Ancient Civilizations Review

Flashcards about Ancient Civilizations

Olmecs

Considered a 'mother culture' because they influenced later Mesoamerican civilizations with writing, religion, art, and urban planning.

Olmec Colossal Heads

Show a powerful society that venerated rulers and had advanced carving skills.

Olmec Environment

Rivers and fertile land supported farming and trade; they used resources like rubber and jade.

Chavín Civilization

Based in Peru, they unified people through religion and built temples in the Andes.

Chavín

Known for religious temples, stone art, and influencing later Andean cultures.

Maya Geographic Problems

Faced dense rainforests, few rivers, and poor soil.

Maya Adaptation to Geography

They built reservoirs, terraces, and raised fields for farming.

Maya Government

City-states ruled by kings, often at war with each other.

Maya Social Structure

Nobles and priests at the top; farmers and slaves at the bottom.

Maya Religion

Shaped politics, architecture, and daily life.

Maya Religious Practices

Rituals, bloodletting, and human sacrifices to keep cosmic balance.

Maya Achievements

Writing system, calendar, astronomy, and math (including zero).

Theories for Maya Collapse

Drought, war, overpopulation, and environmental damage.

Aztec Adaptation to Geography

Built Tenochtitlán on a lake using chinampas (floating gardens).

Chinampas

Artificial islands built from mud and plants for year-round farming.

Aztec Empire Structure

Centralized under an emperor; conquered people paid tribute.

Aztec Control

Strong military and tribute system.

Aztec Religion

Polytheistic with gods for sun, war, rain, etc.

Aztec Human Sacrifice

To feed the gods, especially the sun god Huitzilopochtli.

Fall of the Aztecs

Cortés used superior weapons, native allies, and disease weakened the Aztecs.

Inca Environment

Mountains, deserts, and coastal areas across western South America (especially the Andes region).

Inca Farming Techniques

They used terrace farming and built irrigation systems to grow crops on steep mountain slopes.

Inca Infrastructure

Through the Qhapaq Ñan, a 25,000-mile road system that linked all parts of the empire.

Inca Record Keeping

Quipus were knotted strings used for record keeping and communication across the empire.

Inca Religion

Inti, the sun god, was the most important deity in Inca religion.

Inca Government and Religion

The emperor was believed to be a descendant of Inti, making religion central to royal power.

Inca Labor System (Mit'a)

A labor tax requiring citizens to work on public projects like roads and farming for part of the year.

Fall of the Inca Empire

A civil war, European diseases, and Spanish conquest led by Francisco Pizarro with superior weapons.

Significance of Inca, Aztec, and Maya Temples

They reveal advanced engineering, city planning, and religious importance of monumental architecture.

Architectural Similarities: Maya, Aztec, and Inca

All built large stone temples, used skilled labor, and focused their cities around religious structures.

Shared Achievements of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca Civilizations

Advanced agriculture, monumental buildings, religion-based government, and complex societies.

Importance of Religion to Mayan Civilization

Religion shaped city design, included rituals like bloodletting and sacrifice, and guided leaders’ power.

Importance of Religion to Aztec Civilization

The Aztecs used human sacrifice to honor gods like Huitzilopochtli

How was religion important to Inca civilization?

Religion was tied to the emperor’s power; ceremonies, sun worship, and ancestor veneration were central.

What helped the Spanish defeat both the Aztec and Inca?

A: Advanced weapons, help from native allies, European diseases, and internal civil conflicts in the empires.