Pre-Columbian American Civilizations

World History

What does Mesoamerica mean?

Middle America/Central America

Who were the Mayans and where were they located?

-Located in Central America (aka Mesoamerica), and were a farming culture, though they were also hunters and gatherers. 

-Height of empire was 300 - 900 AD

Whose culture influenced the Mayans? What was this culture thought to be the inventors of?

Their culture was influenced by the Olmec (lived to the west, thought to be the inventors of writing and numbers),

Where did the Mayans live? What did they build?

they lived in great cities such as Teotihuacanm, where they erected monuments called stelae (statues with engravings that recorded important events and people)

What were the Olmec’s influence?

math, gods, pyramids

What was a revolutionary thing Mayans did with Math?

used the 0, may have been influenced by Olmecs

What religion did the Mayans practice?

They were polytheistic,worshipping various gods that influenced parts of their daily lives. For example, corn god, god of rain, etc.

What were Mayan contributions to the world?

Mayan civilization developed a logographic (or hieroglyphic) writing system, where writing was done in symbols, accomplished impressive engineering feats, and made huge advancements in maths and astronomy

They grew grains and used grains to make tortillas (key food source for Mayans)

How did Mayan civilization collapse?

-Collapsed for unknown reasons

-Around 800s, they stopped making stelae and started abandoning their cities and culture collapsed by the 900s

Mayan Pyramid located in Mesoamerica

Who were the Aztecs and where were they located?

-located in what is now central Mexico, the Aztecs were a warlike culture whose vast empire was based in the great city of Tenochtitlan (modern day Mexico City)

What was the main theme of Aztec culture? What rulers did they build their empire under?

emphasized warfare and conquest

-Warfare was considered a religious duty amongst young men and capturing prisoners from other tribes was a great honor for young men

-They built a vast empire under rulers Montezuma I and II, as Aztecs conquered surrounding civilizations.

What was the Aztec religion?

Aztec religion combined aspects of polytheism, shamanism (communicating with the dead, especially dead ancestors), and animism (the idea that inanimate objects can have spirits, might object “spirit objects”

Why did the Aztecs practice human sacrifice?

Practiced human sacrifice, a tradition based on the mythology of the Five Suns and the self-sacrifice of Nanahuatzin (the pimple faced god). Gods sacrificed themselves to create the worlds for humans, so if the humans want something, they have to sacrifice themselves to the gods, it would often be people captured from conquered regions. 

What was a key characteristic of Aztec farming?

Innovative;

-Aztecs found ways of farming in a variety of terrains, including forests (used slash and burn to clear out large sections of jungle and plant crops there, hillsides (made step terraces to grow different things), lakes (floating gardens- scoop mud from bottoms of lakes and make islands)

Who were the Incas?

-Inca was a great civilization of the Andean Highlands (modern day Chile, Peru, Argentina and surrounding countries), and at its height, comprised the largest empire in Pre-Columbian America.

What was the result of the Incas living in a mountainous region?

-Because they lived in mountainous region, they had to be resourceful in engineering, accomplished impressive feats (clear forests, build roads, suspension bridges etc to move people and goods throughout empire)

What system did the Incas develop?

Also developed a complex accounting system based on knotted strings called quipu

What was the Incan religion?

-Incas were polytheistic, and believed in Inti, the sun god, as their primary godhead.

Who conquered the Incas, and how?

-Incas and Aztecs were eventually conquered by the Spanish.

-In the 1500s, a civil war broke out for the Incas, the ruler who had won, his army was attacked by Spain, Spain executed the ruler and took a bunch of Inca gold and silver, took over the empire bc the empire had no ruler

Briefly describe the Native Americans of North America

-The Native Americans of North America were typically polytheistic and were primarily hunters, gatherers and fishers, though some farmed as well.

-Many were nomadic following the food they were after

What was the structure of the Native American people?

-Small groups called bands typically comprised larger groups called tribes, and some tribes united to form large federations, such as the Iroquois nation. However, in North America, there were no states and empires like the ones found in Central and South America. 

What kinds of structures did the Native Americans live in?

-Groups adapted to the regions in which they lived, building different structures, such as longhouses (several families lived in one long house) and earth lodges (bigger, permanent structures for nomadic people to return to). 

-Teepees were for nomadic people who would set them up as temporary homes then move.