1. Maya, Aztec, and Inca Civilizations
Pre-Columbian Society in North and South America

2. MesoAmerica Maya, then Aztecs = dominant civilizations
Built on the foundation of earlier civilizations eg: Olmec (the big head people)
Maize
Ball games
Temple pyramids/ritual human sacrifice
Astronomy/calendar

3. Aztecs – green Maya - brown

4. Maya Height – 600CE-900CE Culturally united--- (NOT POLITICALLY)
City-states
Polytheistic
Nobles/Priests = elite class
Innovative agriculture b/c of poor soil (chinampas, terraces, irrigation)
Glyph writing/zero
Downfall? Overtaxed environment, internal warfare

5. Political Control in Maya City-States
Political authority rested with Kings who were closely intertwined with priests and religion
Blood-letting rituals were performed by Kings (believed to retain the city-state’s connection to the gods; comparable with China’s idea of the Emperor performing rituals for his ancestors)

6. Maya – Tikal

12. Writing Styles

15. Aztecs Height – 1300CE-1500CE A true, united Empire
Invading conquerors from N. Mexico
Tenochtitlan – capital w/Emperor
Important families controlled outlying areas
Conquered people had to give tribute
Complex social hierarchy (nobles, priests, etc.)
Blood-letting remained an important political ritual
Human sacrifice, often – used to control population which had been conquered

18. Spanish primary source of Aztec human sacrifice

19. Inca 1400s-1500s South America (Andes Mts.) Also a true united empire
Military expansionists
Governed territory of over 2,500 miles
Used the delightful Llama (pack animal only)
Farmed potatoes on terraces
God-kings = intermediaries b/t heaven and earth

20. Social Hierarchy
Aristocrats lived privileged lives (fine foods, embroidered clothes, and large ears spools)
Inca often integrated conquered elites into their empire’s elite to keep them happy
Inca ear spools
AKA: Fancy gauges

21. Cuzco
Capital city
Connected to outlying areas by 16,000 miles of roads
Royal family members ruled outlying areas
Tribute state - $$ to Cuzco, emperor ensured everyone had what they needed = a redistributive economy
Gov’t control – trade, labor, detailed census, centralized econ, etc.

22. Labor and Taxes Taxes often paid in labor (called mit’a)
Mit’a labor used to create huge terrace, irrigation, and water-control systems
Labor groups
allyu = extended family organized groups (used b/c of crazy terrain)
NO writing – used qipus!
Labor and Taxes

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