Mesoamerican Civilizations

The Olmec, Maya, Aztec, and Inca

 Mesoamerica
 What does it  Meso = middle
mean?  America = North and South
America

 Where is it  Mesoamerica is the region that is

located? now Mexico and Central America.
 At the Height of Power
Timeline
• 1200 B.C. – 600 A.D.
Olmec • First known civilization to form in Latin America.

• 250 A.D. – 900 A.D.

Maya • Developed in what is now called the Yucatan Peninsula.

• 1200 A.D. – 1521 A.D.

Aztec • Built their capital on what is now Mexico City.

• 1438 A.D. – 1533 A.D.

Inca • Developed in the Andes Mountains in what is now Peru.
 OLMEC
 Where did they live?  The Olmec lived along the Gulf Coast of modern-day Mexico in
tropical rain forests and lowlands from around 1200 BCE to
400 BCE.

 Who did they

influence?  Both the Maya and the Aztecs were influenced by the Olmec
civilization, the earliest known civilization in Mesoamerica.

 Sculptures and temples indicate that kings or priests led the

 Who was in charge? Olmec society.
◦ This focus on religious leadership influenced later civilizations in the
region.

 What did the

religious centers look  At former religious centers characterized by pyramid-shaped
like? temples, giant stone heads weighing 10 tons stood up to 11
feet tall.
 Olmec Contributions
 The Olmec also developed a form of writing, as well as a
calendar.
 What allowed the
Olmec to spread their
culture?  Through their trade networks, the Olmec were able to spread
many characteristics of their culture, religion, architecture, and
social structure spread north to the Valley of Mexico and
around Central America.
 OLMEC

Cultural Hearth  The beginning of a cultural traits

 The Olmec are considered a cultural
hearth by historians.

 The Olmec are known for HUGE

stone sculptures of heads.

 Around 600 B.C. the Olmec began

to abandon their cities for unknown
reasons.
THE GREAT PYRAMID

 Created first
Pyramids ……
 Looked more like
volcanoes – rock
used was volcanic
(igneous)
“Pot-a-tok”
cli
ck
shooting a
rubber ball
through a
stone ring
without
using your
hands or
feet.
Olmec Technology
 The Olmec used an early form
of glyph writing to record
events, dates, and to tell
stories.
 Glyphs are pictures that
represent words.
 They were incredible
astronomers.
 They developed a calendar
that was amazingly accurate
for its time.
 OLMEC TRADE
Most Olmec cities served as trade centers.

• They mainly traded for luxury

items such as precious stones.
Were known for making
jewelry from these gems and
stones
• Knowledge and ideas were
also exchanged at these trade
centers.
• As a result, the Olmec culture
spread throughout much of
Mesoamerica.
 Maya
 Where are they  The Maya lived in modern-day southern Mexico and Central
located? America.
 including the areas that are today Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and
Honduras.

 What do they  They were an agriculture-based society. They grow corn,

beans, and squash, and practice many of the same crafts,
grow? such as weaving and pottery.

 How did their  Their central location made it very easy for the Maya to trade
location help and interact with other cultures from North and South
them? America.

 How did they

trade?  The Maya built a large and complex system of roads to stay
connected with other cities and peoples.

 What is left  Mayan ruins include huge ziggurat and observatories used by
behind? astronomers.
 MAYAN CULTURE

Why did Mayas tie objects from

their infants’ foreheads?

To encourage their eyes to cross.

Why did some Mayas tie boards to

their children’s heads?

To flatten their foreheads – this

was a sign of beauty in their
culture.
 1. Created a 365 day
calendar by watching
Mayan
the stars.
Contributions
2. The Maya used math
and were the first
people to use the zero.

3. Developed glyph
writing using symbols
that stood for words.
The Maya
GLPYH WRITING

Developed
hieroglyphic-style
writing to record
astronomical
observations,
calendar,
calculations,
& historical
information
NUMBER SYSTEM

 The Maya
invented of the
idea of the
number zero.

 This invention
made the
Maya’s calendar
accurate.
 Mayan Calendar

 The Mayan priest used

their knowledge of
astronomy and math
to develop two
accurate calendars.

