Civilizations of the Americas Civilizations of Middle America.
Early Civilizations of Middle America*, Unit 2, Quiz 1 Review
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Transcript of Early Civilizations of Middle America*, Unit 2, Quiz 1 Review
Early Civilizations of Middle America*, Unit 2, Quiz 1 Review
*Middle America – a term used to mean Mexico and the 7 countries of Central America, (Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and El Salvador)
Incan EmpireMayan Empire
Aztec Empire
The Incas: People of the
Sun!
During the reign of Topa Inca, the Incan Empire grew to over
2,500 miles with 12 million people under his rule, making it the largest of the 3 empires
we have studies.
During the reign of Topa Inca, the Incan Empire traveled south, from Ecuador to Argentina, along the coast of the
Pacific Ocean.
AqueductA combination of bridges and
tunnels, using stone pipes which would bring water from rivers to
people a few hundred miles away.
The Inca built great aqueducts (bridges and tunnels to transport water) in order to bring
water into their villages from the mountaintops.
A Census is an official count of all people living in an area. Quipas was a knotted string used by the Incas as a method of keeping records
_____
3,643
CensusOfficial count or total number of
people in an area.
The Inca kept excellent census records (population count and collecting taxes) with their quipus.
Taxes were paid in food. The leader and nobles were given theirs, and then it was dispersed to
the poor, sick and elderly.
The Inca were master of stone. They did not have metal tools yet cut and
interlocked stone so tight a piece of paper could not fit through any two stones. And they were
heavy. They did not have wheels or horses. Lastly,
their buildings were earthquake proof!
-the roads allowed for quick travel of the Incan army
Along the 2,500 miles of South American coast, most
of it through the Andes Mountains, the Incans made over 14,000 miles of roads and bridges – an incredible
feat!
-the roads allowed a series of runners who were messengers to travel 250 miles a day with news of the empire
-the roads allowed for taking census and collecting taxes for the government
-the roads allowed for safe travel of trade caravans
The Inca were fighting a civil war (a war within a nation) in the 1520s, which allowed the Spanish to
easily defeat them.
Civil WarA war fought between two groups within the
same nation/civilization
-They had the largest empire along the Andes coast of South America
-They built over 14,000 miles of roads and bridges
-They built earthquake proof buildings without using metal tools or cement/concrete
-They built aqueducts which brought water hundreds of miles to dry land
-They kept careful, organized records by taking an annual census and thus taxing appropriately
-Their government helped the elderly, sick and poor from the collected taxes. It organized which villagers would work on roads, buildings, and bridges
-They used quipus to keep records mathematically
-They used runners who kept the empire informed daily running over 250 miles, from town to town However, they did not have a written language or money as we know either.
INCAN EMPIRE’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN REVIEW
Introduction to the Aztec Empire
Its importance is the Aztec transformed a lake into their capital city and ruled a huge empire.
Main Idea: The Aztec built their
empire in Mexico during
the 1400s, with their capital in Tenochtitlan.
A wave of Spanish conquistadors (conquerors) in the early 1500s disrupted and destroyed many nations
native to the Americas.
CONQUISTADORConqueror, defeater
The Aztec Civilization began in
the Valley of Mexico. They
settled on an island in Lake Texcoco, in 1325. It took time
to develop, but lasted through the
early 1500s.
The Aztec people were able to change
a swampy lake into a great city, which was called Tenochtitlan
which was its capitol city.
The floating island Tenochtitlan and the Aztecs are remembered
for great farming.
Anchored to a lake, Tenochtitlan had an endless supply of water.
The illustration above shows an
Aztec farmer sowing the
seeds. The illustration below shows an
Aztec farmer reaping what he
sows.
FarmingMain Idea: Most Aztec were farmers, and they built floating gardens
(chinampas).
Its importance is even if there’s no rain, the crops still have water. There will have water to drink and food to eat.
