The Mayan People The Maya adjusted to life in the tropical rain forest and built a culture based on their religious beliefs.

Be able to locate the Mayans and the Aztec on the map.

Mayan city-states The Maya lived in the Peten, the Mayan word for “flat region.” Swamps and sinkholes connected them to underground rivers and streams and provided water.

MayanUndergroundGranaries

In Peten, the dense forests blocked out the sun. Only because they had organized government and civilization could they have built cities and fields in Peten. Set up city-states where rulers supplied leadership and military force for building projects.

Mayan Rulers believed they were descendants from the sun claimed right to rule as god-kings expected every person to serve them

Video: Chamber of the Underworld

WHY? A way to please and honor the gods Humans kept gods strong by giving their own life-giving fluid, blood Maya believed that the gods gave life-giving fluid in the rain

Why? Mayan priests offered captives to Chac, god of rain and sunlight They believed Chac lived in waters below the sink-holes, so captives were thrown in Religion was at the core of Mayan life.

Mayan Cultivation Chac, God of Rain

Tikal - Wall Mask of the Rain God

Mayan Society Women married into distant Mayan city-state royalty to strengthen trade and form alliances WOMEN had a big role; could serve as queens What are Alliances? class system set up by priests Huge pyramid with temple towered over every city

Tikal: Temple of the Masks

Chichen-Itza - Pyramid

Chichen-Itza - Observatory

Overview of Tikal (Guatemala) Temple of the Masks

Tikal - Main Court

Tikal Jungle View at Sunset

Sports & Contests Mayan cities had many ball courts. In a Mayan ball game, teams of two or three players tried to drive a hard rubber ball through a decorated stone ring. Players wore helmets, gloves, and knee and hip guards made of animal hide to protect themselves against the hard rubber balls. They were not allowed to use their hands or feet to throw or bat the ball. They had to use their hips to drive the ball through the stone rings. Because the stone rings were placed 27 feet (8m) above the ground on a large rectangular field, players had to have incredible skill to score a goal. Making a goal was so rare that when a player scored, crowds rewarded the hero with clothing and jewelry. Scholars think that a Mayan ball game was more than a sport or contest. It had religious and symbolic meaning—as well as deadly results. The losing team was sacrificed to the gods in a ceremony after the game. Mayan Ball Game

Chichen-Itza - Ball Court

Mayan Science and Writing The priests thought gods revealed plan in the heavens so they studied moon, stars, and sun. ADVANCES/DEVELOPMENTS: 365-day calendar used it to predict eclipses and schedule festivals, plantings, and harvests written language to record dates and numbers in system of hieroglyphics method of counting based on 20 only nobles could read language but after collapse of Maya, no one could

Mayan Glyphs

Mayan Mathematics sky king house child city sky king house child city

Mayan Drinking Cup for Chocolate

Pakal: The Maya Astronaut

The Maya

The Aztec Main Idea: The Aztec moved into the Valley of Mexico, where they created an empire based on conquest and war.

The Aztecs Were Fierce Warriors

The Aztec arrived in Mexico around A.D Their sun god – the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl – had promised them a home according to legend when the “eagle screams and spreads it wings and eats the serpent”

The God of Wisdom & Learning Quetzalcoatl: The God of Wisdom & Learning

Aztec sacrificed a local princess whose father then chased them Aztec reached Lake Texcoco and shelter on swampy island Aztec believed this was there land, so they built a great city in the midst of swamp. (An eagle perched On a pear cactus Tore apart a snake- It was their sign!) According to legend:

Video: Tenochtilan

New city called: Tenochtitlan which means “place of the prickly pear cactus Aztec Kings: 1. claimed descent from gods 2. were picked by council of warriors, priests, and nobles 3. usually last son of the royal family was picked

The Codex Mendoza : The Founding of Tenochtitlan

Ruins of the City Center, Tenochtitlan

Aztec View of Tenochtitlan

Tenochtitlan: The “Venice” of the Americas

Aztec Chinampa or Floating Garden: 15ft. to 30ft. wide

Tenochtitlan

KING NOBLES COMMONERS Largest group (farmers, artisans, traders) Could join nobility by performing brave act in war ENSLAVED PEOPLE UNSKILLED LABORERS Social pyramid of Aztec society

Aztec Math Aztec Writing

Aztec Sun Stone -- Calendar

Religion: Death seen as honorable; Afterlife for fallen soldiers, sacrificed captives, and women who died in childbirth Others went to “Land of the Dead” – the lowest level of the underworld Sons trained for war, girls trained to take care of the house and family

