1. Civilizations of Meso-America
Aztecs, Mayans and Incas

2. Aztecs Who were the Aztecs? Civilization in the Valley of Mexico
Ruled the region from 1100s to 1500s

3. Aztec Empire Aztec Empire Arrived in the Valley of Mexico in 1148
Economy based on agriculture
Spanned from the Pacific Coast to the Gulf of Mexico
Major city: Tenochtitlan
By 1520, included 20 million people

5. Aztec Culture What was life like in Aztec Culture?
Aztec culture divided into 2 classes, commoners and nobles
Noble male children attended school until 15
Women were subordinate to men
Slavery was common

6. Aztec Culture What was life like in Aztec Culture?
Laws were simple and harsh
Most crimes punishable by death, beatings or mutilation
Slander ( or lying) was punishable by the loss of your lips!

7. Aztecs What caused the end to the Aztec Civilization?
Aztec Rule Montezuma though Spanish explorer Cortez was a returning god.
Montezuma offered gifts of gold.
Excited by the riches, Hernan Cortes and an army to defeat the Aztecs in 1520

8. Aztecs What were some contributions the Aztecs made to the world?
Education
One of the first civilizations to require education
Medicine
Surgery
Muscle relaxing medication
Mathematics
Idea of zero
Accurate calendar
Food
Popcorn
Chocolate
Chewing gum
Contributions difficult to trace because of destruction by Catholic missionaries
What were some contributions the Aztecs made to the world?

9. Aztec Beliefs What were the beliefs of the Aztec people?
Aztecs religion was polytheistic (more than one god), they worshiped about 1,000 different gods.
The head of the gods was Huizilopochtlid, god of war and god of sun.

10. Aztec Beliefs What did the Aztecs Believe?
They put their greatest efforts into making strong, beautiful temples to please their gods.
Their arts had a part in their religion. They drew pictures that told about their gods.
They recorded religious events with hieroglyphics and even number symbols.
They worshipped the sun god the most.

11. Aztec Beliefs What did Aztecs believe?
The god of the Sun had told the Aztecs to wander until they found an eagle with a serpent in its mouth perched on a cactus growing from a rock. When they found this, they claimed the area around it, which is now known as Tenochtitlan.

12. Aztec Beliefs Who was responsible for worship in Aztec Culture?
Priests and priestesses were very important people. They acted as doctors, and taught science, art, writing, music, dance, history, and counting.

14. Aztec Beliefs Where did people worship?
Religious ceremonies took place in a temple called a teocalli.
This temple had sacred pools for ceremonial cleansing, gardens, living quarters for a priest, and racks to hold the skulls of victims.
Religion played a great part in Aztec life.

16. Aztec Beliefs How did Aztecs worship?
Sacrifice was one of the main events in the Aztec religion.
Priests made human sacrifices to make the sun god happy.
Aztecs fought in wars to capture men to sacrifice.
On God's Feast Day, they killed their slaves for the gods.
Human sacrifices were offerings to the sun and earth so that food would grow.

18. Mayan Civilization Pre-Classic(2600 B.C.E-250 B.C.E)
Classic (250 C.E-900 C.E)
Mayan Collapse
Post-Classic period ( C.E)

19. Mayan Civilization Where did Mayan Civilization occur?
Southern Mexico: Yucatan peninsula, and modern Chapas, and Tabasco in Mexico

20. Mayan Society What was life like in the Mayan Civilization?
Land divided into states (major city and surrounding towns) were headed by a ruler who was often a priest
leader
nobles
Trade/warriors
Farmers/slaves

21. Mayan Society What was life like in the Mayan Civilization?
Very few people lived in the urban centers
Mostly involved in agriculture

22. Mayan Society What was life like in the Mayan Civilization?
Mayan civilization had unique ideas of beauty
Crossed Eyes: Considered particularly beautiful
Babies were given objects to stare at to encourage crossed eyes
High, flat, sloping forehead
Tied boards to babies foreheads

23. Mayan Beliefs What did Mayan People believe?
Polytheistic (more than one god)
Gods were not good or evil,
Like Aztecs, religious ceremonies closely tied to natural cycles ( moon phases, seasons, etc.)

