The Pre-Columbian Americas

Who are the Mesoamerican people that established a series of city-states?

The Maya

Where did The Maya establish city-states?

The Yucatan Peninsula and the greater modern Mexico, Guatemala, & Belize area

True or False: The Maya were organized, united peoples

False: they were NOT united

How far do The Maya's contributions date back?

2000 BCE-1697 CE

What was the last Mayan city to fall to Spain?

Nojeten

What were some of the Mayas notable contributions?

-Step pyramid design

-Advanced manufactured goods (jade, pottery)

-Astrology & astrological calendars

-A sophisticated written language system

-Advanced mathematics

The Maya are known for the continuation of several local practices such as?

Tribute collection, slavery, and religious human sacrifice

What is the three-city military confederacy headed primarily by the Mexica people?

The Aztec Empire

Name an Aztec city-state

Tenochtitlan

The Aztec used military force to do what?

Conquer and incorporate defeated peoples

When did Aztecs migrate south to the Valley of Mexico?

13th century

Unlike most military empires of the time, the Aztecs did not do what?

Setup local administrations

Instead of setup local administrations, the Aztecs did what?

Focused on the collection of tributes from conquered tribes

Conquered tribes were mainly made up of who?

Slaves

The Aztecs were the dominant economic force and military force in the region for roughly how long?

Two centuries

The Aztecs were a center for what?

Economic activity, markets and trade

What are mistakenly known as floating gardens?

Chinampas

What are chinampas?

Marshlands and lake islands

The unmatched and brutal Aztec confederacy was known for its?

Use of tributes for slavery and ritual human sacrifices

What were Aztec tributes thought to prevent?

The apocalypse

Who practiced slavery and human sacrifice before the Aztecs?

The Maya and other Mesoamerican cultures

How far did the inclusion of sacrifice into everyday life go for the Aztecs?

Some accounts of several thousand sacrifices in the span of 1-4 days

The Aztec maintained many Mesoamerican cultural features such as?

Step pyramids, blood rituals, and ball sports

The Aztec Empire flourished under rulers such as?

Montezuma II

When were European diseases introduced to the Aztec region?

15th and 16th centuries

The Aztec Empire fell due to what?

Diseases, internal power disputes, & rebellions from conquered Mesoamericans

The Spanish were able to defeat the Aztecs due to what?

-The weakening of Aztec numbers through disease

-American Indians in the region who were ready and willing to topple their brutal Aztec overlords

What was the civilization that originated in the Peruvian highlands of the Andres mountains?

The Inca

When did the Inca originate?

13th century

Unlike the Maya and Aztec, the Inca incorporated who?

Conquered peoples into an organized central empire

When did the Inca civilization flourish into?

Early 16th century

What was the imperial capital city of the Inca?

Cusco (or Cuzco)

What did Cusco house?

Temple to the Sun King

What did the Inca lack?

The wheel or written language

What did the Inca manage to construct?

A functional society that included a network of centralized roads, temples

The Inca were able to keep records through what?

Knot-based quipus

What is a quipus?

Recording device made of strings

What was the quipus able to keep record of?

Peoples within the empire through use of birth certificates, death certificates, and property records

What was the state-run work program that organized the Inca and their conquered peoples into specific labor forces called?

The Mit'a system

The Mit'a system was made up of who?

Mandatory forced [Corvée] labor

The forced Inca laborers were made to do what?

Construct roads, temples, bridges, fortifications, and agricultural terraces

The Inca central government administered, held, and distributed supplies in what?

State-run warehouses

The Mit'a system consumed the majority of the year's labor, but took breaks to maintain what?

Agriculture

What was the Mit'a system popularized as?

One of the first successful large-scale socialist practices

How did many Inca feel about the Mit'a system?

They loathed the mandatory practice

What was one of the primary reasons why the Spanish were so easily able to muster support against the imperial Inca Empire?

The Mit'a system

Who did the Spanish gather support from to go against the Inca Empire?

American Indians