Who Lived Here First?Pre-Columbian Life in the Americas
Peoples and Cultures “First Americans:” Bering Strait land bridge Approx. 40,000 years ago Caribbean and southern plains of S. America
populated last Alternative hypotheses exist Native Americans were extremely biologically
homogenous (blood type O+)
Peoples and Cultures
1492: approx. 50-75 million indigenous Americans
Most densely populated: Mesoamerica Central America to northern Costa Rica
350 tribal groups existed, divided into 150 major linguistic groups
“When Columbus arrived in the Caribbean in 1492, he believed that he had reached the “Indies,” something of a generic term for Asia in his day. He called the natives “indios” and this word stuck, entering into the vocabulary of many languages. The term “Native Americans” has gained wide acceptance in the last few decades, but it is also problematic. The term “America” is also Eurocentric. It is a name given to the New World by a German cartographer in the early 16th c. to honor Amerigo Vespucci, one of the best known early explorers. […] Most native groups before the Conquest simply called themselves “the people” and they saw the rest of the peoples around them as the “Other.” There is no politically correct term to employ here.” --Eakin
The Inca
(11,000 ft above sea level)
Cuzco: Ancient Capital of the Inca Empire
Macchu Picchu “Old Mountain” Located on mountain
ridge above Urubamba Valley/Urubamba River
NW of Cuzco Believed to have been
built as an estate for Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438-1472)
“The Lost City of the Incas”
Incan Suspension Bridges
Incan Terrace FarmingWhat are the benefits of terrace farming?
Quipu: An Incan Database
Record keeping device from Andean region
Consisted of colored thread from alpaca or llama hair
Each thread held knots denoting values, numeric or otherwise
Varying number of threads
In what ways did the Inca use innovation to help their civilization thrive in the Andean environment?
What aspects of Inca society might put them at a disadvantage upon the arrival of Spanish conquistadors?
The Mayans
Land of the Mayans
Major Settlements Tikal (Guatemala)
Temple of the Masks Chichen Itza (Mexico)
Pyramids Ball courts Observatory
Elements of Civilization
Cultivated maize Constructed underground storage for grains
(chultunes) Created a system of written communication,
including math Worshipped multiple gods, including Chac, God of Rain
The Aztecs
Quetzalcoatl
God of Wisdom and Learning Feathered serpent who guarded the boundary
between earth and sky Believed to have contributed to the creation of
mankind
Tenochtitlan An altepetl (city-state) located on an island in Lake Texcoco, in the
Valley of Mexico.
Founded in 1325
Became the seat of the Aztec empire; captured by the Spanish in 1521.
Became a cabecera of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and today the ruins of Tenochtitlan are located in central Mexico City.
Name comes from Nahuatl tetl = "rock" and nochtli = "prickly pear" and means "Among the prickly pears [growing among] rocks".
Tenochtitlan: “Venice” of the
Americas
Chinampas: “floating gardens”15-30 ft wide
Written Communication
Aztec Writing Aztec Math
AztecsSacrificed Neighboring Tribes