Early American

Civilizations

The Earliest Americans• Between 30,000 – 10,000 BC,

nomadic groups crossed a land bridge (created by falling sea levels during an ice age) from Asia to North America

• After 10,000 BC, the ice age ended, the land bridge disappeared, and they became isolated

• These peoples eventually spread throughout the American continents

The Olmec Civilization• About 1400 – 500 BC• First large American

civilization, lived along the Mexican gulf coast

• No real cities, but rather villages built around complex central ceremonial centers

• Ruled by a priest class, built massive monumental pyramids for religious use

The Mayan Civilization• 300 – 900 AD• Centered on the Yucatan

peninsula and Central America

• Lived in large cities built around towering pyramid-temples

• Built roads to support their extensive trade with other peoples

Mayan Society• Mayan city-states ruled by

independent kings, but priests were still very powerful

• Complex class structure• Upper class included king,

priests, warriors, and merchants• Farmers had to give crops to

ruler and serve in the army• Slaves held the lowest position in

society• Slaves included orphans, slaves’

children, and people who owed money

Mayan Advances• Advances

– Hieroglyphic writing system

– Made books from bark– Highly accurate, 365 day

calendar– Performed advanced

mathematical calculations– Built an elaborate trade

network with neighboring civilizations

Mayan Collapse• The cause for Mayan collapse

is unknown, but around 900 AD, the people abandoned their cities

• Excessive wars may have been a factor

• An extreme drought, brought on by deforestation may have also contributed

• A mix of these events is probably responsible for the decline

The Aztec Civilization• 1200 – 1521 AD• Settled in the Valley of Mexico,

which had been home to an earlier civilization centered on the city of Teotihuacán which had prospered from about 100 – 750 AD.

• Aztecs built a new city called Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City) on man-made islands in the middle of a shallow lake

• Eventually ruled most of Mexico, numbered over 30 million in population

Aztec Society• Ruled by a single

emperor who was selected by a council of priests and nobles

• Slaves, who were usually prisoners of war or criminals, had rights under the law and could own land and buy their freedom

Aztec Advances• Had formal schools for the

sons of nobles• Further developed the

Mayan calendar system• Advanced mathematics• Advanced medicine: could

set bones, fill cavities, & treat fevers

• Advanced building techniques, including canals, bridges, & pyramids

Aztec Religion• Practiced human sacrifice

to appease their many gods

• As time passed, more and more sacrifices were required

• By the time the Spanish arrived, the Aztec may have been sacrificing as many as 10,000 people each year

Aztec Collapse• Believing that the Spanish

under Hernán Cortés were gods, and fearing that the Spanish had allied themselves with the Aztec’s enemies, the Aztec allowed them to enter the capital

• Cortés betrayed the hospitality of Aztec emperor Moctezuma and conquered the city in 1521

Pre-Incan South America• The Chavin: developed the

ability to work gold; domesticated the llama

• The Mochica: developed advanced ceramic pottery and irrigation systems

• The Nazca: laid out strange patterns of white stone on the Nazca Desert floor which can only be seen from the air

The Incan Civilization• 1438 – 1533• Founded by the first

Sapa Inca (or emperor), the king of the city-state of Cuzco, Pachacuti.

• The Inca quickly came to rule nearly the entire Pacific coast of South America

Incan Government• Ruled by the Sapa Inca, whom

the Inca believed was divine (a god)– Political and religious leader of

the Inca– He owned everything and

everyone in the empire– His government used local

governors and bureaucracy to maintain control

– Excellent road system and a trained, professional army allowed quick response to any threat or rebellion

Incan Advances• Built and maintained an extensive

network of roads (12,000 miles), bridges, and tunnels

• Developed system of record keeping called quipu; quipu were knotted strings of different lengths and colors

• Had communication stations along roads to send runners from station to station with messages very rapidly

• Large cities of Machu Pichu and Cuzco (the capital)

• Used terraces to allow farming on mountainsides

• Accomplished surgeons, using antiseptics and anesthesia

The Quipu System

Incan City of Machu Pichu

Incan Collapse• Spanish conquistadors led

by Francisco Pizarro took advantage of a recent civil war and a smallpox epidemic in the Incan Empire to attack

• Captured and killed the last Sapa Inca, Atahualpa, even after the Incan people agreed to pay a massive ransom for his release