Bell Ringer

• How many days did the Mayan Solar Year last?

• What was the Round Calendar?

• What was a Chinampas?

Ch 9: Mayans, Aztecs, & Incas

Mesoamerica

Mayans • Believed they have existed from 300-900 C.E.

• Based on the Yucatan Peninsula

• Influenced other groups in Mesoamerica

Mayans: Science• Extremely good at math and science

• They used a Solar Year, or a year based on the sun’s movements.

• Their year was 365.242 days long.

Mayan Science• The Mayans also had a

holy calendar that was 260 days long.

• Once every 52 years the two calendars would line up, a unit of time they called the Round Calendar

• The Mayans also invented zero in their number system.

Mayan Art & Architecture

• Mayans will paint with colors made from minerals.

• Mayans built pyramid like structures, with triangular archways at the top.

• Archways always had 9 layers representing the 9 layers of the underworld.

• Mayans will carve 5-12 FT piece of stones called steles.

• These were often placed in front of temples

• They normally are 3D carvings, with important dates or events carved into them

Writing• Mayans will create

extremely complex hieroglyphics.

• There were 100s of glyphs.

• There was no 1 Mayan language, but many dialects. Up to 30 of these dialects are still spoken.

The Aztecs

Aztecs: Science & Tech

• The Aztecs will take knowledge of early groups and improve on it (Use Mayan Calendar)

• The Aztecs will found their capital, Tenochtitlan, on an island.

• They create artificial islands called Chinampas

• These “floating gardens” could produce up to 7 crops a year.

Chinampas

Aztec Art & Architecture

• The Aztecs were known for pottery, writing poems, their stone temples, music, and dance.

• The Temples would have two stair cases, one heading to the Sun God and one to the Rain God.

Aztec Writing• The Aztecs had a

pictograph writing system.

• This meant that pictures would represent words, phrases, and names rather than symbolize it.

Aztec Warriors• The Aztecs would have two elite military

classes: Jaguar & Eagle Warriors

The Warriors • Both groups were considered

highly trained and some of the best Aztec fighters.

• One of the way they proved themselves was by capturing enemies.

• The better a warrior you were, the more people you could capture (12-20).

• You became a man upon capturing your first enemy

Macuahuitl (ma’kwawit)• Both groups used heavy wooden

clubs that had fragments of obsidian (volcanic glass) on the edges.

• The glass is so sharp, and the clubs could generate so much speed, that a warrior could easily behead a person.– A Spanish warrior indicated in his

personal records he saw a Macuahuitl take off the head of a horse in one swing.

Aztec Jaguar

Incas• Originated some time in

the 12th century and lasted until the 1500s

• Based in South America• Largest of the Pre-

Columbian Empires• Holding such a large

empire was one of their major accomplishments

Incas: Science & Tech

• Amazingly good at engineering.

• They had roads that went the length and width of their empire.

• Were known to have carved through the sides of mountains to complete roads.

• Suspension Bridges were needed for the Incas to deal with mountains and rivers.

• Two ropes were anchored to heavy rocks, while other ropes were huge lower as a path way.

• The Bridges may move a lot, and look scary, but are remarkable strong.

• In order to use the mountains more efficiently to grow crops the Incas created terraced farming.

• Each level would have support to prevent moving and drainage.

• As the levels go higher the Inca would even switch the crops to what would grow best.

Inca: Medicine• Inca doctors performed

procedures called trephination.

• This was a process where doctors would cut a hole in your skull in order to remove bone fragments.

• Many people survived the operation and lived normal lives.

Inca: Architecture• "We can assure your majesty that it is so beautiful

and has such fine buildings that it would even be remarkable in Spain. ~Francisco Pizarro

• Inca were masters of Architecture.• Used a style of dry stone masonry where pieces of

stone were cut to fit perfectly together.• Peru is highly seismic, but Inca buildings were

designed to let their stones shift slightly, and then slide back into place without damaging a wall.

• Many buildings still stand today.

Machu Picchu