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Latin America

2. Civilizations of Latin America
Maya AD
Inca AD
Aztec AD

3. Maya
Location: Yucatan Peninsula
Modern day Guatemala

4. Maya Government Series of city-states Each with its own King
No single unified empire.
Nobles and Priests were below the King in social order but helped run the city-state.

5. Maya Religion Polytheistic Gods controlled nature.
Priests performed rituals and ceremonies to please the Gods.
Without such ceremonies Mayans believed the Gods would send drought, storms, or other natural disasters.
Mayan lightning God

6. pok-a-tok- Large stone, square court.
Similar to basketball –ball through a hoop
Ball – size of a softball
When nobles played the game, depending on who won, priests interpreted the result as a message from God.

7. Maya Achievements Architecture System of writing Mayan Calender
As seen in their buildings
System of writing
Hieroglyphics – to record historical and religious events.
Mayan Calender
365 ¼ Day Calender – most accurate during the time.
The concept of “0”

8. Maya Decline and Fall Theories: 800-900 Disease weakened the empire
No one is sure the exact reason for decline
Theories:
Disease weakened the empire
War weakened the empire
High taxes led to a revolt by peasants

9. Aztec
Location: Central Plateau of Mexico
Modern day Mexico

10. Tenochtitlan Center of the Aztec Empire
Largest city in the world (1500 AD)
150,000 population
Lake Texcoco surrounded Tenochtitlan

11. Tenochtitlan

12. Chinampas
method of ancient MesoAmerican agriculture which used small, rectangle-shaped areas of fertile arable land to grow crops on the shallow lake beds in the Valley of Mexico.

13. Aztec Government 1 ruler Chosen by a small group of priests Aztecs
Conquered over 500 city-states
Left rulers of city-states in place
City-states were to pay “tributes” or taxes to the main Aztec empire
Taxes included:
Gold
Maize
Tobacco
Precious stones

14. Aztec Religion Human Sacrifice Quetzalcoatl Chief God
To please the Gods
Typically captives from war or warriors.
Quetzalcoatl
Chief God

15. Quetzalcoatl Chief God Believed to have brought maize (corn) to earth.
Took the form of a bearded white man. Tried to give the Aztec priests a new religion that ended human sacrifice. Other priests believed the end of human sacrifice would anger the Gods, so they banished Quetzalcoatl.

16. Aztec Achievements Educated men and women 365 Day Calendar
Civics
History
Religion
Men
Art of war
Women
Homemaking
365 Day Calendar
Hieroglyphics
Pyramids

17. Spanish Motives for Conquering Aztecs and Incas
Wealth
Convert Indians to Christianity

18. Aztec Decline and Fall Conquistador – Spanish conqueror
Conquistador Hernan Cortez arrives in Mexico in 1519.
400 soldiers
16 horses
14 cannons
Marched on Tenochtitlan
A city of 200,000 – 250,000

19. Montezuma Reluctant to fight:
Leader of the Aztec Empire
Reluctant to fight:
Possibly believed Cortez was Quetzalcoatl
Cortez won allies with people the Aztecs had conquered.
Smallpox and other European diseases killed thousands of Aztecs.

20. Additional Spanish Advantages
Rode horses
(Aztec had never seen horses)
Metal armor
Muskets
Cannons

21. Inca Location: Cuzco – capital Included: Fertile Valley of the Andes
Empire stretched 2,500 miles
Included:
Peru
Bolivia
Chile
Ecuador

22. Cuzco
Capital of the Inca Empire

23. Inca
Government
Inca emperor owned all the land, mines, and wealth of the empire.
Aids: Nobles; Priests
People:
Were told what jobs to do.
Peasants
Assigned a plot of land to farm
Taxed were collected on their crops.

24. Inca Religion Polytheistic Chief God = Sun God
Inca translates to “children of the sun”
Royal family believed to be descendants of the Sun God
Gold was believed to be the sweat of the Gods.

25. Inca Achievements Communications network.
Runners helped carry news across the empire.
Used a network of roads (built by an earlier people)
Route for:
Armies
Messages
It was even paved!

26. Chasqui
Runner that delivered messages

27. Quipu – knotted string that helped transmit messages (carried by Chasqui)

28. Inca Decline and Fall - 1533 Conquered by Francisco Pizarro Atahualpa
Inca leader
Captured and killed by Pizarro

29. Spanish Success Spanish were out numbered 80,000 to 186
How did the Spanish win?
Technology
Germs (smallpox)