Mesoamerican Cultures: Maya, Aztec,
Inca
Global History: Spiconardi
Maya Periods
Pre-classic: (c. 2000 BC to 250 AD) Classic: (c. 250 AD to 900 AD) Post-classic: (900 AD to 1500s AD)
Maya Location:
Modern day southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras
Maya Social Structure
King
Nobles: Priests & Warriors
Merchants
Peasants
Slaves
Maya Religion
Believed each day was a living god Had to please the gods via sacrifice
Piercing of bodies with needle Also done to show fierceness of a warrior
Flowers & incense
Maya Religion (Con’t.)
Human Sacrifice Sacrificed prisoners of war, slaves, and children
Children were preferable as they were pure Victim painted blue, had chest cut open, and heart
removed Drug Use
Smoked a strong tobacco w/hallucinogenic effects Drank fermented water, honey, and tree bark drink
Maya Farm, Trade, and Agriculture
Slash-and-burn farmingSlash-and-burn farming clear land by burning current vegetation and planting new crops in the ashes
No Formal Currency…Used the cocoa beans as $
Counterfeit cocoa beans Some merchants would remove the cocoa from the
bean and refill it with wax
Maya Achievements
Hieroglyphic symbols Only Mesoamerican
culture to have a complete writing system
Concept of zero & counting system
Calendar Only .0002 days short;
extremely accurate Predicted the end of
the world 12/2012
Mesoamerican Ballgame
Maya: Collapse TheoriesNon-ecological
Overpopulation? Peasant revolts? Foreign invasion? Disruption of key
trade routes?
Ecological 200 year drought? Overuse of slash &
burn? Disease?
The Aztec
Aztec Tenochtitlan
A group of people first known as the Mexicas, later the Aztecs, found the city of Tenochtitlan (modern day Mexico City) in 1315.
Tenochtitlan became an urban center that was larger than European capitals
Dubbed the “Venice of the New World”
Aztec Tribute System
The Aztecs ruled their empire by indirect means
Instead of exerting their supreme authority on conquered people, they demanded tribute.
Conquered leaders were even restored to their positions
i.e. feathers, greenstones, cloth, firewood, and food
Aztec Cocoa Plant
Like the Maya, the Aztec used cocoa as currency
20 beans a year could support a commoner A man could sell his daughter as a sacrifice or sex
slave for upwards of 500 beans Beverages
First accounts of chocolate beverages were noted by the Spanish
Thickened with maize flour and seasoned with a chilies
Aztec Social Structure
Nobility Not hereditary. Being born to
noble parents did not necessarily mean you would become a noble
Peasants Very few farmers. Mostly artisans
and warriors. Slaves
Prisoners of war, criminal punishment, or payment of a debt
Aztec Social Structure
Like the Maya, Aztecs also intoxicated themselves, but… ONLY ELDERS WERE ALLOWED TO GET DRUNK
Aztec: Social Structure Education
From ages 0-14, parents guided education
At age 15, both boys and girls (of all classes) went to school
Aztecs were one of the first civilizations to require all children go to school.
The Schools Telpochcalli
Military training Calmecac
Taught writing, astronomy, theology, etc.
But girls were taught domestic skills & religion.
Not taught to read or write.
Aztec Religion
As an agricultural people, the Aztec depended heavily on the forces of nature and worshiped them as gods
The Aztec believed that the benevolent gods must be kept strong to prevent the evil gods from destroying the world
Human Sacrifice Victims of sacrifice were usually prisoners of war, some
Aztec warriors would volunteer for the more important sacrificial rituals
The god Tlaloc was believed to prefer children as sacrificial victims
Aztec Human sacrificeAztecs took human sacrifice to a new level. According to Ahuitzotl, over the course of four days the Aztec sacrificed some 84,000 people to dedicate the new Great Pyramid.
Aztec Agriculture
Tenochtitlan was constructed on swamp land not suited for farming
ChinampasChinampas “floating gardens;” artificial islands made of soil and reed mats that were placed in Lake Texcoco
Aztec Spanish Conquest
In 1519 Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés and more than 500 Spaniards landed in eastern Mexico in search of land and gold
Kidnaps Aztec leader Montezuma for a gold ransom
Conquered all of the Aztec by 1525
1/3 of population killed Mostly from small pox
Survivors forced into labor mining for gold or working on the estates of the Spaniards
Inca Government
The Emperor owned all people, land, & resources Government had complete control over the economy
Farmers worked on cooperative farms Early form of socialism/communism
Massive bureaucracy For every 10,000 people there were 1,331 government
officials Mita special tax, but in the form of labor NOT money
All able bodied citizens required to work for the government for a set number of days per year
Inca Religion
Worshipping of sun played a major role in the religion
Emperor seen as the son of the sun god Human Sacrifice?
Only on the rarest occasion; usually children or virginal women who dedicated lives to worshipping the sun
Most of sacrifices were guinea pigs and llamas
Inca Religion
Believed in reincarnation Moral Code: “ama suwa, ama llulla, ama
quella” Do not steal, do not lie, do not be lazy Those who followed those rules went to live in the
Sun's warmth while others spent their eternal days in the cold earth
Practiced cranial deformation
Inca Achievements
Massive Road System Connected all the people of the Incan Empire All roads led to the Capital of Cuzco
Machu Picchu Served as religious city and fortress during the
Spanish conquest Could only be reached by bridges over rivers 1,950
feet in the air
Machu Picchu
Inca Achievements
Terrace farming What other cultures
that we have studied this year have used this method?
Quipu a series of knotted strings used by Incan officials for keeping records
Incans did not have a writing system or advanced calendar
Inca Spanish Conquest
Conquered by Pizarro in 1532 Despite getting the ransom of
gold and silver he demanded, Pizarro killed Incan ruler
Spanish ruled Inca harshly Destroyed traditional culture
and farming methods Forced them to mine gold and
silver