North American Societies Chapter 16 Section 1

Quick Review… Remember where the North American societies came from? From Asia over the Bering Straight Remember their lifestyle? Hunter-Gathers (chasing the Mammoths)

Complex Societies of the Northwest The early Americans were located in the modern-day Pacific-Northwest Lots of Natural Resources Abundant food Used the Pacific Ocean to hunt whales Complex society Potlatch – Families displayed their rank and prosperity by giving back to the community Food, Drink, and Gifts

Accomplished Builders of the Southwest Those settlers in the southwestern portion of North America lived different lives all together. Farmers Used irrigation Corn, beans, squash Made pots rather than baskets – this is evidence that they were in contact with the Mesoamericans.

Tribes of Early America Anasazi Lived near modern-day “4-Corners” Area of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona Cliff-dwellers Lived in Pueblos – apartment-like buildings of clay and stone Largest (Pueblo Bonito) housed about 1,000 people

Anasazi Pics CLIFF DWELLINGS Pueblos

Tribes of Early America Iroquois Group of 5 tribes in the Northeastern part of America (New York area) Formed the Iroquois League Create by Chief Hiawatha (legend) Political Alliance Promote Defense Spoke similar language

Tribes of Early America Mississippian Lived in modern “Midwest United States” Known for being MOUND BUILDERS Villages based on Farming and Trade Used Ohio and Mississippi Rivers for trading SERPENT MOUND (OHIO)

Cultural Connections Purposes of connections within tribes was primarily economic and cultural. Cultural Economic Trade Similar religious beliefs Shared social patterns Rivers were trade routes Totems – symbol of unity of a group or clan The land was sacred Believed in nature spirits

Totems Symbol of the unity of a group of a clan Defined behaviors and relationships Displayed on masks, poles, or boats Used in rituals (i.e. – weddings, funerals, births, etc.)

This Week... We’re going to spend the rest of the week talking about 3 major civilizations Mayans Aztecs Incas

Maya Kings and Cities Chapter 16 Section 2

Where are the Maya located? Yucatan Peninsula

Maya Create City-States Review – What other group that we studied formed city-states?? That’s right – THE GREEKS Review – What were two of the most popular city states?? Yep, Sparta and Athens

Maya Create City-States Where: Southern Mexico into Central America (Yucatan Peninsula) When: 250 A.D. They were influenced by the Olmecs

Mayan City-States: Urban Centers The Mayans built large cities Tikal (in modern Guatemala) Each city-state was independent Ruled by a god-king Cities were religious centers Cities were trade centers Buildings: Pyramids, temples, palaces, stone carvings, ball court (for religious and political purposes

Mayan City-States: Agriculture & Trade Support Cities Each city state was independent, but they were connected with TRADE Trade items: salt, flint, feathers, shells, honey, cotton textiles, jade ornaments Chocolate beans sometimes served as money Agriculture was big Maize, beans, squash

Mayan Social Structure King Nobles Priests Leading Warriors Merchants, Skilled, Teachers Peasants Majority of the population

Religion Shapes Mayan Life Polytheistic – belief in many gods Examples: god of corn, god of rain, god of war The Maya believed that each day was a god, whose behavior could be predicted with the help of a calendar Worship included: prayer, offerings, self-mutilation, human sacrifice (usually captured enemies)

Mayans and Math Calendar Concept of Zero Calculated the year to be 365.2420 days long (this is only .0002 of a day short of our current calendar. The did this with careful observation of the sun, stars, and planets. They used the calendar to decide when the best time to plant crops, attack an enemy, and crown new rulers. Concept of Zero

Mayan Written Language Helped preserve their history Alphabet consisted of about 800 hieroglyphic symbols known as GLYPHS. Recorded major events in CODEX – a book of bark paper. SKY HOUSE CHILD CITY OF PALENQUE KING http://www.famsi.org/mayawriting/dictionary/montgomery/syllabary_a.htm

Mysterious Maya Decline Historians are unsure of why the Mayan Civilization collapsed. Historians have the following “reasons” why they think that the Mayans disappeared: Warfare between the city-states = Trade problems = Economic issues Over-population = over-farming = famine & disease **These two situations lead to weakened city-states that were vulnerable to invasion from outside peoples.**