The Mayan Calendar

◦ solar year of 365
days.
◦ divided into 18
months of 20 days
each, followed by a
five-day period that
was highly unlucky.
Mayan Books
 Made paper by
pounding fibers from
bark of ficus tree into
pulp and glued it
together with tree sap.
 When the paper dried
they coated it with
white lime.
 A Mayan book is called
a codex.
Fiber paper/deer hide for
covers.
 Religion
The god of Rain, god of
Maize, and the god of Sun.

The priests decided

when to plant crops and when
people could marry and to
whom. Before doing pretty
much anything, one had to ask They believed that without the
for a priest’s approval. help of these important gods,
there would be no crops and
everyone would starve.
To get help from the gods, the
Maya fasted, prayed, and
offered sacrifices.
Most sacrifices were animals
but occasionally they did
made human sacrifices.
Mayan Empire

Mayans were
polytheists who built
large pyramids to
honor gods—smaller
than Egyptian & Kush
pyramids but were
much more detailed &
decorative;
contained
arches
 Rubber… What!!!
 Another unusual Mayan crop was rubber.

 The Maya cut slits in the bark of the rubber tree

and collected its sap. They used the dried sap to
make water-resistant shoes and clothing.

 Rubber was also used to make balls. The Maya

played games in enclosed, I-shaped courts with
the rubber balls. These ball games took on a
ritual significance and were an important part
of Mayan culture.
 Mayan Ball Game

 The court was approximately 25 feet wide, by 75 feet long. The ball
was six inches in diameter and made out of rubber and weighed
about eight pounds! This made the game very difficult to play and
could cause severe injury. In contrast, a modern football is filled
with air and weighs less than one pound.

 The game was a combination of basketball, volley ball, and soccer.

Two teams of two to eleven players would play the game. They
would try and get a rubber ball through a small hoop that was
about twenty-seven feet off of the ground. The players would have
to keep the ball in motion using parts of their bodies like hips,
thighs and forearms, but the use of hands and feet was not
allowed.

 The ball was very hard to get through the hoop. Because of this,
when a player successfully got the ball through a hoop, the
spectators would have to give him their jewelry.
 The court was shaped like an upper case,
many believe it to be the first team sport.
THE LEGEND OF MIRROR

 The Maya believed that

one could communicate
with a god by looking
into a mirror.

 Legend says…warriors
going into battle wore
mirrors on their backs.
The idea was that if an
enemy warrior tried to
sneak up on a Maya
warrior, a demon might
reach out from the
underworld and snatch
the enemy.
 The Aztecs
Where did they live?  Aztec people settled in the Valley of Mexico and
what is now Mexico City.

Where was the Capital?  the capital city of Tenochtitlan

◦ approximately 30 million living in the entire empire.

 Toltec Empire
What was another name for
the Aztec people?

What were the Aztecs known

 The Aztecs were fierce warriors who used military
for? power to build a huge empire.

How did they become rich?

 Collecting taxes from the people they conquered
was how the Aztec became so wealthy.
 AZTECS
To keep their gods happy,
the Aztecs believed that
• Some of the people they
human sacrifice was
sacrificed were Aztecs.
necessary. They used people
However, most of the
to feed their hungry gods.
people they sacrificed were
captured from neighboring
tribes.

• This did not make them

popular with their
neighbors. Sooner or later,
their neighbors would band
together to chase the
Aztecs away.
  Tenochtitlan had broad
Mighty Tenochtitlan avenues, beautiful
plazas, markets,
temples, and palaces.
 Aztec Religion
 Priests were highly respected.

 Most important God to the Aztecs was the

Sun God.

 To please their gods, Aztecs offered

human sacrifices for their Gods.
  Doctors learned to set
bones and dentists learned
to treat cavities.
Contributions
of the Aztec  Engineers created bridges
to connect the island
capital together.

 Developed an accurate
calendar

 Established schools
SCHOOL
• To build Tenochtitlan into
the city they wanted, the
Aztec knew that they
would need many
engineers, builders, and
other specialist.
• To solve this problem,
the Aztecs set up a
system of public schools.
• All Aztec children went to
school where they
learned Aztec history,
religion, and a
specialized profession.
ALL-GIRLS SCHOOL
 There were three
different schools: one
for girls, and two for
boys.
 Girls learned about
religion and were
trained to be good
wives and mothers.
They learned how to
cook, sew, and how to
care for their children.
They also learned how
to make beautiful
woven textiles.
 Sons of the upper class
 Sons of the upper class went to the nobles’
school. Sons of wealthy traders and merchants
also went to this school. They studied law, writing
(hieroglyphics), medicine, engineering and
building, interpretation of dreams and omens, and
self-expression. They also learned about their
history and religious beliefs.

