LATIN AMERICAN ANCIENT HISTORY Lesson #3
Three Ancient Civilizations (there are more – these are the biggest) Three Civilizations – Aztec – Maya – Inca
Ancient Cultures Maya ( ) (no one knows why they died out) Inca ( ) (conquered by Spanish) Aztec ( ) (conquered by Spanish
Religion in Ancient Latin America Leaders were God on earth Blood sacrifice - Barbed rope Tongue, lips, penis, or a whole heart Aztecs demanded human sacrifice – 20,000 a year – Arms and legs eaten
Society & Religion RITUALS ★ Human Sacrifice - Captives (the heart was eaten to obtain the courage of the prisoner) - Losers of sporting events
MAYA
Current location of Cancun
1000 BC to 900 AD – Smaller tribes existed into the early 1500s
Society & Religion ★ KING = ____________ and he could communicate with other gods. This is very similar to the idea of ____________________ in Medieval Europe. P.S. – Like my nose ring?
Society & Religion ★ Polytheistic & Warlike (Often warred with other Mayan city-states)
Society & Religion RITUALS ★ __________________________ - Captives (the heart was eaten to obtain the courage of the prisoner) - Losers of sporting events
MAYAN TEMPLES
RELIGION Bloodshed was viewed as a means of pleasing the gods – Piercing body parts, human sacrifice, etc.
Achievements ★ _____________________ (less than.0001 days off!) ★ The number ZERO ★ Picture language (Glyphs) (Click on picture)
DECLINE: Various theories exist as to why the Mayan Empire declined but no one is certain.
Maya today
Maya The ONLY fully developed written language of Pre- Columbian Civilizations Ate mainly ________ Used cities ONLY for _______________________ Stopped using cities in year 900 (no known reason) Pyramid at Chichen Itza
Mayan Calendar (Mesoamerican Long Count calendar) Start date: August 11, 3114 BC End date: _________________ related to lunar data Completely accurate World was created five times World was destroyed ____times (Click on picture)
Mayan Calendar wheel The system of using the wheel to predict events is called THE LONG COUNT (Click on picture)
Maya Never disappeared; just stopped using cities Cities had been used ONLY for religious purposes Blood letting Some human sacrifice
INCA
1400s A.D. to 1532 A.D.
Government Controlled an enormous empire! (Population of ___________!) Maintained power by: delegating power to local leaders who were loyal to the Incan Empire
ACHIEVEMENTS Intricate ___________________ vital for: 1) ______________________ 2) ______________________ 3) ______________________
ACHIEVEMENTS The Inca road network stretched 14,000 miles and rose from sea level to almost 12,000 feet in elevation!!! Stairs led to higher areas and suspension bridges spanned canyons and impasses
Achievements Trained runners would carry messages and orders of the empire between carefully spaced stations along the roads. This created a one-day delivery time for each 140 miles!!!
_____________________
Achievements
Inca Central power Build Roads and bridges Machu Picchu
Inca Corn and potatoes Llama and Alpaca Rigid structure – royal family had absolute power King had absolute power: Sapa Inca (father Inca) Most people had no power and little wealth
AZTEC
RELIGION ★ _______________________ (up to 20,000 victims per year!) ★ TEMPLES stood in the center of the city near the King’s palace
click
SOCIETY ★ Farmers ★ ____________ provided most of the labor
INFRASTRUCTURE ★ ______________________ Built on a swampy island on a lake
INFRASTRUCTURE ★ ______________________ “FLOATING GARDENS”
INFRASTRUCTURE ★ _____________________ connected the city to surrounding areas
ECONOMY People came to the market from all over the empire to trade goods and food such as corn
ACHIEVEMENTS BEAUTIFUL _____________________ Writings and glyphs
SCULPTURE
Aztec