Mesoamerican Cultures: Maya, Aztec, Inca Global History

Maya Social Structure

Maya Religion Believed each day was a living god Had to please the gods via sacrifice Piercing of bodies with needle Flowers & incense Human Sacrifice Sacrificed prisoners of war, slaves, and children Victim painted blue, had chest cut open, and heart removed Drug Use Smoked a strong tobacco w/hallucinogenic effects Drank fermented water, honey, and tree bark drink

Maya Farm, Trade, and Agriculture Slash-and-burn farming  clear land by burning current vegetation and planting new crops in the ashes No Formal Currency…Used the cocoa beans as $ Counterfeit cocoa beans Some merchants would remove the cocoa from the bean and refill it with wax

Maya Achievements Hieroglyphic symbols Concept of zero & counting system Calendar Only .0002 days short; extremely accurate Predicted the end of the world 12/2012

Mesoamerican Ballgame

Aztec Tenochtitlan A group of people first known as the Mexicas, later the Aztecs, found the city of Tenochtitlan (modern day Mexico City) in 1315. Tenochtitlan became an urban center that was larger than European capitals Dubbed the “Venice of the New World”

Aztec Religion As an agricultural people, the Aztec depended heavily on the forces of nature and worshiped them as gods The Aztec believed that the benevolent gods must be kept strong to prevent the evil gods from destroying the world Human Sacrifice Victims of sacrifice were usually prisoners of war, although Aztec warriors would sometimes volunteer for the more important sacrificial rituals The god Tlaloc was believed to prefer children as sacrificial victims

Aztec Agriculture Tenochtitlan was constructed on swamp land not suited for farming Chinampas  “floating gardens;” artificial islands made of soil and reed mats that were placed in Lake Texcoco

Aztec Spanish Conquest In 1519 Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés and more than 500 Spaniards landed in eastern Mexico in search of land and gold Kidnaps Aztec leader Montezuma for a gold ransom Conquered all of the Aztec by 1525 1/3 of population killed Mostly from small pox Survivors forced into labor mining for gold or working on the estates of the Spaniards

Inca Government The Emperor owned all people, land, & resources Government had complete control over the economy Farmers worked on cooperative farms Early form of socialism/communism Massive bureaucracy For every 10,000 people there were 1,331 government officials Mita  special tax, but in the form of labor NOT money All able bodied citizens required to work for the government for a set number of days per year

Inca Religion Worshipping of sun played a major role in the religion Emperor seen as the son of the sun god Human Sacrifice? Only on the rarest occasion; usually children or virginal women who dedicated lives to worshipping the sun Most of sacrifices were guinea pigs and llamas

Inca Achievements Massive Road System Machu Picchu Connected all the people of the Incan Empire All roads led to the Capital of Cuzco Machu Picchu Served as religious city and fortress during the Spanish conquest Could only be reached by bridges over rivers 1,950 feet in the air

Machu Picchu

Inca Achievements Terrace farming What other cultures that we have studied this year have used this method? Quipus  series of knotted strings used by Incan officials for keeping records Incans did not have a writing system or advanced calendar

Inca Spanish Conquest Conquered by Pizarro in 1532