 It was a tough
school. The boys
were humiliated
and tormented to
toughen them up.
Sons of Slave
 The other boys’ school
was for sons of
commoners. Its main goal
was to train warriors and
farmers. Boys had to
sleep under skimpy
blankets. They were given
hard bread to eat.
 The commoners’ school
also taught history,
religion, manners, correct
behavior, and important
rituals, along with singing
and dancing.
 Specialized Professions
• Aztec children were
trained to be a specialist
in some area. Boys
studied how to be
farmers, traders,
engineers, builders,
astronomers, and
doctors.
• Students who became
builders and engineers
designed and built the
amazing Aztec cities,
including the capital city
of Tenochtitlan.
 WAR

• War was an important

part of Aztec life.
• The Aztec conquered
over 400 cities in
Mexico.
• The Aztec often used
the prisoners they
captured as slaves or
as human sacrifices
to feed their gods.
 The Inca
Where did they live?  The Incas developed in the Andes
Mountains in what is now Peru.

 The Incas were ruled by an emperor

Who was in charge? who had absolute power.

What was farming like?  To farm the steep land:

◦ they cut terraces into the mountainside
◦ built aqueducts to irrigate crops.

What did they grow?  The Inca grew mostly corn and
potatoes.

How did the Inca move?  The Inca built 14,000 miles of roads:
◦ On which runners carried messages to
far cities and the capital of Cuzco.
◦ Many of theses roads are still used
today.
 Inca Government
 One thing that helped the Incas
grow so rapidly was their system of
a strong central government.
Everybody worked for the state, and
in turn the state looked after
everybody.

 Sapa Inca: The head of government

was the Inca, sometimes called the
“Sapa Inca” (“the Only Inca”). The
Sapa Inca was all-powerful.
Everything belonged to the Sapa
Inca. He ruled his people by putting
his relatives in positions of power.
Since punishment was harsh and
swift, almost no one broke the law.
Common People Had No Freedom
 The Incas were very class
conscious and were divided into
nobles and common people. The
nobles pretty much did what they
wanted, while the common
people were tightly controlled by
the government.

 Commoners could not own or

run businesses. They could only
do their assigned jobs. The law
did not allow them to be idle.
Even the amount of time they
had to sleep and bathe was
controlled by a government
official.
 Service Tax

 Local officials kept an detailed

census. A census is an official
count of all the people in an area
and how they each make a living.

 Each common person was listed

in the census. Each person listed
had to pay a tax. The Incas loved
gold and silver, but they had no
use for money. The people paid
their tax each year in physical
labor—serving in the army,
working in the mines, or building
roads, temples, and palaces.
 Harsh Government Control
 Laws dictated who should work
where, and when.

 Local officials had the power to

make all decisions about the
lives of the people they ruled.
Inspectors visited frequently to
check on things. Breaking the
law usually meant the death
penalty. Few people broke the
law. Tight government controls
kept the common people fed,
clothed, and enslaved.
 GEOGRAPHY
 Another thing that helped the
Inca Empire grow so rapidly
was its geography. The
empire had three main
geographical regions:

 1. The Andes Mountains

 2. The Amazon jungle
 3. The coastal desert

 Each was a natural barrier. The Incas made

their home between the jungle and the desert,
high in the Andes Mountains of South
America.
MACHU PICCHU
Incan Roads
 High in the Andes Mountains,
the Incas connected their
empire with 14,000 miles of
well-built roads. Some
sections of road were over 24
feet wide. Some were even
paved. Some roads were so
steep that the Incas built stone
walls along the edge to
prevent people from falling off
the cliff.
 The roads belonged to the
government. No one could
travel the roads without
special permission.
Incan Roads
 Accomplishments of
the Inca:
◦ Had no writing, but
created record
system called
quipu (knots tied
to
colored rope)
◦ Built suspension
bridges
◦ Built 10,000 miles
of roads
◦ Excellent
goldsmiths
◦ 1st civilization to
harvest potatoes
Goldsmiths

 To keep
records the
Inca used
quipus which
are knotted
cords used as
counting
tools.