1. Early history of the Americas

2. Beringia:
Land bridge between North America and Asia that existed thousands of years ago
Belief that the first people crossed this area, into North American continent during the ice age

3. Believed to have been hunting game across the land bridge
The actual date of the arrival of the first Americans is still unknown

4. Development and agriculture
Agricultural revolution hit central Mexico around 7000 BC
By 3400 BC farmers in Mexico began to grow maize (corn)

5. Development of stable agriculture led to the rise in advanced civilizations in Mesoamerica, beginning around 3000 years ago, as well as South America
Mesoamerica: area that stretches south from central Mexico to Northern Honduras

7. Olmec
1200BC to 400 BC

8. Located in the jungles of southern Mexico
Lived along the Gulf Coast
Referred to as a Mesoamerica’s “mother culture”

9. Religion
Prayed to a variety of nature gods
(animism)

10. Accomplishments Constructed earthen mounds, courtyards, and pyramids.
Developed stone columns and alters
Created sculpted heads representing the Olmec rulers- weighed as much as 44 tons

11. Accomplishments (continued…)
Directed a trading network that spanned from Mexico City to Honduras
Olmec and Zapotec advances paved the way for the development of the Mayan civilization
Reason for the collapse in 400 BC is unknown

12. Zapotec
Located in southwest Mexico in the present-day Mexican state of Oaxaca
Contained fertile soil, mild climate, and enough rainfall to support agriculture
Constructed advanced city at Monte Alban

13. Early Empires of South America

14. Nazca civilization (200 BC to 600 AD)
Flourished along the southern coast of Peru
Developed irrigation systems, using underground canals
Nazca lines
Etched on the southern plains of Peru
More than 1000 drawings of animals, plants, humans
Can only be recognized from the air

16. The Mayas ( AD)

17. The Mayas
( AD)

18. Geography
Area stretched from southern Mexico into northern Central America
Included the Yucatan Peninsula
Received ideas from the Olmecs

19. Mayan Cities Created during the classical period (250-900 AD)
Included Tikal- major center in Northern Guatemala
Featured giant pyramids, temples, palaces and stone.

21. Mayan cities cont…
Ruled by god-kings.
Served as centers for religious ceremonies and trade.

23. Religion Polytheistic
Believed each day was a living god whose behavior could be predicted with the use of calendar.
Two calendars:
Religious
Solar

24. equinox

25. Religion continued…
Made offerings of food, pierced and cut their bodies, and sometimes used human sacrifice.

27. Social structure:
Mayan king- hereditary position; passed on to eldest son
Nobility- priest and warriors
Merchants and skilled artisans
Peasants

28. Writing system Most advanced of the ancient Americans
Used glyphs- 800 hieroglyphic symbols
Codex- bark paper books in which the Mayans recorded important events

29. Decline History of the Mayas ends in mystery
In 800s Maya suddenly abandoned many cities

30. Theories for decline…
War broke out in 70s, creating economic hardship and disrupted trade
Population growth
Over-farming
When Spanish arrived in 1500s Mayan civilization consisted of small, weak city states

33. The Aztecs AD

34. Geography Located in the Valley of Mexico City
Area had several large, shallow lakes, accessible resource, and fertile soil

35. Origins
Empire found by the Mexica- poor nomadic people from the deserts of northern Mexico
Aztec god Huitzilopochtli told them to found a city in their own
Discovered home on a small island in Lake Texcoco

36. In 1325 AD founded capital city of Tenochtitlan
Used warfare and developed alliances with neighbors to expand empire in the 1400s
By 1500 controlled empire that covered 80,000 square miles

37. Cities Capital and center- cities Tenochtitlan
Home to 200,000 to 400,000 people
Built on original site of the empire
Contained the Great Temple- giant pyramid with two temples dedicated to the gods
Center of religious life

38. Religion
Polytheistic
Worshipped over 1,000 gods
Huitzilopochtli (sun god) was the main god

39. To make sure the sun would rise daily, Aztecs performed human sacrifice
Victims included enslaved people criminals, and people offered as tribute
Sacrifice done on a massive scale
Armies would conquer areas for people not land
Sacrifices would be conducted at the great temple

40. Social structure Emperor
Nobles- government officials, generals, religious leaders
Commoners- merchants, soldiers, farmers who owned land
Enslaved people

41. Decline of the Empire
Montezuma II
Crowned emperor in 1502 AD
Called for more tribute and sacrifice from conquered areas

42. Decline of the Empire
Arrival of the Spanish and Hernando Cortes AD
Montezuma believed that he was Quetzalcoatl
With superior technology, and European diseases such as smallpox, the Spanish defeated the Aztecs by 1521 AD

43. The Incas

44. Geography Settled on fertile plains in the Valley of Cuzco.
empire stretched 2,500 miles along the western coast of South America
From Ecuador (north) to Chile (south)
Largest empire of the Americas
Known as the “Land of the Four Quarters.”

45. With an area so large with a large population (16 million), Incan rulers used the following
Divided territory into small units governed by a central bureaucracy
Efficient economic system
Extensive road system- 14,000 miles
Official language- Quencha
Social groups identified by clothing

46. Cities
Built cities in conquered areas to exercise control over empire
Cuzco
Capital and heart of the Incan Empire
Area where all roads led to

47. Served as a religious center for the Inca
Machu Picchu
Served as a religious center for the Inca
Possible estate of Pachacuti

48. Government Pachuacuti (1438 AD)
Conquered all of Peru and moved into neighboring lands
Similar to socialism- state exercised almost total control over economic and social life
Ex.) regulated production and distribution of goods

50. Demanded tribute in the form of labor known as mita
Chasquis- system of runners who traveled roads to warn of any revolts/danger

51. Social Structure
Based on an age-old form of community cooperation known as allyu
Undertook tasks too big for a single family such as irrigation projects, etc

52. Writing System Never developed a writing system
Quipu- counting device used to record data
Knots and their positions on a string indicated numbers
Colors of the strings represented different types of information

53. Religion Reinforced power of the state
Virachocha- primary Incan god; god of creation
Inti- sun god who rulers traced ancestry to
Temple of the sun
Located in Cuzco
Most sacred of all Incan shrines

54. Decline of the Empire
Following the death of Huayna Capac, empire was plunged into a civil war that weakened the empire
In 1533 AD Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizzaro captured ruler Atahualpa
After receiving ransom, Atahualpa was killed
Pizzaro conquered Incas and captured the city of Cuzco