early history of the americas. beringia: land bridge between north america and asia that existed...
TRANSCRIPT
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
Olmec1200BC 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 Aztecs1200-1521 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 Incas1200-1535
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
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