24. Mayan Beliefs What did the Mayan people believe?
Religious ceremonies consisted of singing, dancing, competitions, dramatic performances, and some human sacrifice
Human sacrifice usually voluntary
Participants gives blood or pieces (arms, tongue, eye, etc) to the god

25. Mayan Beliefs What did the Mayan people believe?
Mayan people believed in an afterlife
Heaven was reserved for people who died in sacrifice, childbirth or hanged
Hell or xibal was for everyone else

26. Mayan Beliefs What was the role of priests in Mayan society?
Believed priests could talk to gods
Most daily life directed by priests
Decided: when to plant, who could marry, sometimes leaders

27. Mayan Beliefs What did Mayan People believe?
Believed in the underworld, the sky and the Earth
Knowing the past meant knowing the cycle of the present and knowing the present provided information for knowing the future
This focus on time led to development of sophisticated calendars and time keepers

28. End of the Mayan Civilization
Why did the Mayan Civilization end?
It took 170 years for the Spanish to get control of Mayan lands.
Mayans remained independent until the 1700s
Mayan culture, language, and art still practiced

29. Mayan Civilization
What are some contributions the Mayan civilization made to the world?
Written language
Calendars
Art and architecture
Temple building
City development

30. Mayan Temples

31. Inca Civilization

32. Inca Location Where was the Inca civilization?
Along the coast of South America.
Modern Chile, Peru, parts of Argentina and Boliva
Andes Mountain Range

34. Inca Time Period When was the Inca civilization?
Little historic record of where the Incas came from.
No written language
Cuzco( in modern Peru) is the center.
Incas began spreading out from Cuzco in the 1400s
eventually created one of the largest empires in all of history

35. Inca Society What was it like to live in Inca Society?
Royal family had absolute power
Relationships within clans based on community and cooperation
Strongly head belief that there is enough for everyone
Conquered people required to pay a labor tax which provided roads and farmlands through the Andes mountains
What was it like to live in Inca Society?
Common people
leader
Royal family
Tribal leader
Clan leader

36. Inca Society What was it like to live in Inca society?
Most people lived above 10,000 feet in elevation
Worshiped at over 15,000 ft. in elevation
Difficult today, scientists still wonder how the Incas did it
Clothing made from Alpaca, and lama wool for the cool temperatures at high altitudes

37. Inca Beliefs What did Incas believe? Polytheistic (more than one god)
Gods mostly tied to natural objects or events
Main god- Sun-god
Sun-god was the only god to have temples
Royal family descended from the sun-god
Referred to as “the Giver of Life”

38. Inca Beliefs What did the Incas believe?
Worshipped with monthly festivals to honor gods
Human sacrifice rare in Incan Culture
Reserved for major festivals or the crowning of a new emperor

39. Contributions of Inca Civilization
What contributions did Inca Civilization make?
Engineering
Forts built of cut stone that fit so precisely together they do not require mortar and are still standing in near perfect condition
Highly sophisticated network of roads, more roads than the Romans
Aqueducts and irrigation systems
Advanced Surgery and Medicine
Textiles and Ceramics

40. Contributions of the Inca Civilization

41. End of the Inca Civilization
Why did the Inca Civilization end?
Inspired by Cortes’ victory over the Aztecs, Francisco Pizzaro, another Spanish explorer invaded in 1531 with 200 soldiers
Pizzaro captured the Incan ruler and killed him in 1533.
Pizzaro did not gain complete control over the region until the 1560’s.

42. Macchu Picchu
Probably built at the height of the Incan Empire around 1450
7,500 feet above sea level
Self sustaining city
One of the great wonders of the world