middle ages DCWC the americas

mesoamerican societies

central america; food sources was maize

andean societies

western south america in andes mountains; food source was potatoes

nixtamalization

process of preparing corn and wheat in an alkaline solution

olmecs

first influential mesoamerican civ; rubber, obsideon, stone head

teotihuacan

city sate in mexico valley; elaborate structures, large population, traded

maya

yucatan peninsula, agriculture, many complex city-states, huge pyramids, accurate calendar, slaves, human sacrifices

popul vuh

mayan bible

yuri knorozov

deciphered myan language

chavin culture

religion in modern peru that unified region; wordhipped maize, hallucinogenic drugs for ceremonies, pyramids, mother culture for south america

mochica state

wealthy civ, never developed writing, irrigation, ellaborate ceramics, gold, art

nazca

mysterious people of arid southern peru, mummies, elongated heads, line carvings discovered in 1900s

aztecs (mexica)

last great mesoamerican culture before europeans

tenochtitlan

aztec capital on lake texcoco; chosen by the gods; highly defensible; hub for other valley civs

chinampas

floating gardens; used to feed large populations

cacao beans

used as currency

human sacrifice

religious practice; done at an unsustainable rate; slaves/captured people used

spanish arrival 

mesoamerican empire was exhausted from too much expansion and poor leadership

incas

more stable; took long for europeans to reach because of far west and in andes mountains

pachacuti

founder of the incan empire

incan capital

cuzco

incan emperors

all were divine

incan religion

polytheistic

viracocha

incan creator god

inti

incan sun god; had elaborate temple of the sun

mita 

people who work and labor in order to have an elaborate feast

quipu

knotted cords to keep records

sui dynasty

short lived; brought china to centralized rule

grand canal

built to transport goods from north and south china

tang dynasty

expanded china; silk road outposts; expanded silk, porcelain, high taxes, golden age of art and literature

chang’an

major trading center; largest city in the world

song dynasty

centralized gov; population doubled; brought back old religious practices

china innovations and influence

champa (fast growing rice); landscape paintings; gunpoweder, compass, woodblock printing; paper money; encyclopedias

pastoralists

nomads from central asia that lived off of the herds

pastoralist nobility

obtained through achievements and charisma

pastoralist women

could achieve status and go to war

turks

nomadds who found success in persia, india, mesopotamia; converted to islam

sultan

muslim turk leader

seljuk turks

converted to islam and created large empires; war with byzantines, caused crusades

delhi sultanate

islamic kingdom in northern india; hindus were: converted, driven south, killed; conflict is still to this day

ottoman turks

defeated byzantines; empire ended in WWI

chinggis/genghis khan

united mongols; conquerd asia, middle east, russia, east europe

mongols

greatest land based empire in history; always outnumbered; did not force their culture

1206

genghis is given the title “great khan;” beginning the great conquests

reasons for mongol success

cavalry, mobility, discipline, psychological warfare, adaptive

mongol cavalry

most skilled horse soliders on earth

mongol mobility

traveled light, moved fast

mongol discipline

everyone in the society knew their role; if you didnt follow, put to death

mongol psychological warfare

enemies were terrified before their arrival

mongol adaptivity

adapted to different warfare tech; gunpowder, siege towers, biological warfare)

subutai

most talented mongol commander, conquered russia and ukraine

1226

genghis khan dies and is buried in an unknown spot; empire split into 4

ogadai

genghis khan heir; suddenly dies; after death there was no clear ruler so empire divides into 4 hordes