600-1450 C.E.600-1450 C.E.

Originally created by Ms. Susan M. Pojer Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua, NY

Pre-Colombian Societies

Mesoamerica– Teotihuacan– Maya– Toltecs– Aztecs

Northern Peoples– Southwest Desert Cultures– Mound Builders- The Mississippi Culture

Andean Civilizations– Moche, Paracas, Nazca– Inca

Major Pre-Columbian Major Pre-Columbian CivilizationsCivilizations

Classic-Era Culture ofMesoamerica

600 - 900 C.E.

Lands of the Lands of the MayansMayans

The The Yucatan Yucatan

PeninsulaPeninsula

The The Yucatan Yucatan

PeninsulaPeninsula

Chichen-ItzaChichen-Itza

Chichen-Itza - ObservatoryChichen-Itza - Observatory

Chichen-Itza - Ball Chichen-Itza - Ball CourtCourt

Mayan Cultivation Mayan Cultivation of Maize of Maize

Chac, God of Rain Chac, God of Rain -->-->

Chac, God of Rain Chac, God of Rain -->-->

Mayan Underground Mayan Underground Granaries: Granaries: ChultunesChultunes

Overview of Tikal (Guatemala)Overview of Tikal (Guatemala)

Temple of the MasksTemple of the MasksTemple of the MasksTemple of the Masks

Tikal Jungle View at SunsetTikal Jungle View at Sunset

Tikal - Main CourtTikal - Main Court

Tikal:Tikal:

Temple Temple of the of the MasksMasks

Tikal - Wall Mask of the Rain Tikal - Wall Mask of the Rain GoGodd

Mayan GlyphsMayan Glyphs

Mayan Mayan MathematicsMathematics

sky king house child citysky king house child city sky king house child citysky king house child city

Mayan GlyphsMayan Glyphs

Mayan Drinking Cup for Mayan Drinking Cup for ChocolateChocolate

Mayan Warfare

The Mayan Kingdoms fought constantly with each other. Typically, the victors destroyed the peoples they defeated.

Warriors won prestige when they brought back important captives from neighboring kingdoms. Ultimately, most captives would spend their lives as slaves or sacrificial victims to the Mayan gods.

Between the ninth and eleventh centuries C.E., Chichen Itza organized a loose empire that brought a measure of political stability to the northern Yucatan.

Mayan Society and Religion

Apart from the kings and ruling families, Mayan society included a large class of priests, who maintained an elaborate calendar, knowledge of writing, astronomy, and mathematics.

Like many other early civilizations, specialization of labor helped to establish distinct social classes.

Peasants and slaves fed the entire society and provided physical labor for the construction of cities and monuments.

Quetzalcoatl:The God of Wisdom & LearningThe God of Wisdom & Learning

Maya

Between 800 -900 C.E. cities abandoned Why?– Trade disrupted– Tropical agriculture– Slash and burn

Religious, genealogies, Historical events No wheel, pulleys, beasts of burden Patrilineal but traces of women rulers Mayan Calendar

– Ritual calendar– Solar Calendar

Maya cosmos– Heaven, earthly existence, dark underworld– December 23, 2012?

Teotihuacan

Expanding human populations led to congregations of people in cities and to the emergence of what is believed to be the largest city in the Americas.

At its high point, about 400 to 600 C.E., Teotihuacan was home to almost 200,000 inhabitants, a thriving metropolis with scores of temples, several palatial residences, busy markets, and hundreds of workshops for artisans and craftsmen.

Like the later Maya, the residents of Teotihuacan built on the cultural foundations of the Olmec.

They played the ball game, adopted the Olmec calendar, and expanded the Olmec’s system of writing.

Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan

Religious architectureSun, Moon, and 20 smaller pyramidsHuman sacrifice was performed?Floating GardensNo evidence of single rulersCollapse of Teotihuacan is unknownConflict, HEI, Class conflictC. 650 C.E.

Post-classic Period inMesoamerica

900-1500 C.E.

