1. Maya Civilization

2. I. Classic Period: 250-900 C.E. Located in southern Mexico, northern Central America Influenced heavily by older culture, the Olmecs  Ball courts – believed that playing this game would maintain cycles of sun and moon, bring rains  Planned ceremonial centers, religious ceremonies  Gods and spirits – Jaguar spirit at center Empire of independent city-states  Examples: Tikal, Chichen Itza  Each ruled by a god-king  Centers of religion, trade  Linked by common language, religious beliefs

3. II. Trade & Agriculture City states linked by trade routes and alliancestrade routes Products: salt, feathers, shells, honey, textiles Cacao beans sometimes served as currency Agriculture formed basis of Maya life  Squash, maize (corn), beans  Once thought to only practice slash and burn agriculture  Evidence has shown more sophisticated methods – beds raised above swamps

4. III. Social Classes As civilization grew, more wealth and development of social classes  King at top, passed title to eldest son (hereditary)  Was a divine (god-like) figure  Noble class: warriors, priests  Middle class: Merchants, artisans  Peasant farmers (majority of population)  Slaves: criminals, prisoners of war KING PACAL, 603-683 C.E.

5. IV. Religion Polytheistic: believed in many godsmany gods Believed each day was a living god, behavior was predicted by a system of calendars Religious practices:  Made offerings  Pierced or cut their bodies to offer their blood  Practiced human sacrifice, usually enemies  Believed that it pleased the gods and kept world in balance

6. V. Math, Calendar, Astronomy Religious beliefs led to developments in math, astronomy, and use of calendars Important to have an accurate calendar to know which god is “carrying time” that day  Identify the best times to plant crops, attack enemies, crown new rulers  Based on careful observation of planets, sun, moon  Calculated year to 365.2420 days  Had concept of zero

7. VI. Written Language Most advanced writing system in ancient Americas  800 glyphs, or hieroglyphic symbols Used for record keeping, history of civilization  Recorded important historical events in book known as a codex  Only 3 of these have survived Creation story recorded in the Popol Vuh

8. VII. Decline Late 800s – many cities suddenly abandoned Other peoples moved into areas being abandoned, disrupted Maya civilization Theories  Increased warfare between city-states disrupted trade, increased economic hardship  Population growth, over-farming caused food shortages, famine, disease When the Spanish arrive in the 1500s, Maya divided and weak, easily conquered Examples of Mayan ruins

9. Aztec Civilization (Late 1100s – 1500s)

10. I. Toltec Influence Toltec peoples laid foundation for Aztec Toltec ruled over central Mexico beginning around 900, lasted until about 1150.  Gained power as Maya were losing theirs  Militaristic, human sacrifice a main component of religious ceremonies Worshiped Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent  Became legend among different peoples of Mesoamerica, including Aztec

11. II. Aztec Rise to Power Originally poor, nomadic people from deserts of northern Mexico Built up civilization from ashes of Toltec, around Lake Texcoco  City of Tenochtitlan  Formed Triple Alliance with other city-states, Texcoco and Tlacopan – basis of Aztec Empire By 1500s, empire stretched 80,000 square miles, 5- 15 million people  38 provinces loosely controlled through strong military and tributes (taxes, human sacrifice)

12. Aztec Empire, 1200s-1500s

13. III. Social Classes Emperor Nobles – military leaders, land owners Commoners – merchants, artisans, soldiers, farmers Slaves – prisoners of war, criminals

14. IV. Religious Life Religion played a major role in daily life Hundreds of temples and religious structures erected throughout civilization 1,000 gods – Many adopted from other Mesoamerican peoples – Quetzalcoatl – god of learning and books, god of wind, symbol of death and rebirth Depicted as both feathered serpent and pale-skinned man with beard Practiced human sacrifice – Thousands a year sacrificed to Huitzilopochtli – Enslaved persons, criminals, prisoners of war

15. V. Decline 1502 – Montezuma II crowned emperor  Demanded even more tribute and sacrifice from provinces  Many provinces rebelled, threw civilization into chaos Return of Quetzalcoatl  Many saw bad omens all around  The Spanish invaders represented Quetzalcoatl and downfall of civilization  Easily overthrew Aztec – had better weapons & disease, Aztecs weak and divided

16. Inca Empire (1200s – mid 1500s)

17. I. Beginnings Built upon foundations of older civilizations  Chavin, Moche, Nazca, Chimor Settled in Valley of Cuzco in Andes Mountains 1200s – small kingdom established Pachacuti took throne in 1438  Greatly expanded control over neighboring lands Belief that ruler was descended from sun god  Only men from one of 11 noble families could be selected as leader

18. I. continued…  Empire called “Land of the Four Quarters”  Encompassed 80 provinces, up to 16 million people  Used combination of military force and diplomacy to overtake and control territories  Hundreds of different languages, ethnic backgrounds

19. II. A Unified Empire Utilized extensive road system One official language – Quechua Economy strictly controlled by government – Regulated production and distribution of goods Centralized bureaucracy oversaw entire empire Depended on ayllu – extended family group – Groups divided into 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000 – Chief led each group – Chain of command = community->regional-> central Demanded tribute – Mita – labor required by all able-bodied citizens

20. II. Continued… Recording keeping  No written language – utilized oral tradition  Used the quipu – a set of knotted strings to record numerical dataquipu  Knots and their position on the string indicated numbers  Colors of the strings represented different categories of information

21. III. Religion Focused worship mostly on nature spirits  Moon, stars, thunder, sun gods  Mamakuna – unmarried women selected for a lifetime of religious service  Yamacuna – men who served as full-time religious workers  Sacrificed llamas and distributed goods as gifts from gods

22. IV. Decline Huayna Capac – Inca leader during early 1500s  Died of disease (probably small pox) when travelling around Ecuador  After death – empire split in two, ruled by two sons  Civil war weakened empire  1530s – Spanish arrived to overtake a very weak empire