Ch 1, Sec 2: Cities and Empires & Ch 1, Sec 3: North American Peoples

Mesoamerica

• Mexico and Central America• Groups include the Olmec, Mayans, Incas, and

Aztecs

Olmec

• 1500-300 BC• Gulf Coast of Mexico, Guatemala, and

Honduras• Built large stone buildings and cities for

thousands of people

The Maya• Lived in modern day Mexico, Guatemala,

Honduras, and Belize• 300-1100 AD-prime years– No one knows what caused the decline of the

Maya

• Built large cities with the help of slave labor

Mayan Cities

• Tikal-largest city• Each city had at least one pyramid– Used for religious purposes– Theocratic gov’t-society ruled by religious priests

• Centers for trade

Maya Religion• Priests ran each city• Polytheistic (believed in many gods)• Practiced human sacrifice

Maya successes

• Used stars, moon, and sun to create a 365 day calendar

• Created a writing system called hieroglyphics• Created a counting system for trade

Aztecs

• Lived in Central Mexico• In power from 1300s-1500s• Nomads looking for a home– In search of a an eagle, sitting on a cactus, with a

snake it it’s mouth (Mexico City)

• Built Tenochtitlan on top of a lake– Capital of the Aztecs– Center for trade for the empire

Tenochtitlan

Aztecs beliefs in war• Military powerhouse• Took over everything in Central Mexico– Stole from their enemies– Enemies had to pay tribute (bribes)– Forced enemies to be their slaves

Aztec Religion• Polytheistic• Built pyramids for their gods• Sacrificed enemies to keep their gods happy– One story-sacrificed over 84,000 prisoners in 4

days

The Incas

• Lived on the Western coast of South America• Biggest group of natives from 1200s-1500s AD• Capital city-Cuzco• Went to war with their enemies to take over

their land

Incan Successes

• Controlled every group from Columbia to Chile

• Built 10,000 miles of roads to connect their empire

• Extremely detailed with record keeping• Farming– Created terraces in mountain sides to farm crops

Incan Gov’t and Religion

• Polytheistic• Emperor-comes from the sun god– Has ultimate power– Top religious leader

• Created cities made of gold and jewels to gain protection from the gods

People of North America

• Pre-European Exploration• Groups include:– Hohokam, Anasazi, Mound Builders, Cahokia,

Inuit, Tlingit, Haida, Chinoook, Yakima, Apache, Dakota, Iroquois, Cherokee, and Mohawk

Hohokam• Lived in Arizona• Rise in power from 300-1300 AD• Smart farmers in the desert• Created 100s of miles of irrigation ditches

from rivers to their fields

The Anasazi

• Powerful group from 1-1300 AD• Lived in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New

Mexico (UT, CO, AZ, NM)• Built pueblos (villages) out of mud, clay, and

stone• Traded with other groups• Built houses in the sides of mountains for

protection• Downfall-drought killed off their crops

Mound Builders• Groups include Adena, Hopewell, and

Mississippians• Traded with other groups from all over North

America• Created large mounds out of dirt in the shape

of animals and other objects– Had burial chambers in them– Others were used for worship

Mound Builders

• Lived from the Mississippi River to the Northeast

• Cahokia– Biggest group of Mississippian Indians– Lived in IL– Had the biggest city north of Mexico

Inuit

• Lived around the Arctic Ocean• Last group to come to North America• Built igloos• Hunters and fishermen

People of the West• Lived in modern day Washington, Oregon,

Colorado, and California• Fishermen and hunters• Nomadic groups-Nez Perce, Yakima, Pomo• Some created permanent houses-Tlingit,

Haida, and Chinook

Peoples of the Southwest• Lived in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas• Hopi, Acoma, and Zuni tribes• Made adobe houses• Farmers• Traded with groups in both Americas• Apache and Navajo-nomadic groups that

turned into farmers

Peoples of the Plains

• Lived in the middle of the U.S.• Nomads• Lived in tepees• Hunters and farmers• Skilled horse riders/warriors

Peoples of the East• Iroquois– Warring groups came together to make the

Iroquois Confederacy– Lived in the Northeast U.S.– Women and as much power as the men

Peoples of the Southeast

• Lived in Georgia and Alabama• Farmers in the mountains and near rivers• Groups include Chickasaw and Cherokee