Toltecs c. 800-1000

Possible satellite population Borrowed heavily from Teotihuacan given credit for all great Mesoamerican achievements First conquest state Established Tula around 968 C.E. Art more warlike and violent character Two chieftains or kings ruled the Toltec state Around 1156 C.E. northern invaders overcame Tula Toltecs influenced the later Mexica or Aztec culture

Toltec Capital, Tula

“Toltec” means artisan

Tula- Pyramid

Impact of Maya and Aztec?

Lands of the AztecsLands of the Aztecs

Mexica or Aztecs

Arrived after collapse of Tula Served as serfs and mercenaries Population grew as did power 1325 C.E. began construction Capitals

– Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco Military success leads to lakeshore gains Introduced Monarchial system Aristocrats selected rulers Military expansion leads to stratification of society Leaders legitimated their rule through rituals Populations of urban areas over 150,000 Tribute payments were common- 1/4 was food 1500 C.e.- Capital and surrounding areas 500,000

Aztec View of Aztec View of TenochtitlanTenochtitlan

ModernMexicoCity

Ruins of the City Center, Ruins of the City Center, TenochtitlanTenochtitlan

Three Plazas

AztecSpanishMexican

The The Codex Codex MendozaMendoza : :

The FoundingThe Foundingofof

TenochtitlanTenochtitlan

Tenochtitlan: The “Venice” of Tenochtitlan: The “Venice” of the Americasthe Americas

AzAztec tec ChinampaChinampa or Floating or Floating Garden:Garden:

15 ft. to 30 ft. wide15 ft. to 30 ft. wide

Tenochtitlan - Tenochtitlan - ChinampasChinampas

Aztec MathAztec Math

Aztec WritingAztec Writing

Aztec Sun Stone -- Aztec Sun Stone -- CalendarCalendar

Aztec Sun MotifsAztec Sun Motifs

Aztec Aztec CodexCodex (15c Manuscript)(15c Manuscript)

The Aztecs The Aztecs WereWereFierce Fierce WarriorsWarriors

Aztecs Sacrifice Neighboring Aztecs Sacrifice Neighboring Tribes to the Sun GodTribes to the Sun God

Heart SacrificeHeart Sacrificeon an Aztec Temple Pyramidon an Aztec Temple Pyramid

Wall of Skulls, TenochtitlanWall of Skulls, Tenochtitlan

Sacrificial Statue? Sacrificial Statue? TenochtitlanTenochtitlan

Aztec GoldAztec Gold

Moche c. 100-800 C.E.

Dominated north of Peru Cultural distinction No unified political structure Irrigation of crops

– Maize, beans, manioc– Coca for ceremonies

Theocratic society Gold / Graves robbed by

Spanish All weaved Canals led to decline No political leader?

The Moche aka Chimu/Chimor

Chan Chan c. 850

Lost legacy?Contemporary to

the Ica-Nazca to the south

El Nino?

The Moche (Chimor)

Lands of the IncasLands of the IncasCultural Links

Chavin

Paracas

Ica-Nazca

Moche (Chimor)

Cuzco

Inca

Kingdom of Cusco 1197-1438

Kingdom of Cusco (sometimes spelled Cuzco and in Quechua Qosqo or Qusqu) was a small kingdom in the Andes that began as a small city-state founded by the Incas around the 12th century.

In time, through either warfare or peaceful assimilation, it began to grow and was succeeded by the Inca Empire

Kingdom of Cusco 1197-1438

The Inca began as a tribe in the Cuzco area around the 12th century under the leadership of Manco Cápac

they formed the small city-state of Cusco

In time, Cusco would become the center of the Inca Empire

Inca Empire 1438-1533

In 1438, under the command of the Sapa Inca (paramount leader) Pachacuti (world-shaker), the Incas began a far-reaching expansion into neighboring lands.

The land which Pachacuti conquered was about the size of the Thirteen Colonies at the outbreak of the American Revolution of 1776, and consisted of nearly the entire territory of the Andes mountain range

Inca Empire 1438-1533

100 year old empire

Multiethnic Empire

200,000 soldiers

Pachacuti r. 1438-1463

Reorganized the kingdom of Cusco into an empire

Federalist system that consisted of a central government with the Inca at its head and four provincial governments with strong leaders

Pachacuti is thought to have built the citadel of Machu Picchu, either as a family home or as a vacation estate

Machu Picchu c. 1450Machu Picchu c. 1450

Celestial Location

Sacred Space

Vacation Home?

