State Building in the Americas c. 1200 – c. 1450 Olmec, Mayan, Aztec, & Inca Empires Mound Building in N. America The Civilizations of America …advanced societies While classical civilizations were developing in were developing in the isolation in the Americas Mediterranean & Asia… During the Neolithic Title Revolution, these nomads settled into ■ Text farming villages; Some of which became advanced civilizations During the Ice Age, prehistoric nomads migrated across the land bridge between Asia & America The Olmecs The Olmecs are often called the “mother culture” because they influenced other Mesoamerican societies The first American civilization were people known as the Olmec in an area known as Mesoamerica The Olmecs developed a strong trade network in MesoamericaThe Olmecs that brought them great wealth The Olmecs used their Olmec trade allowed wealth to build large stone them to spread their monuments & pyramids to culture to other honor their leaders & gods Mesoamericans For unknown reasons, the Olmec civilization declined by 400 B.C. but their cities & symbols influenced later cultures, especially the Mayans Government: Mayans While theEconomy Olmecs: were in were divided intoThe MayansdeclineThe Mayan around economy 400 B.C., individual city-states thewas Mayans based were on trade evolving & & ruled by king-gods borrowedfarming many maize, Olmec beans ideas Society: (1) Kings (dynasties) The Mayans (2) Nobles, priests (3) warriors (4) Merchants, artisans (5) Peasants The Mayans Religion: Mayans were polytheistic & offered their blood, food, & sometimes human sacrifices to please the gods Technology: Mayans invented a writing based on pictures called glyphs, an accurate 365-day calendar, & advanced temples Tikal Chichen Itza The shadow of a serpent appears on one side of the pyramid stairs only on the equinox. Palenque The Mayans Around 800 A.D., the Mayans mysteriously declined perhaps due to warfare among Mayan city-states & over-farming After the decline of the The AztecsMayans, the Aztecs were developing in present-day Mexico Around 1200, Aztecs arrived in Mexico & built their city Tenochtitlan in 1325 Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan Government: The Aztecs formed a massive empire, controlledThe Aztecs it through 38 provinces, & received tribute from conquered peoples Economy: They survived on tribute & farming; They built “floating gardens” (chinampas) Society: (1) Kings (2) Nobility (3) Commoners (4) Slaves Religion: Aztecs worshipped many gods, especially the sun god & made thousands of human sacrifices each year Technology: Like the Mayans, the Aztecs developed an accurate calendar & built advanced temples But, the true demise of the The AztecsAztecs came when the Spanish discovered America & conquered the Aztecs Around 1500 A.D., the Aztecs began to decline; A century of brutal rule over the provinces & millions of human sacrifices led to revolts South America: Peru Other: Moche, Nazca, and Chavin build centers in South America -- Nazca lines While the Aztecs ruled Mexico, Thethe Incas Incas began to dominate the area of the Andes Mountains of South America Many Incan cities like Machu Picchu & Cuzcu were built in the mountains GovernmentReligion: Like: the Aztecs,TheThe the Inca Incas Incas were built polytheistic & ■ a vast empire which ? includedoffered 80 llamas provinces & food (but not But,humans) the Incas to the ruled gods with tolerance & unified their empire with roads, schools, & a common language Economy: The Incan gov’tSociety controlled: (1) King the economy(2) Nobility& required all citizens(3) Ayllu to(commoners) farm for the good of the empire Technology: Inca innovations included quipu, a means of record keeping involving knotted ropes as well as an extensive system of roads & suspension bridges Aztec and Incas used technology to build, Example of Maya social structure The Incas In the 1520s, a civil war ■? divided & weakened the Incan Empire; Ten years later Spanish conquistadors conquered the empire State Building in North America Southwestern Desert Cultures ■ Irrigation-based agriculture was introduced to Arizona from Mexico around 300 B.C.E. ■ The Anasazi developed a maize, rice, and bean economy and constructed underground buildings (kivas) in the Arizona/New Mexico/Colorado/Utah region around 450–750 C.E. ■ Chaco Canyon had a population of about 15,000 people engaged in hunting, trade, and irrigated agriculture. ■ Anasazi civilization declined in the 12th and 13th centuries Mound Builders: The Mississippian Cultures ■ 1. Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 to 1600, varying regionally. ... ■ Economy was based on hunting and gathering and was supplemented by agriculture. ■ 2. Major centers were ruled by hereditary chiefs. Chiefs served as priests and managed secular affairs such as long-distance trade. They built large mounds both as burial sites and as platforms upon which temples and residences of chiefs were constructed. ■ 3. Mississippian culture (700–1500 C.E.). Urbanized Mississippian chiefdoms were made possible by increased agricultural productivity, the bow and arrow, and expanded trade networks. ■ 4. Largest Mississippian center was Cahokia, with a population of about 30,000 @ 1200 C.E. ■ Cahokia was abandoned around 1250 Mesa Verde ■Ancestral Pueblo people made it their home in Colorado for over 700 years, from 600 to 1300 CE. There are nearly 5,000 known archeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings..