MAYA, AZTEC, INCA CIVILIZATIONS

THE MAYANS

• Civilization begins around 2000 BCE, but Classical Period of civilization is 250 – 900 CE• Located in the Yucatan

peninsula in Mexico• Covered highlands in

the mountains, lowlands that were covered in thick jungle

ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE MAYANS

• Cities – archaeologists have found over 50

• Government broken up into independent city-states• Alliances, trade, and wars

between these• Government of all city-

states centered around religion – a theocracy

• Built large stone pyramids in cities

• Cities also had ball courts for games

ADVANCES BY THE MAYANS

• Math – math system that included zero• Own number system similar to Egyptian• Calendars – used to time agricultural season

properly• One calendar for religion, one based on the sun• Writing system – most advanced in Western

hemisphere at the time

COLLAPSE OF THE MAYANS

• Mysterious – no one really knows why civilization collapsed• Cities emptied out in the late 800s• Possibilities include war, overfarming, population

growth, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47kRdCLALgo – Mayan calendar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA8Bjzj-aLs – human sacrifice

AZTECS

• Begins around 1200 CE• In Mexico, as well –

northwest of Mayans• Extremely hot and dry• Lots of valuable resources and

fertile soil• Obsidian – volcanic glass that

was valuable in trade

• Extremely religious – a theocracy• Worshipped gods like

Quetzacoatl (serpent god) or sun gods

• Religion dictated everyday life – everything centered around it

CONQUERORS

• Aztecs were an empire – looking to expand• Forced conquered

people to pay tribute (taxes)• Slaughtered villages

when they failed• Many conquered

people were used in human sacrifices

CITY BUILDERS

• Aztecs built cities in what they felt were important religious sites• Most famous was

Tenochtitlan • Population between

200,000 and 400,000• Built on an island – very

advanced bridges built to get to island

• City was completely planned out

FALL OF THE AZTECS

• 1502 – many tribute states revolted – tired of huge taxes, human sacrifices

• Leader at the time was Montezuma II – tried easing the taxes, but not enough

• Eventually, Spanish conquerors arrive in search of God, glory, and gold – wipe out Aztecs

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nS6MpVbB_g - Tenochtitlan

INCAN CIVILIZATION

• Begins around 1200 in Andes Mountains in western South America• Believed their ruler

was a descendant of their sun god

INCA EMPIRE

• Empire stretches for 2,500 miles over Andes Mountain range – one of biggest mountain ranges in the world

• Government had complete control over people• Complete control over

economy – distributed goods to people

• Very little trade – positives and negatives of this?

CITIES

• Cities built high up in mountains• Carefully planned,

connected by roads• Famous cities include

Cuzco, their capital, and Machu Picchu• Cities were carefully

planned

MACHU PICCHU

• Famous city that was re-discovered in early 1900s• Built high up in the

Andes – a resort town for high class members of society• Carefully planned• Many of the ruins have

been reconstructedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2YBVlgqqco

WHY DO THEY DISAPPEAR?

• Disease – smallpox wipes out large part of civilization• Civil war – weakens

entire empire• As civil wars are going

on, Spanish arrive, finish off civilization