The Aztecs Control Central Mexico Chapter 16 Section 3

Pre-Aztec Mexico Teotihuacan (tay-oh-tee-wah-kahn) First major civilization of Central Mexico Trade center Most valuable item – obsidian – green or black volcanic glass (used to make razor-sharp weapons) About 200,000 inhabitants Declined for unknown reasons

Pre-Aztec Mexico, continued Toltecs Began to dominate central Mexico after the decline of Teotihuacan. Violent people Worshiped QUESTZALCOATL (feathered serpent) This god demanded human blood and sacrifice

The Aztec Empire Where: Valley of Mexico, modern Mexico City Aztecs were preceded in this region by the Olmecs and the Zapotecs (Remember those guys from Chapter 9?) When: A.D. 1200

Aztec Origins How they started: Originally called the “Mexica” Poor, nomadic from the desert of North Mexico Started a city called Tenochtitlan (ten-nach-te-lon) It was on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco Formed the Triple Alliance with two other large city-states The Aztecs based their power on 1) military conquests and 2) tribute (taxes) that they collected from the people that they conquered.

Tenochtitlan Population: as many as 400,000 (bigger than London at the time) It was an island in the middle of the Lake Texcoco, that was connected to the mainland by three raised roads Other cities circle the lake

Aztec Social Structure Emperor had absolute power Emperor Military Leaders had great power at the height of the Aztec Empire Nobles Gov’t & Religious Officials, Leading Warriors Commoners Merchants, Soldiers, Landowners Enslaved People

Religion Rules Aztec Life Hundreds of temples in their capital 1,000s of gods to worship Many religious festivals to honor various gods The most important god was: Huitzilopochtli God of the Sun Made the sun rise every morning, to maintain this power, he needed blood. 1000s were sacrificed (hearts cut out) each year Many military conquests that the Aztecs fought were not for more land, but for more people to sacrifice (did not try to kill in battle, but capture)

Illustration of Aztecs Sacrificing People

Decline of the Aztecs Spanish invasion (from Europe) High Taxes (Tribute) made people mad, and some rebelled People saw “bad omens,” and did not trust their leader (Montezuma II) Omens – Lightning Strikes, Solar Eclipse, etc.

The Inca Create a Mountain Empire Chapter 16 Section 4

Incan Beginnings Started out in the high plateau of the Andes Mountains Settled permanently in the Valley of Cuzco The city of Cuzco was their capital (religious center too)

Pachacuti Builds an Empire Great Incan ruler, led the Inca to conquer all of Peru and then neighboring lands By 1500 the Incan Empire had 80 provinces, and had 16 million inhabitants Incans conquered people thru diplomacy and military force The Incan only used force when necessary Usually gave their enemies the chance to surrender Treated those that they conquered rather well Trying to gain loyalty

Incans Create Unity The Incans used several strategies to create unity in their empire Divided into provinces with solid leadership, and a central government Efficient economic system Extensive road system to connect the provinces One official language Similar government buildings in all cities All roads led to the capital of Cuzco Built new cities in conquered areas

Would this work now in the US? Incan Government The Incan Government controlled almost all social and economic aspects in the empire Social System of AYLLU was used. Communities (extended families) would help each other out. Example: If an irrigation canal needed to be built, the entire community would help out. Paying Tribute in the form of Labor – called MITA. Example: All able-bodied citizens had to work for the state a certain number of days each year. Would this work now in the US?

Incan Roads Incans were known for their roadways 14,000 miles of road connected the empire A system of runners was posted along the roads to send communication thru the empire Roads allowed troops to easily move to various parts of the empire

Incan Record Keeping Incans never formed a writing system History and Literature were passed on thru memorization Important!

Inca Religion Fewer gods than the Aztecs (1000s) Mainly nature spirits Most important: creator god and the sun god Sacrificed llamas Both women and men (virgins) were used in religious ceremony. This was their job for life!

Decline of the Incan Empire Height of the empire was in the 1500s Their king died, and his sons split the empire This led to civil war within the empire Spanish took advantage of this – they eventually conquered the empire

A view of Machu Picchu, "the Lost City of the Incas," This was the last stronghold of the Inca, and now an archaeological site.