Early Civilization Name: Do as a group of assigned 4-6 people. We will shorten assignment with jigsaw. Know your group well (Fill in all lines for your group work with details), then each person present one or two lines of your group for others to understand a general idea of other early civiliations. Then listen and write what the other groups say on your lines. You can use resources in the back of this packet if you do not quite catch what they said. Period: 1. Olmec When (Date) 2. Mayan When (Date)
3. Aztecs When (Date) 4. Inca When (Date)
Olmecs Taken from The American nation textbook and http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/12-1-2005-82836.asp The earliest known civilizations in the Americas were that of the Olmecs in Central America. The Olmecs lived in the lowlands along the Gulf of Mexico about 3,500 years ago. A common feature with theirs and later civilizations were that they: Followed a 365 day year, built pyramids, cultivated corn Major Cities: The three largest Olmec cities were: La Venta in Tabasco (the eastern sector), dominated the rich coastal estuaries, including the cocoa, rubber & salt trade. San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan in Veracruz was at the center of the Olmec civilization, and an important political/religious center. The first drainage system in Mesoamerica was discovered there, consisting of channeled blocks of stone set into the earth, covered with slabs. Their region is also famous for the colossal basalt carved heads, weighing 20-40 tons each. Laguna de los Cerros, to the West, controlled the important basalt mines/mountains, important for the manufacture of Metates (stones for grinding food), & monuments. Olmec religion featured mainly worship of the Jaguar and Werejaguars (children with Jaguar features), though snake worship was popular too. They believed that the Jaguar was very closely associated with a person's spirit and that should the Jaguar die, the person would also die. In common with all religions, to maintain their position in society the Olmec ruling elite needed to make the people believe either that they were Gods or that they were associated with The Gods (Gods of Fire, Water, Earth & Sun were the popular deities). Little is directly known about the societal or political structure of Olmec society. Although it is assumed by most researchers that the colossal heads and several other sculptures represent rulers, nothing has been found like the Maya culture which name specific rulers and provide the dates of their rule. Instead, archaeologists relied on the data that they had, such as large- and small-scale site surveys. These provided evidence of considerable centralization within the Olmec region, first at San Lorenzo and then at La Venta no other Olmec sites come close to these in terms of area or in the quantity and quality of architecture and sculpture. This evidence of geographic and demographic centralization leads archaeologists to propose that Olmec society itself was hierarchical, concentrated first at San Lorenzo and then at La Venta, with rulers that was able to use their control over materials such as water and monumental stone to exert command.nonetheless, Olmec society is thought to lack many of the institutions of later civilizations, such as a standing army or priestly caste. It is not known with any clarity what caused the eventual extinction of the Olmec culture.
Maya Taken from: http://www.crystalinks.com/mayanhistory.html and http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/1123-the-maya-civilization-cities-of-the-maya The Maya are probably the best-known of the classical civilizations of Mesoamerica. Originating in the Yucatan around 2600 B.C., they rose to prominence around A.D. 250 in present-day southern Mexico, Guatemala, western Honduras, El Salvador, and northern Belize. Major City: TIKAL: The huge ceremonial walkway in Tikal contains three big platforms, and over them rests the pyramidal buildings so common in the ancient Maya cities. Many of the palaces contain one or two rows of rooms on just one floor, but in Tikal there also two, three and even five storey buildings. The emphasis put in height and verticality gives an imposing touch to the city. It seems that the constructors wanted to come closer to Heaven and to their gods in this way, and in doing it, they raised the tallest buildings in ancient America. The Maya worshipped a pantheon of nature gods, each of which had both a benevolent side and a malevolent side. The most important deity was the supreme god Itzamná, the creator god, the god of the fire and god of the hearth. Another important Mayan god was Kukulcán, the Feathered Serpent, who appears on many temples and was later adopted by the Toltecs and Aztecs as Quetzalcoatl. Also important was Chac, a hooked-nose god of rain and lightning. A third god that frequently appears in Mayan art is Bolon Tzacab, who is depicted with a branching nose and is often held like a sceptre in rulers' hands. He is thought to have functioned as a god of royal descent. Mayan rulers were seen as intermediaries between the gods and the people, and as semi divine themselves. They were buried in elaborate tombs filled with valuable offerings. Under the ancient system, the Maya Government was a hereditary absolute monarchy, with a close union of the spiritual and temporal elements, the hereditary high priest, who was also king of the sacred city of Izamal, being consulted by the monarch on all important matters, besides having the care of ritual and ceremonials. On public occasions the king appeared dressed in flowing white robes, decorated with gold and precious stones, wearing on his head a golden circlet decorated with the beautiful quetzal plumes reserved for royalty. The provincial governors were nobles of the four royal families, and were supreme within their own governments. The rulers of towns and villages formed a lower order of nobility, not of royal blood. The king usually acted on the advice of a council of lords and priests. The lords alone were military commanders, and each lord and inferior official had a certain portion of land which was cultivated in common by the people. The plebeians were farmers, artisans, or merchants; they paid taxes and military service, and slaves also existed, the slaves being chiefly prisoners of war and their children. Around 900 AD, the Mayas abandoned their cities. Historians are not sure why. Perhaps they did so because of warfare, a drought or both. The rain forests swallowed up the great Mayan temples and palaces. Although the Mayan cities decayed, the Mayan people survived. Today, more than 2 million people in Guatemala and southern Mexico speak Mayan languages.
