate change and deforestation;
• Maya culture was subsumed by the Spanish
conquistadors in the 16th century.
Mayan Medicine?
They knew about stitches and
often used human hair to suture wounds. They also regularly made casts to speed the healing and recovery of fractures
and other bone breakages
used iron pyrite as tooth fillings (in dentistru)
skilled in creating prosthetics made from jade and turquoise and used obsidian for making cuts.
A mineral noted for its near-monomolecular edge whose use, when compared to other materials, has the ability to
accelerate healing and reduce scarring. It is still in use today by some surgeons performing specialist operations
Obsidian
Where is the Mayan Civilization todsy? Their descendants?
More than 2 million descendants of Maya
people live in Guatemala and southern
Mexico today
- ___ people settled in the Valley of
Mexico and what is now Mexico City.
VI. THE AZTECS
(1200 A.D. –1521 A.D.)
- The capital city of Aztec empire is
___
“Tenochtitlan”
- There are approximately __ people living in the Aztec empire
30 million
Aztec was known also as Toltec and thus some would refer the Aztec empire as ___ ___
Toltec empire
They were fierce warriors who used military power to build a huge empire and starts to collect taxes from the people they conquered which mounted the wealth of the empire.
Toltec empire
The Aztec faith shared many aspects with other
Mesoamerican religions, like that of the Maya, notably
including the rite of __ __
human sacrifice
(god of war and of the sun)
Huitzilopochtli
(“Feathered Serpent”)
Quetzalcoatl
a Toltec god who served many important roles in the Aztec faith over the years
Huitzilopochtli
Quetzalcoatl
The Great Temple, or Templo Mayor, in the Aztec capital
of Tenochtitlan was dedicated to __ __ __ __ __ __
Huitzilopochtli and
Tlaloc, the rain god.
How did the Aztecs build a city in the center of a lake?
▪ Tenochtitlan was built on an island;
▪ It was connected to the mainland by causeways leading north, south, and west of the city;
▪ The city was interlaced with a series of canals, so that all sections of the city could be visited either on foot or by canoe.
Two aqueducts served the city:
- One aqueduct piped in fresh water from outlying springs
- One aqueduct could be cleansed of mud and silt
The Aztec Aqueduct
- Excrement was collected.
- Solids rowed out in barges and used as manure
- Urine was used to make dyes fast.
The Aztecs were the first to develop the “__ __.” Later, it was given a name called “___.”
floating gardens
chinampas
are artificial islands that were created by
interweaving reeds with stakes beneath the lake’s surface,
creating underwater fences. A buildup of soil and aquatic
vegetation would be piled into these “fences” until the top layer
of soil was visible on the water’s surface.
Chinampas
Aztecs has developed special boats called ___
canoes
Canoes are capable to carry __ passengers or ___ of maize.
60 passengers
3 tons
The Aztec canoe is used for ___
transportation
The Aztec Architecture
- The Aztec Empire is famous for many of its features including the amazing architectural styles that the Aztec people used in the construction of their buildings and cities.
- Aztec architecture followed similar principles to other earlier Mesoamerican civilizations, including,
the use of a grid system in city building and the construction of large temples in the shape of a pyramid. - The Teotihuacan pyramids are some of the largest of their kind in the Americas. Ancient Teotihuacanos constructed the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon in the year 100 C.E., centuries before
the Aztec had arrived in Teotihuacan. These marvels still stand at an incredible height of around 65 meters (213 feet) and 43 meters (141 feet)
Aztecs Calendar and Dates
The Aztec’s system of tracking days was very intricate and their calendar system was derived from the Mayan
one
- The Aztec sunstone, a very famous calendar, weighs 24
tons and is 13 feet in diameter. It contains information on
the days that begin and end months as well as the gods
related to the days. The center of the stone contains a god
called Tonatiuh. Surrounding it are four squares
containing symbols that represent the ages preceding the
time of the Aztecs (tiger, water, wind,rain). Lastly, around
the squares, there is a ring that possesses 20 segments for
the 20 days of the month. Each day has it’s own unique
symbol and god.
The Aztec people followed two maincalendars.
- One was a more sacred calendar consisting of 13 months of 20 days
- the other was an agricultural or
solar calendar with 18 months of 20 days. The solar calendar, being the scientific one, should add up to 365
days, yet it only adds up360.
