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