12. Mound Builders
• Built earthen mounds
• Some were grave sites, temples, or effigy
mounds
• Effigy mound – mound in the shape of an
animal or object
38. • Cuzco was the capital
• Said to be covered with sheets of gold to
remind them of their sun god
39. • The “Inca” was the king and made all
important decisions for his people
• Produced passive followers
• Made animal sacrifices, but no human ones
40. Ch. 7 Sec. 1
Discussion Question
1. What were some societal, religious, and
cultural distinctives of the Mayas, Aztecs,
and Incas?
Editor's Notes
Cliff dwellers, adobe.
Hopi, Ute, Paiute, Navajo and Apache
Before the Spanish came they hunted on foot,
Sioux, Cheyenne, Crow, Blackfeet and Comanche
Alligator effigy mound
Serpent mound
By the time Europeans began to explore, the mound builders were dying out
British and French colonists as well as other Indian tribes needed the cooperation of the Iroquois in order to accomplish anything
Often tortured captured enemies to death
Consisted of Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, and Seminoles
From 300-800 AD
Mayas were intellectually better than Aztecs and Incas
Calendar was as accurate as the one we use today
Understood the concept of zero
Archaeologists have found large graves containing the remains of men and women whom the Mayas slaughtered to please their gods
Offered no resistance against the Aztecs or the Spanish
First made floating islands from mounds of water plants and put them in the middle of the lake. When these had rooted, the Aztecs filled the roots with soil and built on them
Every Aztec man who was able to fight had to serve in the army