Machu PicchuMachu Picchu

See Him?

Viracocha

UniverseSunMoonStarsCivilization

The Inca c.1438-1533

Land of the Four CornersBy 1525, 6 million plus-> Pizarro 1526 2,000 miles along Andes and pacificCentered in CuzcoChiefdom based on tributeConquered peoples helped economyPastoralists both men & womenLake Titicaca to Amazon to PacificQuechua still spoken

CCuzco: Ancient Capital of the Incauzco: Ancient Capital of the Inca(11,000 ft. above sea level)(11,000 ft. above sea level)

Inca Roads

Inca Social Structure

On top was the Sapa Inca, or the emperor Then came the nobles, these were often the

priests and relatives of past emperors or the current ones.

After, there were craftsmen and architects. they were very high on the social ladder because of the skill that they had was required by the Empire for such buildings.

Then came the working class, often just farmers that were kept in their social groupings. After this, were the slaves and peasants of the society

Incan Suspension BridgesIncan Suspension Bridges

Incan Terrace FarmingIncan Terrace Farming

Sacsayhuman

Cusco

Inca Trail

Incan Digging SticksIncan Digging Sticks

Quinoa

Ollantaytambo granaries

Maize in Incan PotteryMaize in Incan Pottery& Gold Work& Gold Work

Over 100 Different Types of Potatoes Over 100 Different Types of Potatoes Cultivated Cultivated

by the Incansby the Incans

Produce from a Typical Incan Produce from a Typical Incan Market Market

Incan Ceramic JarsIncan Ceramic Jars

PeanutPeanutPeanutPeanut PotatoPotatoPotatoPotato SquashSquashSquashSquash

Cacao Cacao GodGod

Cacao Cacao GodGod

Cacao PodCacao PodCacao PodCacao Pod

The The QuipuQuipu: An Incan : An Incan DatabaseDatabase

Language?

Incan MummiesIncan Mummies

Inca Gold & SilverInca Gold & Silver

Poor timing…1532

100 year old empire

Why weren’t they able to stop Pisaro?

Northern Peoples

900-1500 C.E.

Southwest Desert Cultures

Hohokam of the Salt and Gila River Valleys– Strongest Mexican influence– Ball courts, platform mounds, pottery

By 1000 - elaborate irrigation system Hisatsinom (Anasazi)-“Ancient Ones” emerge in four

corners By 600-well established economy based on:

– Maize, beans, and squash Geometrical pottery designs By 900 C.E.- large multistory residential and ritual centers Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, Kiet Siel, & Canyon de Chelley

Chaco Canyon

Northwestern New MexicoEight large towns built in canyonApproximately 15,000Multilevel residencesSocial life and crafts activitiesGender roles more egalitarianModern-day Pueblos

Chaco canyon -Kiva

Southwest Desert Cultures

AnasaziHohokamMongollon

Hisatsinom (Anasazi) Dwellings

Hisatsinom (Anasazi) Art

Mesa Verde

Mound Builders-Mississippian Culture

In North America, the first developed towns in the Mississippi Valley would not appear until around 700 C.E. with the largest of these at Cahokia near modern-day St. Louis.

Cahokia held a population of 20,000 and perhaps 40,000 lived in the region.

A strong central authority existed and stratification of society but no written records remain.

Sun worship?

Cahokia

Mound Builders

NY to IL Ontario to FL 700-1500 C.E. Hunting, gathering Cultivation Contacts w/

Mesoamerica? Chiefdom tradition 10,000- hereditary ruler Cahokia - Largest mound 100 ft x 1037 ft x 790 ft 30 m x 316 m x 241 m

Mound Builders

Canoe-based tradeSea shells, copperGrand tombsSacrifice of othersMilitary defeat?Deforestation?European arrival…

Southern Peoples

c. 900 -1500 C.E.