ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS:THE AMERICAS

SOCIAL SCIENCE III

ROUTINE

INTRODUCTION

LECTURE

WRAP-UP

ASSIGNMENT

SIR ERIN DE LA CRUZ Nickname: Erin/ Borlo Interests: history, art,

romance stories, traveling, classical music, and gamefowl breeding.

Dream: “Travel around the world and appreciate the beauty of places, peoples, and cultures.

CIVILIZATION Advanced cities

Centers of trade Specialized workers

Ex. priests, weavers, metalworkers, merchants, scribes, government officials

Complex institutions Formal governments, priests with religious and

political power Record Keeping

Ex. cuneiform tablets Advanced Technology

Ex. wheel, plow, sailboat, bronze weapons

Early Mesoamerican Civilizations

Early Mesoamerican Civilizations

MESOAMERICA – Central Mexico to the northern part of Honduras.

OLMEC

ZAPOTEC

OLMEC

First known civilization builders in the Americas.

Known to be the MOTHER CULTURE

Flourished from 1200BC to 400BC along the GULF COAST OF MEXICO (modern day Veracruz and Tabasco).

Veracruz y Tabasco

Thick Forests Hot, humid

Severe flooding

Salt, tar, and clay Wood and rubber

Stones Rivers

Fertile land

OLMEC

SAN LORENZ

O

LA VENTA

Home to a small ruling class of

priests and nobles

Earthen mounds, courtyards, and

pyramids

Large stone monuments,

sculpted heads

GREAT PYRAMID

Artifacts – that led to a conclusion that the

Olmec prayed a variety of Nature

Gods.

JAGUAR WORSHIP

JAGUAR WORSHIP

Interesting Fact:

Villagers in Acatlan, Mexico put on jaguar masks and stage mock combats and dances in the hope that the jaguar will shed its own blood in the form of rain, to water the fields.

Decline of the Olmec

Outside villagers caused the destruction. San Lorenzo destroyed around 900 BC

La Venta fallen around 400 BC.

MAYA Centered in the tropical

lowlands of what is now Guatemala.

Golden Age: 6th Century AD

Excelled at agriculture, pottery, hieroglyph, writing, calendar making, and mathematics

Impressive architecture and symbolic artwork

Mayan Civilization

EARLY MAYANS Agricultural (corn,

beans, squash, cassava) Derived a number of

religious and cultural traits from the Olmec▪ Number system,

calendar, pyramid, city construction, inscribing of stone monuments

Cities of Stones (Classic Maya) The Golden Age of the Maya

Empire 40 cities including Tikal, Copan,

Uaxactun, Bonampak, Dos Pilas, Calakmul, Palenque, Rio Bec.

Plazas, palaces, temples, pyramids.

Playing the ball games that were ritually and politically significant to Maya culture

Slash and burn Worshipped various gods related

to nature.

MAYA SOCIETY

KINGS (kuhul ajaw/ holy lords) Claim: related to the gods Followed a hereditary

succession Thought as mediators

between the gods and the people on earth. Performed elaborate religious ceremonies and rituals so important to the Mayan culture.

GREAT ARTISTS (and thinkers) OF MESOAMERICA

Temples and palaces in a stepped pyramid shape.

Made significant advances in mathematics and astronomy, including the use of zero and the development of a complex calendar system based on 365 days.

MYSTERIOUS DECLINE

End of the 9th century- mysterious thing happened in Mayan Civilization.

One by one classic cities were abandoned.▪ Exhausted the environment▪ Constant warfare▪ drought

Beginnings of the Aztec Empire Valley of Mexico

Site of the greatest empire of Mesoamerica (Aztec).

Had several large, shallow lakes at its center

Accessible resources Fertile soil

TEOTIHUACAN TOLTECS

TEOTIHUACAN Known as the City of the

Gods. First major civilization in

Central Mexico. In 6th century AD, population

grew to as many as 125,000 people.

Pyramid of the Sun Center of a thriving trade

Obsidian – hard, glassy green or black rock used in making razor sharp weapons.

Did Teotihuacans

Conquer its neighbors –

Try to create an empire –

Influence Mesoamerica with its art styles and religious beliefs-

TOLTECS TAKE OVER

Ruled over Central Mexico. Made TULA its capital. Built pyramids and temples and

carved tall pillars in the shape of armed warriors.

Opposite of Teotihuacan. EXTREMELY WARLIKE PEOPLE Worshipped a fierce War God who

demanded blood and human sacrifice from his followers.

Topiltzin and Quetzalcoatl Topiltzin- King of Peace Quetzalcoatl- The Feathered Serpent

known as the God of Peace.

AZTECS Aztecs arrived in

Central Mexico in 1200s.

They were formerly known as MEXICA from the deserts of North Mexico.

Once soldiers for hire to local rulers.

HUITZILOPOCHTLI (“,) Aztec Sun God Told Aztecs to found a

city of their own. They must “look for a

place where an eagle perched on a cactus, holding a snake in its mouth.”

Were they able to find one?

HUITZILOPOCHTLI (“,) Aztec Sun God Told Aztecs to found a

city of their own. They must “look for a

place where an eagle perched on a cactus, holding a snake in its mouth.”

Were they able to find one?

AZTECS

Formed alliances (city-states merging together like Texcoco and Tlacopan)

Power was based on MILITARY CONQUESTS and TRIBUTE from conquered people. Let local rulers govern their own regions. Tribute: GOLD, MAIZE, CACAO, COTTON,

JADE

What if they fail to give tributes?

AZTEC SOCIETY

EMPEROR

NOBLES

COMMONERS

SLAVES

TENOCHTITLAN 1500s it became an

extraordinary urban center.

Palaces, temples, markets, and residential districts were connected by streets and avenues.

Canals divided the city. Aqueducts funneled

freshwater in from the mainland.

GREAT TEMPLE – main structure in the center of Tenochtitlan. Aztec’s religious center.

AZTEC RELIGION Religion played a

vital role in Aztec Society Designed elaborate

public ceremonies to communicate and win the favors of the Gods (ex. Dramas, songs, dances)

HUMAN SACRIFICE FOR THE SUN GOD.

MONTEZUMA and AZTEC DECLINE

Under Montezuma II, Aztec began to weaken

He demanded more tribute and sacrifice.

Tribute served as source of wealth and power.

Tribute provided prisoners for religious sacrifice.

MESOAMERICA QUIZ

1. Give me 1 characteristic of a civilization.2. Peru is part of the Mesoamerican region. Yes

or no?3. This Mesoamerican society flourished around

Veracruz and Tabasco around 1200BC.4. This society worshipped an animal that was

perceived to be their God of Rain. What’s that animal?

5. Are Tikal, Palenque, and Chichen Itza part of the classic city-states of the Mayan civilization? Yes or no?

6. Did the Mayans create the first complex calendar system which was based on 365 days? Yes or no?

7. Give me 1 possible theory that caused the decline of the Mayan civilization.

8. They were the first major civilization in Central Mexico.

9. They were extremely warlike people and worshipped a fierce War God who demanded blood and human sacrifice from his followers.

10. Aztecs were formerly called as?

11. Quetzalcoatl was the Aztecs’s Sun God. Yes or no?

12. Huitzilopochtli was the Aztecs’s God of Peace. Yes or no?

13. Give me 1 group of people which comprises the Aztec nobility.

14. Did the Aztecs reach the Golden Age under the reign of Montezuma II? Yes or no?

15. Name this place that was built on the Lake Texcoco by the Aztecs.