Cultures of Middle America

Week 14 December 3rd, 2013Chapter 3 Section 2

Pages: 29-31

The plan• Objectives• Review– South America and the Incas

• Vocabulary• Map of Mayan and Aztec Empires• The Culture of the Mayas• The Aztec Empire• Review Questions • Evaluation• Preview

ObjectivesLearn about the Mayan culture of Mid-dle America.

Find out about the powerful Aztec Em-pire.

ReviewWhere did the Incas live? Who is Sapa Inca?

How did the Incas keep track of peo-ple?

How did the Incas farm on the steep mountains?

VOCABULARY

• thrive: v. to flourish; to gain wealth and possessions

• establish: v. to set up on a permanent basis• decline: v. to weaken• equip: v. to provide with the appropriate

supplies for action

KEY TERMS

• Mayas: n. a people who established a great civilization in Middle America

• slash-and-burn agriculture: n. a farming technique in which trees are cut down and burned

• maize: n. corn• hieroglyphics: n. the signs and symbols that made

up the Mayan writing system• Aztecs: n. a people who lived in the Valley of Mexico• Tenochtitlan: n. capital city of the Aztecs

Social Studies Booklet page 30

The Culture of the Mayas

• Mayas on the _________ Penin-sula

• Way of life lasted HUNDREDS of years

• GREATEST period from AD ____ until AD ____

The Culture of the Mayas

• Mayas are farmers• How do you farm in a forest?

• ______ and ______

• The soil wears out and another field must be started.

The Culture of the Mayas

• What did the Mayan farmers grow?

1. __________________2. __________________3. __________________4. __________________

The Culture of the Mayas

• It was so important they had a ____ of corn.

• Corn needs rain and sun to grow–They also worshipped a _____ god and a _____ god.

The Culture of the Mayas

• Mayan cities were built for _______ and _______.

• Different city = different ruler

• Who lived in large palaces in the city? Who lived on the edges?

• What happened at large pyra-mids?

–Some events led to human sacrifice O_o

• Mayan priests…. 1. _____________2. _____________

• How did the Mayans keep track of information?

The Culture of the Mayas

The Culture of the Mayas

• What happened in AD 900?

• What are four possible explana-tions?

• Today, _______ of the Mayas still live in ________ ________ and follow old ________.

Social Studies Booklet page 31

The Aztec Empire

• First settled in 1100s

• By 1470s empire stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean.

The Aztec Empire• Who was Moctexuma?

• Conquered people were re-quired to pay taxes• Could pay with…

1. ________________2. ________________3. ________________

Tenochtitlan• The grand capital of Aztec Empire• Located in a lake

• Center: plaza & pyramids

• Schools for noble sons

• Large stone palaces• Raised streets to

cross to mainland• Aqueducts brought in

fresh water

Aqueducts

• Space is limited on an island

• The Aztecs needed more farmland, so they built island gardens

• The island gardens were made from _______ from the ________ ________.

• How did the farmers get the food to market?

The Aztec Empire

Island Gardens

The Aztec Empire• The Aztec religion in-

cluded ______ sacri-fices.

• On whose calendar did the Aztec priests base theirs?

• How did the Aztecs keep records?

Society Class System

Emperor

Royal family, Nobles, Priests, Military leaders

Artisans and Merchants

Farmers

Slaves

• In _____, Spanish __________ invaded the Aztec Empire

• How did the Aztecs die?1. 2.

• When did the Aztecs surrender?

Review QuestionsComplete the Review Questions on page 31 before the end of class.

Any unfinished questions are for HOMEWORK; due TOMORROW

1.What was Mayan life based on?

2.How did the Aztec Empire make new farmland?

Preview1. Learn about the Mound Builders of

eastern North America

2. Learn about the cultures of the Southwest and Great Plains.

3. Find out about the Woodland peoples of North America.