1. Worldviews of Latin American Civilizations

2. What is "Latin America" ?
A name invented to denominate the regions of the Western Hemisphere stretching from Mexico and the Caribbean in the north to Chile in the south
Includes all of Central and South America
All originally colonized by speakers of Romance Languages (languages descended from Latin)
Spain, Portugal, or France

3. Overview
Since before 7000 BC, there is evidence of human culture in Latin America
These people are believed to have crossed the land bridge from Asia.
Latin American people thrived into many different nations, with different cultures.
Olmecs, Toltecs, Mixtecs
Maya
Aztec ("Mexica")
Inca

5. Names, names, names
Latin American people thrived into many different nations, with different cultures.
Olmecs, Toltecs, Mixtecs
Maya
Aztec ("Mexica")
Inca
However, these peoples had many things in common, so they are often spoken about together

6. Achievements: Mesoamerican Pyramids
Mesoamerican --> meaning "middle of America"
Pertains to the cultures of Central America: Aztecs and Maya
In most cases, first built by the Maya, then later used by the Aztec
Similar to Egyptian pyramids in shape only
Used for astrological measurements and ceremonies
Closer to sky = closer to the Sun God
Built in strategic places for the best viewing of celestial events (solstices and equinoxes)

7. Pyramids at Teotihuacán
Teotihuacán: "The City Of the Gods" - giant abandoned city
Aztecs used pyramid summits for religious sacrifice
Pyramid of the Sun
Pyramid of the Moon
Temple of the Feathered Serpent (Queztalcoatl)

8. Mesoamerican Achievements: Mathematics and astrology
Highly developed number system:
First to use a symbol to represent "zero"
Extremely accurate calendar
able to detect days in the Earth's rotation

9. Achievements: Inca Records
The Inca kept exact records on strands of knotted rope called "quipu"
Each region of the empire kept records of births, deaths, marriages, and other social history on their quipu
Each knot, strand, and color of rope meant something different
They could only be read by the "quipucamayos," people specially trained to understand the code

10. Achievements: Writing system - Maya
Only indigenous American culture to use a writing system
Both Hieroglyphic(pictures for words) and phonetic (pictures for sounds)
Complicated system, still being deciphered
Over 800 different glyphs
Created giant stone statues called "stela" (plural: stelae) with portraits of important officials and glyphs surrounding them to explain their personal information and history

11. Achievements: Writing Systems
Aztecs had no written language, but borrowed some glyphs from Mayan civilization
Kept records in a folded, illustrated "codexes," similar to modern- day comic books

12. Government and Society -all 3 empires
Theocracy - King and priests at the top
Highly structured social classes: Priests, Warriors, Artisans, Slaves
Military
Structured military with different ranks and armor
Both the Aztecs and Incas conquered large amounts of land, creating empires

13. Achievements: Agriculture
All indigenous Latin American societies had huge populations, that they fed very well
Cultivated products that were extremely nutritious:
Over 100 types of potato
Beans
Tropical Fruits
Over generations, "invented" modern-day corn
Used to be a small weed known as "teotsinte"

14. Government: Empires Aztec Empire
Developed after the Mayan empire had "disappeared", borrowed many of their achievements and culture
Non-traditional: allowed villages and kingdoms to maintain their previous way of life (religion/government)
All kingdoms had to pay tribute to the Aztec capital city: Tenochitlan
The Flower Wars - "La Guerra Florida"

15. Empires The Incan Empire
Developed along the Andes Mountains and coast of South America
Two very different climates required people to work in "mitas" (large farming areas) to provide enough food for all
Ended up with a surplus of food and therefore a huge population boom

16. Religion Polytheistic - over hundreds of gods
Kings were also gods or priests
Gods were linked to nature
The goal of these religions was not personal salvation (getting to "heaven" or pleasing a god), but convincing the forces of nature to help society instead of hurt it
Human sacrifice

17. What is worldview?
A cultural or personal set of beliefs about the nature of the world
Answers the following questions:
How did the world come to be? (past)
What happens next? (future)
What is the right thing to do? (ethics)
How does society progress? (practice)
What am I, and what is the world? (identity)
How do I know anything? (truth)

18. How to find worldview Examine a cultural artifact
What beliefs do you see?
What is the evidence of these beliefs?

19. The Aztec Calendar
Ancient monument, called the "Sunstone," dedicated to the god of the sun, Tonatiuh
Found buried under the corner of the main square in Mexico City
Made of basalt, weighs 25 tons, nearly 12 feet tall and 3 feet thick

21. How does the sunstone answer the question of "Identity"?
To find answers about identity, ask yourself what the artifact says about humans and the world around them
The figures in the sunstone are all gods and natural elements, while human figures are absent
Therefore, this shows that the Aztecs saw nature as part of themselves and did not value humans above others

23. How does the sunstone answer the question of "past, future, and truth"?
To find answers about past, ask yourself what the artifact says about what happened in the past
To find answer about the past, ask yourself what the artifact says about what might happen in the future or what they would expect based on what they know

26. The Four Cosmogonic Epochs

32. Sunstone and Aztec worldview
What does it tell us?
Feeding the Sun god
Night and day
Cycles of death and rebirth
World is gods' creation
Importance of natural symbols/names