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STS > The Mesoamerican Technology in Pre-columbian Times > Flashcards

The Mesoamerican Technology in Pre-columbian Times Flashcards

1
Q

mesoamerica name

A

meso = middle
America = North and South America

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2
Q

where is Mesoamerica located

A

region that is now Mexico and Central America

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3
Q

when was Mesoamerica most densely populated

A

pre-Columbian times

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4
Q

Mesoamerica regions (modern times)

A
  • North America
  • Central mexico
  • Belize
  • Guatemala
  • Nicaragua
  • Honduras El Salvador
  • Norther Costa Rica
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5
Q

when did Spanish colonization start in pre-Columbian societies

A

15th and 16th century

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6
Q

Mesoamerica civilizations

A
  • Olmec
  • Maya
  • Aztec
  • Inca
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7
Q

first known civilization to form in Central and Latin America

A

Olmec

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8
Q

Olmec

A

1200BC - 600AD

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9
Q

developed in what is now called the Yucatan Peninsula

A

Maya

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10
Q

Maya

A

250AD - 900AD

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11
Q

built their capital on what is now Mexico City

A

Aztec

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12
Q

Aztec

A

1200AD - 1521AD

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13
Q

developed in the Andes Mountains in what is now Peru

A

Inca

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14
Q

Inca

A

1438AD - 1533AD

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15
Q

Mesoamerican contribution to science and technology

A
  1. calendars
  2. mathematics
  3. architectural wonders
  4. agriculture
  5. engineering/hydrology
  6. chocolates
  7. medicine
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16
Q

place where the Olmecs lived

A

Gulf Coast of modern-day Mexico
- tropical rain forests
- lowlands

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17
Q

what are the Olmecs known for

A

immense stone heads carved from basalt

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18
Q

popular game in pre-Columbian Americas played with balls made from solid rubber (the Olmecs)

A

Mesoamerican Ballgame

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19
Q

Mesoamerican practices originated by the Olmecs

A
  • Mesoamerican Ballgame
  • Ritual bloodletting
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20
Q

where was the first pyramid of Mesoamerica constructed

A

La Venta

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21
Q

typical Olmec trade goods

A
  • obsidian
  • jade
  • serpentine
  • mica
  • rubber
  • pottery
  • feathers
  • polished mirrors of ilmenite and magnetite
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22
Q

helped the Olmec build urban centers of San Lorenzo and La Venta

A

trading

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23
Q

Cities used by the Olmecs for ceremonial purposes and elite activity

A
  • San Lorenzo
  • La Venta
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24
Q

become the unifying force of each civilization that thrive in Mesoamerican region and for the Olmecs, serve as an eneryg that bind them as one to their ruler and to the gods they believe into

A

religion

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25
Q

how many Olmec deities are there

A

8

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26
Q

materials used in Olmec art

A
  • jade
  • clay
  • basalt
  • greenstone
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27
Q

human-shaped creatures

A

anthropomorphic

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28
Q

common motifs of olmec art

A
  • downturned mouths
  • cleft heads
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29
Q

most striking art left behind the Olmec culture

A

Olmec colossal heads

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30
Q

the Olmec are considered a __ __ by historians

A

cultural hearth

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31
Q

when did the Olmec population decline

A

400 - 350BCE

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32
Q

possible reasons for the decline of Olmec population

A
  • environmental changes (silting-up of rivers)
  • volcanic activity
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33
Q

where did the Maya lived

A

modern-day souther Mexico and Central America

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34
Q

Mayan area today

A
  • Belize
  • El Salvador
  • Guatemala
  • Honduras
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35
Q

the Maya were an __ __ society

A

agriculutre-based

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36
Q

what do the Mayans grow

A
  • corn
  • beans
  • squash
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37
Q

what did the Maya build to stay connected with other cities and people

A

roads

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38
Q

architectural wonders which the Mayan civilization left behind

A

ruins of huge ziggurat

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39
Q

what did the Maya excelled

A
  • agriculture
  • pottery
  • hieroglyph writing
  • calendar-making
  • mathematics
  • architecture
  • symbolic artwork
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40
Q

Mayan contribution to science and technology

A
  1. 365 calendar by watching stars
  2. used math, first to use zero
  3. developed advance language, glyph writing system and books
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41
Q

two parts of the 365 calendar

A
  1. solar calendar = 365 days, 18 months, 20 days each with 5 extra days
  2. lunar calendar = movement of Venus, 260 days, 13 weeks, 20 days each
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42
Q

Mayan unit of time:
equate to one day

A

Kin, 0-19

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43
Q

Mayan unit of time:
equate to 20 kin

A

Uinal, 0-17

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44
Q

Mayan unit of time:
18 Uinal of one Earth year

A

Tun, 0-19

45
Q

Mayan unit of time:
360 Uinal or 7,200 days

A

Katun, 0-19

46
Q

Mayan unit of time:
400 tun or 144,000 days

A

Baktun, 1-13

47
Q

has a cycle of 13 baktuns

A

Long Count

48
Q

number system of Maya

A

base 20 (some base 5)

49
Q

Maya number symbols

A
  • zero (shell)
  • one (dot)
  • five (bar)
50
Q

number of glyphs Mayans used

A

around 700

51
Q

where were the books of Mayans written

A

bark

52
Q

what did the Mayan build

A
  • temples
  • pyramids
  • plazas
  • palaces
53
Q

Mayan Architecture

A
  1. pyramid at Chichen Itza
  2. Sayil Palace
  3. Temple of Inscriptions
  4. Ball Courts
54
Q

situated according to the sun’s location during the spring and fall equinoxes

A

Chichen Itza in Mexico (9th-13th century)

