Ancientamericans

EARLY AMERICAN CIVILIZATION EARLY AMERICAN CIVILIZATION EARLY AMERICAN CIVILIZATION

MAYA When: 250-900 A.D. Where: Yucatan Peninsula
Modern-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras
Only complete written language in the New World
550-character logosyllabic alphabet

MAYA Mayan alphabet (an example)

MAYA Huge, monumental architecture Stairways to heaven Burial mounds that grew and grew

Detroit, MI (1928) Tikal, Guatemala (695 AD)

MAYA Very ritualistic
Displayed war captives
Human sacrifice
Monotheistic
God and corn
Merchants and traders
Established trading posts all around Mesoamerica
tzompantli

MAYA Advanced mathematics system Advanced astronomy, calendar system
Eighteen 20-day months
Five “unlucky,” unnamed days
18 x 20 = 360, +5… not bad!

MAYA “ Hey, Mr. T., what about… … this whole ‘end of the world’ thing?” The Mayans could not predict their own demise. They simply died out around 900 A.D.

AZTEC When: 1250-1521 A.D. Where: Central Mexican Valley

AZTEC Expert farmers Domesticated many familiar, modern-day plants jicama
cocoa
banana
squash
pumpkin
beans
chili pepper
tobacco
onions
tomatoes
sweet potatoes
jicama
maize
Cultivated the three sisters : corn , beans , and squash

AZTEC Spoken language: Nahuatl No written language Hieroglyphs recorded pictures, not words or syllables Used the Mayan calendar Public education till age 14

AZTEC Polytheistic Religion and mythology Human sacrifice was quite common
20,000-50,000 per year
Occasional cannibalism Up to 100,000 priests employed in capital of Tenochtitlan

AZTEC Creator god: Quetzalcoatl Religion and mythology Half-bird, half-serpent, with the face of a man
Fair skin
Full beard
Would return by sea
The myth goes…

INCA Where: Modern-day Peru, Chile When: 1220 to 1532 A.D.

INCA An empire of wealth, not force Economy Complex system of wealth redistribution Corn, mostly Gold was worth less than preservable, edible goods Complex central government

Machu Picchu: Lost city of the Inca

INCA Polytheistic Religion and mythology Belief in reincarnation Primary deity: Inti the sun god You can take it with you Funeral included burial with items for next life

INCA Ritual cranial deformity Religion and mythology

Ancientamericans

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