Aztecs Hieroglyphs
- The Aztecs language was called Classical Nahuatl and it wasn’t written as an alphabet but as a series of glyphs. Each symbol represented only one sound. The language of the Aztecs were eventually developed into an alphabet, yet they used to simply be a series of pictures used in three different ways.
- The first way was pictograms. This was simply about the symbol meaning what it looked like. This method was easy understand but it required hundreds and
thousands of symbols to have meaningful language. - The second way is ideograms. Ideograms are related to idea behind what the symbol represents. A picture of footprints could represent a trip or even a passage of time in a certain direction.
- The last way is phonograms. This is finally how a picture can represent a certain sound such as a picture of a bee could represent the sound of “b”. All these components came together in the Aztec glyphs.
Aztec Math and Number System
- Aztec number system was a vigesimal one, which means they used 20 as a base number. In their arithmetic calculations, there
were symbols that were used to represent different values. A dot meant the number 1, a bar meant 5, and there were many other
symbols for 20 and its various multiples. - It was also clear that the Aztecs had a very clear understanding of multiplication and division in the sense of geometry. Their
standard unit of linear measurement was called land rod, equivalent to 2.5 meters. If an object was not an exact amount of land
rods, certain symbols were added to indicate the remaining length (less than a land rod).
Aztec Education
One of the Aztecs primary contribution is the idea of compulsory
universal education.
They decided to make it mandatory for
children to attend school and receive education.
Aztec Education
From age 12 to 15, kids attended a type of school called ___
cuicalli also known as house of song
Aztec Education
Most girls ended their education at age __
15 yrs old
Aztec Education
boys went to a type
called ___ from ages 15 to20.
telpochalli
- They slept at this school, but if that wasn’t an option the boys went to another type called calmécac. Calmécac taught of a variety of
subjects as well as trained them for the military as the school offered opportunities for a government position.
Aztecs Invented a ball
game termed as
“_____”
Tlachtli
____ is one of the most desired foods of
Mesoamerica and was consumed by the Olmec, Maya,
and Aztec civilizations, amongst others
Chocolates
What happened to theAztecs?
Invaders led by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés overthrew the Aztec Empire by force and
captured Tenochtitlan in 1521, bringing an end to
Mesoamerica’s last great native civilization.
VII. THE INCA
(1438 A.D. –1533 A.D.)
- The Inca civilization flourished in ancient Peru between c. 1400 and 1533 CE, and their empire eventually extended across western South America from Quito in the north to Santiago in the south, making it the largest empire ever seen in the Americas and the largest in the world at that time.
- the Incas conquered people and exploited landscapes in such
diverse settings as plains, mountains, deserts, and tropical jungle. - Famed for their unique art and architecture, they constructed
finely-built and imposing buildings wherever they conquered, and
their spectacular adaptation of natural landscapes with terracing,
highways, and mountaintop settlements continues to impress
modern visitors at such world famous sites as MachuPicchu
The Inca government was called the ___. It was a monarchy ruled by asingle leader called the
___ ___.
Tawantinsuyu
Sapa Inca
The emperor or king of the Inca Empire which means “sole ruler”. He was the most powerful person in the land and everyone else reported to the Sapa Inca. His principal wife, the queen, was called thecoya.
Sapa Inca
[Inca Government Organization]
Viceroy
Below the Sapa Inca was the viceroy, or Inkap Rantin. He was a close relative of the Sapa Inca and worked as his closest advisor.
[Inca Government Organization]
High Priest
The high priest, called the “Willaq Umu”, was also a very powerful man. He was probably second in power to the Sapa Inca due
to the importance of religion in the Inca Empire.
[Inca Government Organization]
Governors of a Quarter
The Inca Empire was divided up into four quarters. Each of these quarters was ruled by a
governor called an Apu
[Inca Government Organization]
Council of the Realm
The Sapa Inca also kept a council of men who advised him on major matters. These men were powerful nobles.
[Inca Government Organization]
Inspectors
In order to maintain control and to make sure people were paying their taxes and following the ways of the Inca, the Sapa Inca had inspectorsthat watched over the people. The inspectors were called “tokoyrikoq”.
[Inca Government Organization]
Military Generals
There were also military generals. The head general was usually a close relative of the Sapa Inca. These leaders were called”Apukuna”.
[Inca Government Organization]
Other Officials
There were many other government officials and leaders throughout the Inca Empire such aspriests, military officers,
judges, and taxcollectors.