The god Huitzilopochtli : “ We shall conquer all the people in the universe.” This god was honored by a pyramid in the center of Tenochtitlan known as the Grand Temple Grand Temple: 135 feet, 100+ steps, thousands of victims sacrificed there

Aztec Sun Motifs

Aztec Codex (15c Manuscript)

Aztecs Sacrifice Neighboring Tribes to the Sun God

Heart Sacrifice on an Aztec Temple Pyramid

Wall of Skulls, Tenochtitlan

Sacrificial Statue, Tenochtitlan

AZTEC VIDEO FOR HUMAN SACRIFICE

Aztec Gold

Life in the Incan Empire Main Idea: To unite their huge empire, Incan rulers set up a highly organized government and society.

Pachacuti ruled 1438–1471 His name means “Earthshaker” he and son began to built the largest empire in the Americas (2500 miles north to south) 2. set up strong central government but let local rulers stay in power 3. local rulers took sons to Cuzco, the capital, for training 4. required the people to learn Quechua, the language spoken by the Inca 5. Designed system of roads which covered about 25,000 miles when finished

Cuzco: Ancient Capital of the Inca (11,000 ft. above sea level) Inca believed sun god Inti protected Cuzco. Rulers there were called “sons of the sun.”

Temple of the Sun at Cuzco

Emperor and wife (Coya) Head Priest and Commander Regional Army Commanders Farmers, Herders, and Ordinary Soldiers Temple priests, Army commanders, and Skilled workers Social pyramid of Inca society They Further divided society into 12 job categories beneath the bottom level.

INCAN SOCIETY They rarely did human sacrifice (only in troubled times) When they did, they sacrificed children because they thought children were more pure and then worshipped them as gods They Built large works of stone:

They used no writing, no wheels, no iron tools. Machu Picchu Stone city built by Pachacuti probably for royal family a as a festival center. Used quipo, a rope with knotted cords of different lengths and colors. Each knot represented a number or item. They were skilled engineers. The stones fit precisely together

The Quipu: An Incan Database

Machu Picchu

Incan Suspension Bridges

Incan Terrace Farming

Incan Digging Sticks

Maize in Incan Pottery & Gold Work

Over 100 Different Types of Potatoes Cultivated by the Incans

Produce from a Typical Incan Market

Incan Ceramic Jars PeanutPeanut PotatoPotato SquashSquash Cacao God Cacao Pod

Incan Mummies

Inca Gold & Silver

Life in North America Main Idea: The geography in lands north of present-day Mexico shaped the development of many different Native American cultures. By A.D about 2 million people lived north of Mesoamerica, spoke about 300 languages, and called themselves a thousand different names.

People of the Far North Arctic regions in Canada settled about 3000 B.C The Inuit built igloos, dome-shaped homes from blocks of ice and snow used blubber from seals and whales for oil in lamps and energy food used dogsleds to travel on land and seal-skin kayaks to travel by sea most hunted seals, walruses, polar bears, caribou

Life on the West Coast In Pacific northwest peoples like Tlingit, Haida, and Chinook Setttled. Used cedar trees to build wooden houses and canoes California was home to about 500 different cultures Fished for otters, seals, whales, salmon Became the most heavily populated regions due to rich food resources

Life on the Great Plains Farming was not as easy due to dense grass roots on the plains. Mandan, Hidatsa, Pawnee settled along Missouri, Arkansas, Red Rivers Men hunted, women gathered, and the buffalo was important. They did not have iron tools

Life in the Southwest They lacked abundant resources of California peoples They built irrigation canals (Hopi, Acoma, Pueblo, and Zuni) Early people like Hohokam and Anasazi taught descendants lessons like how to farm They built apartment-like homes using sun-dried mud bricks called adobe In the 1500s 2 groups of hunters: Apache and Navajo moved in the area

Life in the Eastern Woodlands all over woodlands, governments were formed Confederations, governments that link several groups, formed. Some had strict social classes and codes of law like the Natchez and Cherokee dense forests combined farming with fishing and hunting

THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERATION WHO Onondaga, Seneca, Mohawk, Oneida, and Cayuga WHY To end fighting among themselves HOW Great Peace – a code of laws governed the league OTHER A Grand Council formed to make decisions, and women were able to select men to sit on Grand Council RESULT Helped members unite against other woodland enemies like the powerful Algonquian