Aztecs Taken from: http://www.allabouthistory.org/aztec-civilization.htm and The American Nation textbook The early Aztecs were nomads, people who moved from place to place in search of food. In the 1300s, the Aztecs settled around Lake Texcoco in central Mexico. From there, they built a powerful empire. Major City: On an island in the middle of the lake, the Aztecs built their capital, Tenochtitlan. They constructed a system of causeways, or raised roads made of packed earth. The causeways linked the capital to the mainland. The Aztecs paid special attention to the sun god. They believed that each day the sun battled its way across the heavens. They compared the sun s battle to their own, calling themselves warriors of the sun. They believed that the sun required human sacrifices in order to rise each day. The Aztecs therefore sacrificed thousands of captives each year to please this powerful god. They felt that human hearts and blood gave the gods strength and appeased them when they were angry. Large temples were built to celebrate the offering of sacrifices. The famous Sunstone Calendar, which was twelve feet in diameter, represented the Aztec universe. It is thought that the hearts of human sacrifices were placed on this stone and presented to the gods. The Aztecs believed in many gods, to whom they paid tribute daily. It is estimated that over a quarter of a million people were sacrificed each year by the Aztecs. The highly developed empire had an elaborate leadership and society that consisted of four classes. Nobles (highest in power) Commoners (the majority of population, were mostly farmers) Serfs (worked land for the nobles) Slaves (consisted of those captured and indebted who couldn t pay) Governmental office positions were usually inherited, but one could be awarded an office through exemplary service to the emperor. Slavery was quite common. We do know that there were a number of factors involved, not just one. There's little doubt that the ritual Aztec sacrifice contributed to the fall of the Aztec Empire, and in more ways than one. First, killing thousands of people whether you or your neighbors simply can't be good for a society. And although the Aztecs certainly weren't the first people ever to sacrifice humans, the fact that they did and the incredible number they sacrificed led to the hatred of some of the surrounding peoples. Second, Hernando Cortes heard about the riches that existed in the Aztec Empire. On November 8, 1519, Cortes marched into Tenochtitlan. Thousands upon thousands of Aztecs turned out to see the astonishing newcomers riding horses. At first, Cortes was friendly to Moctezuma (Aztec emperor). Soon, however, he made the emperor prisoner in his own city. About six months later, the Aztecs drove the Spanish out. But their victory was brief. Cortes recaptured the city and killed Moctezuma and destroyed Tenchtitlan. The Aztec empire had fallen.
Incas Taken from: The American Nation textbook and http://www.about-peru-history.com/inca-civilization.html The Incans gave their empire the name, 'Land of the Four Quarters'. It stretched north to south some 2,500 miles along the high mountainous Andean range from Colombia to Chile and reached west to east from the dry coastal desert called Atacama to the steamy Amazonian rain forest. Major City: The center of the Incan empire was the magnificent capital at Cuzco, located high in the Andes Mountains. Cuzco was a holy city to the Incas. All nobles in the empire tried to visit it at least once in their lifetimes. The city has massive palaces and temples made of stone and decorated with gold ornaments. At the center was the palace of the emperor, who was known as the Sapa Inca. To unite their empire, the Incas maintained a system of roads that covered more than 10,000 miles. Builders carved roads in rock cliffs and stretched rope bridges across deep gorges. Teams of runners quickly spread royal orders across the empire using these roads. The Incas were a polytheistic people that believed in a variety of gods. Most of these gods were attached to natural objects such as the sun, the moon, and the earth. In fact, the Incas believed that their Emperors were descended from the sun god Inti. This gave Inca Emperors the same kind of demigod status that the Egyptian Pharaons had. The emperor, known as the Sapa Inca, was regarded as a god who was descended from the sun god. From Cuzco, the emperor ruled more than 10 million people. The Incan empire was very organized. The emperor kept well informed about affairs in all parts of his empire. He sent high officials out to act as governors of his domain. The governors made sure that every person worked at least part of the time on projects for the state. In Inca social structure, the ruler, Sapa Inca, and his wives, the Coyas, had supreme control over the empire. The High Priest and the Army Commander in Chief were next. Then, came the Four Apus (the regional army commanders). Next, were temple priests, architects, administrators and army generals. Then, artisans, musicians, army captains and the quipucamayoc (the Incan accountants). At the bottom were sorcerers, farmers, herding families and conscripts. For the first 200 years the Inca were a small group of people; however around 1438 the Emperor Pachacutec's aggressive military expansion turned the Inca civilization into the most powerful nation in South America. Pachacutec's rule is generally accepted to be the starting point of the Inca Empire that would reign for the next two generations. After the death of Pachacutec's successor, the Inca Empire was split into two factions, each led by one of the Emperor's sons. The division eventually led to a civil war that wouldn't be resolved until 1532; the same year the Spanish conquistadors arrived. Unfortunately a lot of Inca art would be lost during the Spanish rule. In their quest for gold and silver, the conquistadors would melt down countless examples of Inca metalwork. While some aspects of Inca civilization would remain after the Spanish conquest, most of it would pass into myth.