Early history of the Americas

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

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

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

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

Olmec 1200BC to 400 BC

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

Religion Prayed to a variety of nature gods (animism)

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

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

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

Early Empires of South America

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

http://www.missedinhistory.com/podcasts/the-nazca-lines/

The Mayas (250-900AD)

The Mayas (250-900 AD)

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

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

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

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

equinox

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

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

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

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

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

The Aztecs 1200-1521 AD

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Decline of the Empire Arrival of the Spanish and Hernando Cortes- 1519 AD Montezuma believed that he was Quetzalcoatl With superior technology, and European diseases such as smallpox, the Spanish defeated the Aztecs by 1521 AD

The Incas 1200-1535

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.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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