Then
And
Now
AlliancesAgreement in which people cooperate for a common reason
Some nations or people form alliances in which they have an agreement or truce to look out for and
protect each other.In the case of the Aztec neighboring tribes, they formed alliances with the Spanish to defeat the
Aztec nation. The Aztec were not kind to their neighbors forcing many into slavery or human sacrifice.
Moctezuma was the leader of the Aztec Empire when the Spanish arrived in the New World. He demanded much from his people. He also made
enemies with tribes near the Aztec Empire, meaning very little peace with neighboring
tribes...
When Cortes arrived in Mexico, he found many of the Aztecs were willing to assist
him overtake Moctezuma. The Spanish and Aztec enemies formed alliances.
By 1521, the Aztec
people were
defeated by Cortes
ExploitTo take advantage of someone
Hernan Cortez exploited (took advantage of) the natives that helped his own needs of waging war against the Aztec. Afterwards, he enslaved them.
Aztec doctors were able to make over a thousand types of
medicine from using plants.
However, they could
not develop…
Immunity Resistance to diseases
It’s too bad the Native Americans did not have immunity (defenses) to European diseases; it would
have made for a much fairer fight.
It only took 15 years for the Spanish to defeat 2 powerful empires in America
(Aztec and Incan Empires).
The Spanish brought disease to America, which the Native Americans had never experienced,
nor the immunity to protect them.
EmpireDifferent groups of people ruled by
one leader or government
Much like ancient Rome, the Aztec built an empire (expanding nation) in which they conquered other Natives Americans and
took their land and resources.
The Aztecs are remembered for developing hieroglyphics, accurate
calendars, medicine, designing jewelry, fine crafts and predicting eclipses.
-They built a magnificent city on a lake-They were master farmers creating chinampas, floating gardens-They used artificial irrigation for their farming-They used a written language, hieroglyphics-They used a daily calendar based on the Mayan calendar-Their scientists were able to predict eclipses and movement of the planets-Their city of Tenochtitlan was like NYC of today with its culture, zoos, museums, temples, wide streets and busy markets selling food jewelry made of silver and gold-Their fierce army protected merchants as they traveled through the empire creating an economy-Their doctors made over 1,000 medicines from plants and herbs
However, they were brutal, often enslaving their enemies or using them for human sacrifice
AZTEC EMPIRE’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN REVIEW
The Aztec and Mayan form of writing was known as hieroglyphics.
This is a form of graphic writing, using signs and symbols instead of
letters, as we do.
The Mayan Civilization lasted from A.D. 250 – 900.
The Mayan Empire was the earliest of the three empires and was located in
Central America and Mexico.
The Mayan Empire lasted the longest
of the three empires.
THE MAYANS ACCOMPLISHED MANY THINGS DURING THEIR EMPIRE’S REIGN, 250 – 900 CE
The Mayans are remembered for
being astronomers and developing an accurate calendar.
They had an alphabet. They,
built pyramids and temples. They introduced the value of zero, in
math.
-Their empire was first and lasted the longest, more than twice as long as the other two empires we studied
-They built great cities which were religious, economic and cultural centers of the day
-They were great scientists studying the planets and stars, creating two calendars, one was a daily calendar and one for their celebrations/holidays
-They were great mathematicians, being one of the first to include the value and having a symbol for zero
-They built great pyramids and temples
-They had their own written language, hieroglyphics
MAYAN EMPIRE’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN REVIEW
Eventually, the people abandoned, left the cities to live on their own.
The Fall of the Mayan EmpireOne theory about the fall of the Mayans has them relying heavily on their king.
In turn, the people lost faith in the king.
These sacrifices did nothing but deplete the population and cause frustration among the people.
The people turned to their king to save the day.
The king would respond with more human sacrifice.
There was crop failure from drought and soil erosion.
As time went on, things started to go wrong.
The Aztec, Incan and Mayan EmpiresTo review the histories of
For taking timeThank you