AP World History Chapter 6 Early American Civilizations

The Moche Political: The Moche used religion to control the population. Each of the thirteen river valley’s that made up the Moche civilization had their own nobility and warrior priests.

The Moche Economic: Agriculturally based society. Cotton was the most important non edible cultivation. Ritual and religious items created in the urban centers were sold to the rural communities.

The Moche Religion: The Moche practiced human sacrifice to satisfy their Gods. They used human sacrifice of nobles to control the weather. The religion was based on weather. The women would smoke out of a special pipe when they wanted to get pregnant.

The Moche Social: Social Classes did not interact. The elite were typically warriors and priests. Much of their culture was based on ritual sex. Smoked fertility pipes.

The Moche Intellectual: Concept of a calendar. Had great pottery with a distinct artistic style. Lots of metal work.

The Moche Area: Located in Northern Peru. Incorporated 13 river valleys.

The Moche Decline The Moche civilization went into decline, caused by extreme weather changes. 30 years of great rainfall followed by 30 years of drought. The government used religion as a control mechanism. It fails because human sacrifice no longer controlled the weather.

The Mayans Political: Mayan Government was the city-state. Most rulers were men. Wars were often fought for tribute not for territory. Captives were sacrificed as part of a government structure.

The Mayans Economic: The Mayans practices slash and burn agriculture. Terraced farming. Hunted and raised deer. Chief crops were corn, beans, and squash.

The Mayans Religion: Mayans practiced human sacrifice. Mayans worshiped many deities some of the most important are the sun, rain, and corn. Women could be priests and at least one god was female (goddess of the moon). Mayan ball game used as a religious ceremony.

The Mayans Social: Gender roles are shown in Mayan culture. Men planted and harvested the food while women prepared the food and raised the deer. Nobles, Merchants, and Peasants.

The Mayans Intellectual: Observatory at Chichen Itza. Independent development of the concept of zero. Writing was similar to Egyptian hieroglyphics. 850 different symbols often written on tree bark and sometimes bound together into books. Pottery and vivid wall paintings. Architecture in stone carvings and temple pyramids.

The Mayans Area: The city states used cisterns for water because the civilization was not built near a major water source. The city states would be affected dramatically by drought.

Mayan Trails

The Mayan Decline Overpopulation. Deforestation. Increasing wars between city states. Abandoning cities.