Chart of the Aztecs, Mayans, & Incas

Indicator 6-4.4

Maps for the Mayans, Aztecs , & Incas

AztecsMayans

Incas

Civilization YearsContributions

MAYANS Yucatan

Peninsula in Mesoamerica

Tikal -> citydisappeared Chichen Itza -> city System of

counting based on 20

Grew MAIZE

2600 BC-250 AD

•Built temples to Mayan Gods•Codex- (folding screen book Pg. 172)•Aqueducts ( move water)•Accurate CALENDAR•1st people who came up with the idea of zero•practiced human sacrifice (not a contribution)

Mayan Pyramid

Mayan CODEX (book)Less than 10 exist (destroyed by Spanish Explorers)

Mayans lived @ Yucatan Peninsula

Civilization YearsContributions

AZTEC Grew MAIZE In Mexico▪ Tenochtitlan was the

capital city built on a lake

*Conquered by the SPANISHCONQUISTADORS led byHernando Cortes*One weapon the Spanish used to conquer Native Americans was diseases kike Small Pox

12th Century

•Built pyramids & temples•Built roads•Developed religion based on abelief In good and evilpracticed human sacrifice (not a contribution)*CAUSEWAYS->earthen bridges*CHINAMPAS-> man-made islands *Built a Great Empire

Aztecs lived @ Tenochtitlanon Lake Texcoco

Aztecs built CAUSEWAYS (earthen bridges)to the city of Tenochtitlan

CAUSEWAY

CHINAMPAS were man made islands used for farming -> floating gardens

Tenochtitlan

Civilization YearsContributions

Incas South America-

Peru Machu Picchu

(religious center) Cuzco (capital) Conquered by

Francisco Pizarro -> SPANISH

CONQUISTADOR*One weapon the Spanish used to conquer Native Americans was diseases kike Small Pox

1438-1533 AD

•Developed complex system of counting QUIPU (NO writing)•Beautiful works of art, weaving, and metal working•ROAD SYSTEM - 14,000 miles of roads!•Great STONEWORKERS•Built largest EMPIRE in the Americas!The llama was used as a pack animal to carry goods.They also used the wool to make clothing, blankets

NO Written Language!Quipu -> used to keep records

Religious CityMachu Picchu

Incans used terraces to grow potatoes, maize, and peppers

They were excellent stoneworkers!

North American Indians: Adena – E. part of USA *built burial mounds Hopewell – E. part of the USA *built burial mounds Mississippian – around the Mississippi River * built temple mounds built for religious purposes Pueblo / Anasazi – lived in SW part of the USA * known for their pueblos made of stone or sun dried brick

Adena

All across the eastern United States are great mounds of earth. Some shaped like domes, some like cones, and some are built in the form of huge circles. The cultures that built these mounds are known as mound builders.

One of the first groups of mound builders were called the Adena.

The Adena culture developed in the Ohio River Valley but spread in all directions.

The Adena thrived from 700 BC to 100 AD.

Adena

The mounds built by the Adena were burial mounds. At first they were small hills of dirt built over the graves of

important people. As more people were buried in them, new layers of dirt were added and the mounds grew.

The Adena were primarily hunters and gatherers but developed agriculture to supplement their supply of food.

Adena

The Adena lived in small circular houses with log frameworks. The framework of these houses is called a wattle.

The most impressive mound of the Adena is called the Great Serpent Mound in Ohio. The mound of earth ranges from 4 to 6 feet tall and 4 to 20 feet wide.

The Adena disappeared in 100 AD. No one really knows why or how.

Hopewell

The Hopewell culture was very similar to the Adena.

They were hunters and gatherers and lived in small houses out of materials they found around them.

The Hopewell lived in houses similar to wigwams, dome-shaped frames of branches covered with animal skins or woven mats.

Hopewell The Hopewell thrived between

100 BC and 500 AD. The Hopewell also lived in some

of the same places as the Adena did. This is probably why their cultures were so similar.

However, the Hopewell spread over a far greater area. They also farmed and built more and larger mounds than the Adena.

Hopewell The most striking difference is that the Hopewell traded over a vast area.

Artifacts were found from as far away as Florida, Canada, and even the Rocky Mountains.

These artifacts include elaborate figurines, knives, jewelry and cups. Historians believe that the Hopewell was advanced enough to have a specialization of labor with artisans and craftspeople.

The fate of the Hopewell remains a mystery. They disappeared around 500 AD.

Mississippian Culture The Mississippian culture flourished

after 700 AD in much the same place as the Hopewell.

Like the Hopewell and Adena they built mounds; however, they did not build burial mounds. Instead they built temple mounds.

These mounds were usedfor religious and ceremonial purposes. Sometimes high rankingpriests lived on top of them.

Mississippian Culture Just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis is Cahokia.

Cahokia is the largest temple mound site. There are 85 mounds built close together at this site. The

largest mound took more than 200 years to built. It covers the size of 15 football fields and stands more than 100 feet high. (Larger than the Great Pyramid of Egypt!)

Mississippian Culture

The Mississippian culture relied on agriculture based around maize. This allowed them to support a larger population and to develop a specialization of labor.

The Mississippian culture had no written language or stone architecture.

Scholars believe that a number of reasons made the Mississippian Culture move, including drought, deforestation or that the cities had become too large to feed themselves.

Pueblo – Anasazi*the foundational civilization of the Southwest

The Anasazi is a Navajo word for “the Ancient Ones.”

Anasazi culture thrived in the Southwest from 500 AD to 1280. They flourished in the shadows of the rugged cliffs of the Chaco Canyon.

They are thought to be the ancestors of today’s Pueblo Indians.

Pueblo – Anasazi

The Anasazi are known for their architecture. Around 750 BC they built pueblos, structures made

of stone or adobe bricks. (Adobe is made from sun dried mud… remember Mesopotamia?)

One pueblo that still stands today is called “Pueblo Bonito” – “pretty village.”

It is five stories tall with 800 rooms. It could over house over 1,000 people!

Pueblo – Anasazi

The Anasazi were excellent farmers! Their fields were terraced and watered with complex irrigation systems. Some people believe that the Anasazi collected water that flowed over the cliffs during hard desert showers.

They created beautiful pottery, jewelry, and elaborate baskets. They also had an advanced knowledge of astronomy.

The Anasazi began to abandon their pueblos in 1280 after a 25 year drought. It is believed that they left their homes and moved to other lands.