55
Q
  • one of the oldest places in Maya history
  • three-story building with each story set back from one below
  • rooms were built side by sde
A

Sayil Palace (600-900 AD)

56
Q

Sayil palace architectural sytle

A

Puuc architectural style

57
Q

believed to have been used as an obersvatory in the Sayil Palace

A

El Mirador

58
Q
  • one of the best sources of archeological information of the Maya civilization
  • largest stepped pyramid in the region
  • situated in the heart of Palenque
  • built to commemorate the ruler K’inich Janaab’ Pakal
A

Temple of Inscriptions (675-683 AD)

59
Q
  • used to play traditional Mesoamerican ball games
  • believed to be based on religion, and the courts were built with their sacred nature in mind
A

Ball Courts (1050-1200 AD)

60
Q
  • claimed to be related to gods and followed a hereditary succession
  • thought to serve as mediators between the gods and people on earth
A

kuhul akaw (holy lords)

61
Q

main crop staples of Mayans

A
  • maize (corn)
  • beans
  • squash
  • manioc (cassava)
62
Q

unusual Mayan crop

A

rubber

63
Q

noted for its near-monomolecular edge whose use has the ability to accelerate healing and reduce scarring

A

obsidian

64
Q

when did the Maya culture begin to decline

A

beginning of 11th century

65
Q

causes of the decline of Maya

A
  1. war
  2. disruption of trade routes
  3. agricultural practices and dynamic growth resulted in climate change and deforestation
  4. culture was subsumed by Spanish conquistadors in 16th century
66
Q

people who settled in the Valley of Mexico

A

the Aztecs

67
Q

capital city of Aztec empire

A

Tenochtitlan

68
Q

approx. how many people live in the Aztec empire

A

30 million

69
Q

Aztec is also known as

A

Toltec

70
Q

god of war and of the sun

A

Huitzilopochtli

71
Q

feathered serpent

A

Quetzalcoatl

72
Q

rain god

A

Tlaloc

73
Q

dedicated to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc

A

Great Temple / Templo Mayor

74
Q

what connected Tenochtitlan to the mainland

A

causeways

75
Q
  • one piped in fresh water from outlying springs
  • other could be cleansed of mud and silt
A

Aztec aqueduct

76
Q

artificial islands that were created by interweaving reeds with stakes beneath the lake’s surface, creating underwater fences

A

chinampas

77
Q

made transportation through streams and rivers easier

A

Aztec canoe

78
Q

some of the largest of pyramids in the Americas

A

Teotihuacan pyramids
(Pyramid of the Sun, Pyramid of the Moon)

79
Q

god in the center of the Aztec sunstone

A

Tonatiuh

80
Q

Aztec language

A

Classical Nahuatl

81
Q

three different ways of Aztec language

A
  1. pictograms
  2. ideograms
  3. phonograms
82
Q

symbol meaning what it looked like

A

pictograms

83
Q

related to idea behind what the symbol represents

A

ideograms

84
Q

how a picture can represent a certain sound such as a picture of a bee could represent the sound of “b”

A

phonograms

85
Q

Aztec number system

A

base 20

86
Q

standard unit of linear measurement by Aztec

A

land rod (2.5 m)

87
Q
  • place where kids aged 12-15 learn ceremonial songs and the cosmology of their people
  • house of song
A

cuicalli

88
Q

boys school age 15-20

A

telpochcalli

89
Q

taught a variety of subjects and trained them for the miliary as the school offered opportunities for a government position

A

calmecac

90
Q

Aztec ball game

A

Tlachtli

91
Q

one of the most desired foods of Mesoamerica and was consumed by the Olmec, Maya, and Aztec civilizations, amongst others

A

Chocolate

92
Q

who overthrew the Aztec Empire

A

Hernan Cortes, Spanish conquistador

93
Q
  • flourished in ancient Peru
  • empire eventually extended across wester South America from Quito in the north to Santiago in the south
  • largest empire ever seen in the Americas and the world at that time
A

the Inca

94
Q

Inca government

A

Tawantinsuyu

95
Q

leader of Tawantinsuyu

A

Sapa Inca

96
Q

Sapa Inca

A

sole ruler

97
Q

principal wife of Sapa Inca

A

coya

98
Q
  • below the Sapa Inca
  • close relative of the Sapa Inca and worked as his closest advisor
A

viceroy

99
Q
  • high priest
  • very powerful man
  • probably second in power to the Sapa Inca due to the importance of religion in Inca Empire
A

Willaq Umu

100
Q

rules the Inca Empire which is divided into four quarters

A

Apu

101
Q
  • adviced the Sapa Inca on major matters
  • powerful nobles
A

Council of the Realm

102
Q

watch over people to make sure thay are paying taxes and following the ways of the Inca

A

Tokoyrikoq, inspectors

103
Q

military general leaders

A

Apukuna

104
Q

laborers who could be shifted about the empire

A

mit’a service

105
Q

sophisticated assembly of knots and strings used by Inca which was also highly transportable and could record decimals up to 10,000

A

quipu

106
Q

used for storing grain and other foodstuffs by the Inca

A

Inca qollqa (storehouses)

107
Q
  • fortress, sanctuary, and once home to aound 1,000 residents
  • perched in the high Andes above the river Urubamba
A

Machu Picchu

108
Q

consisted of a wooden or bronze pointed pole that was pushed into the ground by placing one’s foot on a horizontal bar

A

chakitaqlla

109
Q

when did the Inca Empire fall

A

1533 CE

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