latin american civilizations
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Primitive
Civilized
Latin American Civilizations
Characteristics of Advanced Civilizations
• High populations within societies• Advanced food storage and domestication of a variety of food• Complex institutions, such as organized religion and government• Written language• Specialization of jobs
Incan Empire
Characteristics of the Incan Empire
• “the land of four quarters”
• No written language, but pictographs, and quipus
• Engineering accomplishments included suspension bridges and roads that connected the empire.
• Trade included textiles, gold, silver and bronze, Peruvian livestock and agriculture; used coin money
• Terraced farms dotted the mountainous landscape and corn was grown at altitudes over 13,000 ft.; steps provided access to farms; guano used as fertilizer
• Religious ceremonies were highly complex and included human and animal sacrifices
• The supreme god of the Incas was the creator god, Viracocha
• The royal family was believed to be descended from the sun god, Inti
• Incas also practiced ancestry-worship and mummification
Mayan Empire
Characteristics of the Mayan Empire
• Highly organized religious and government systems • Religious rituals demanded involvement by all social classes • Mayan society was divided by class and status, living in kin-based groups with a
hereditary chief• Rulers were recognized as god-kings
• Hieroglyphs were their form of writing
• Mayans used two calendars, one was based on a 365-day year; the other was used for religious purposes
• Applied complex mathematical systems including the concept of zero
• Highly developed astronomical concepts
Architecture completed without the use of wheel technology
Aztec and Mayan Empires
Characteristics of the Aztec Empire• Ruled from about 1428
until 1521 CE• Tenochtitlán• Chinampas • City-states helped support
large populations, which were highly organized
• Writing included pictographs but was not as developed as the Mayan
• Mathematical concepts included a counting system based on 20
• Accurate calendar
• Had the wheel, but only used for children’s toys.
• Herbal remedies for specific ailments
• Tradition of poetry, music, and drama.
• Belief systems supported necessary human sacrifices to appease the gods; these also included child-sacrifices
• Class system was highly stratified; rulers were considered semi-divine• Highly advanced trade system, extending into Guatemala, included lake salt, cacao
and textiles (no coin money)• Today, %30 indigenous people in Mexico claim ancestry to the Aztec, 9% are purely
Spanish, %60 are mixed.
Aztec
• Corn• Chocolate• Vanilla• Rubber• Tomatoes• Suspension Bridges• Pyramids• Sewage System
Spanish
• Horses, Cattle, Pigs, Chickens• Wheeled Vehicles• Cannons• Steel Swords• Attack Dogs• Body Armor• Infectious Diseases• Immunity to Infectious Diseases