Latin America Geography Quiz Tomorrow Know the 3 regions in Latin America: Mexico, Caribbean Islands, South America and know countries Know the geographical features: isthmus (connects two pieces of land), archipelago (chain of islands) peninsula (land surrounded by 3 bodies of water) Know the longest river and largest mount. range Know what languages are spoken and major religion

Pre-conquest Latin American Civilizations Maya Aztec Olmec Incan

The Olmecs Can be considered the first major civilization in Mexico Like the Nile, the Coatzacoalcos River basin provided nutrient-rich soil and water ways Flourished from 1500 B.C.E to 400 B.C. E. Probably the first Mesoamerican culture to use the concept of “zero ”

The Coatzacoalcos River Basin

The Olmecs, continued First to play the Mesoamerican ballgame Known for their “giant” head artwork First in the Western hemisphere to develop a writing system Their religion was polytheistic and the Olmecs were the first to practice bloodletting in Mesoamerica

Big Heads

Mesoamerican ballgame goal

The Maya Civilization Mesoamerican Civilization located in Mexico and Central America The Maya Civilization can be traced as far back as 2600 B.C.E., and many people still speak Mayan to this day Known for having the only fully developed written language in the Americas prior to European Conquest Had the most sophisticated calendar of Pre- Columbian civilizations: December 21 th, 2012 starts a new cycle

Mayan syllabic language “writing”

Dec 21 st 2012: What will happen?

Maya civilization: continued Was comprised of many kingdoms. One hereditary “ajaw” ruled over a capital city and several lesser towns Maya cities differed greatly because they were built according to topography; limestone was the most common stone used Maya religion was polytheistic and based on cycles interpreted by a priest, the Maya also practiced human sacrifice

Chichen Itza

The Inca Empire Located on the West Coast of South America, centered around the Andes Mountains Was the largest empire in Pre-Columbian America Between 1438 – 1532, the Incas acquired large portions of land through conquest and assimilation The empire was divided into 4 sections, each with its own leader that took orders from the King, or Sapa Inca

Sections of the Inca Empire

The Inca Empire, continued The Incas did not have a written language; they used quipu, or knotted string to record data Incas had many deities and believed in reincarnation In 1532, the Spanish arrived ready for conquest during a civil war Within a few years, smallpox wiped out a large portion of the Incas; up to 95%

Quipu

The Aztecs Around 1100 C. E., the Aztecs migrated from the north to the shores of Lake Texcoco, located in Central Mexico By 1434, the Aztecs were demanding tribute and military support throughout the region Often the empire did not govern over conquered lands; they demanded tribute

Lake Texcoco

Aztec Sacrifice and Agriculture Many lands were purposely not conquered in order to provide a supply of sacrifice victims The sacrifices honored their god of sun and war, Huitzilopoctli The Aztecs also developed an ingenious system to farm on swamplands called chinampas Chinampas were man made islands anchored to the lake bottom by trees

Chinampas