The Inca Tax
- For tax purposes censuses were taken and populations
divided up into groups based on multiples of ten (Inca
mathematics was almost identical to the system we use
today). As there was no currency in the Inca world, taxes
were paid in kind - usually foodstuffs, precious metals,
textiles, exotic feathers, dyes, and spondylus shell - but
also in labourers who could be shifted about the empire
to be used where they were most needed, known as
mit’a service. - To keep track of all these statistics, the Inca used the
quipu, a sophisticated assembly of knots and strings
which was also highly transportable and could record
decimals up to 10,000.
Inca Architecture
- Master stone masons, the Incas constructed large
buildings, walls and fortifications using finely-worked
blocks - either regular or polygonal - which fitted
together so precisely no mortar was needed. - With an emphasis on clean lines, trapezoid shapes, and
incorporating natural features into these buildings, they
have easily withstood the powerful earthquakes which
frequently hit the region. - The distinctive sloping trapezoid form and fine masonry
of Inca buildings were, besides their obvious aesthetic
value, also used as a recognisable symbol of Inca
domination throughout the empire. - Inca qollqa (storehouses) used for storing
grain and other foodstuffs. 15-16th
century CE, Ollantaytambo. - The Inca site of Machu Picchu built by Pachacuti Inca
Yupanqui(1438-71 CE). Fortress, sanctuary, and once home to around 1,000 residents, the site is perched in
the high Andes above the river Urubamba
Inca Road System
- The Inca Empire was connected by its vast road system
(running 25,000 miles), which made communication between
even far away points possible within days. Messengers lived in
pairs – and their whole responsibility was to be ready to
receive a message and run to deliver it –so one of them would
sleep while the other remained ready to do the job. - With the road system and messenger service, the king could
send out an order to mobilize an army for defense and the men
of the various communities would respond in a timely fashion. - There were stations, inns, and storage depots along this
roadway to supply troops, give travelers a rest, and maintain
those who worked for the messenger services. - Inca roads were built without the benefit of sophisticated surveying
equipment using only wooden, stone, and bronze tools. As they
were built in different geographical zones using local populations,
the roads are, consequently, not uniform in construction design or
materials. - Sometimes there are also two or three roads constructed in parallel,
especially near the larger urban centres. Flattened road beds - often
raised - were usually made using packed earth, sand, or grass. The
more important roads were finished with precisely arranged paving
stones or cobbles. - Roads were typically edged and protected with small stone walls,
stone markers, wooden or cane posts, or piles of stones. Drainage
was provided by frequent drains and culverts, which drew off
rainwater from the road surface, channelling it either along or under
the road. When crossing wetlands, roads were often supported by
buttress walls or built on causeways.
Inca Food & Agriculture
- The Inca state developed a huge farming apparatus,
where crops and herds were commandeered from
conquered people and the people themselves were
periodically commandeered to work on state-owned
farms. More positively, a vast network of storage
facilities was developed to insure against times of
drought and disaster and foodstuffs were often given
out as gifts by rulers seeking to make themselves
popular. - Land was worked using simple tools such as a hoe, clod
breaker, and foot plough - the chakitaqlla, which
consisted of a wooden or bronze pointed pole that was
pushed into the ground by placing one’s foot on a horizontal bar. Hoe blades were typically made using
sharpened cobble stones. - Crops cultivated across the Inca Empire
included maize, coca, beans, grains, potatoes, sweet
potatoes, ulluco, oca, mashwa, pepper, tomatoes,
peanuts, cashews, squash, cucumber, quinoa, gourd,
cotton, talwi, carob, chirimoya, lúcuma, guayabo, and
avocado. - Livestock was primarily llama and alpaca herds. These
animals were vital to many aspects of Andean life as
they provided wool, meat, leather, moveable wealth,
transportation - especially for the army, and they were
often sacrificed in religious ceremonies. - The Incas were ambitious farmers, and to maximise
agricultural production, they transformed the landscape
with terracing,
canals, and irrigation networks, whilst wetlands were
often drained to make them suitable for farming.
The Decline of Inca Empire
- The Inca Empire fell to the Spanish conquistadores under
Francisco Pizarro in 1533 CE, but it had been in decline
already for sometime. - Rebellions throughout the empire were already ongoing by
the time Pizarro arrived in the region and the diseases
(especially smallpox) brought by Europeans had already
destroyed large swaths of the population (up to 90%).
