HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE MODULE 5 INTRODUCTION TO DESERT AND MOUNTAINOUS CULTURE

1. PRESENTATION
HOA-I
21ARC14
INTRODUCTION TO DESERT AND MOUNTAINOUS
CULTURES
EWSA. I ST SEM 1
Presentation by:
Dayanidhi A.P
Simran S

2. • The Rise of Early American Civilizations
• Civilizations Develop from Africa to the Americas
• Golden Age of the Maya
• Aztec City on the Water’s Edge
• Birth of the Inca Empire
• Early societies in the sahara
• Early societies and cultures of thar desert
• Early societies and cultures in the north America
• Bibliography
Content
EWSA. I ST SEM 2

3. 1. Our understanding of the history of humans living and working
together begins in Africa more than a million years ago. Over time,
humans began to migrate and eventually inhabited six continents:
Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, and the two Americas.
2. As people settled down to farm, their lives changed. People learned
to irrigate fields. They developed ways to store food. Populations
grew. Between 4000 and 2000 BCE, towns and villages in various
places developed into cities. People constructed buildings and
worshipped gods.
3. They made pottery and wove cloth. The city-dwellers chose leaders
and developed laws. Some people governed and others served.
Civilizations were born.
The Rise of Early American
Civilizations
EWSA. I ST SEM 3

4. Civilizations Develop from Africa
to the Americas
EWSA. I ST SEM 4
• The earliest civilizations arose in fertile river valleys in Africa and
Asia.
• These civilizations flourished along the banks of the Nile, the
Indus, the Yellow, the Tigris, and the Euphrates Rivers.
• By 1000 BCE, new civilizations arose in the Americas. These early
American civilizations are called preColumbian civilizations.
• This is because they developed long before Christopher
Columbus’s first voyage to the Americas in 1492.
• Three of these preColumbian civilizations were the Maya, the
Aztec, and the Inca.

5. Mesoamerica
EWSA. I ST SEM 5

6. • Mesoamerica, or Middle America, was home to the Maya and the
Aztec civilizations.
• This region lies north of the Equator in an area called the tropics. It
includes a portion of present-day Mexico in North America and parts of
Central America.
• It occupies much of the isthmus that joins the continents of North and
South America.
• The present Central American countries of Guatemala, Belize,
Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica are all
part of Mesoamerica.
• Mesoamerica has very diverse landscapes, including dry coastal
deserts and wet inland rainforests.
Mesoamerica: The Maya and the
Aztec
EWSA. I ST SEM 6

7. • The Inca civilization began high in the
Andes Mountains of present-day Peru.
• It grew to include parts of Ecuador,
Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.
• The landscape and climate vary
greatly across this enormous stretch of
land.
• Deserts and warm valleys lie beneath
frigid snow-capped peaks.
• Llamas and alpacas are native to its
mountain areas. These long-necked
animals were domesticated to carry
heavy loads and provide wool.
• Cougars and chinchillas also share
this habitat with a wide variety of birds,
amphibians, and fish.
EWSA. I ST SEM 7
South America: The Inca

8. The Maya were one of many groups of people who settled in Mesoamerica.
They formed agricultural villages at least as early as 1800 BCE. Over time, they
established a civilization.
• As many as five million people inhabited an area that stretched from the
highlands of Guatemala to the plains of Yucatán
• Between 250 and 900 CE, writing, religion, and art flourished. In certain
respects, this era was the golden age for the Maya culture. The Maya were
not ruled by a single ruler.
• The Maya lived in citystates scattered across considerable distances. Some of
these city-states were larger than others. Each had a powerful lord who
governed his own city and surrounding areas. The city-states both traded and
fought with one another.
Golden Age of the Maya
EWSA. I ST SEM 8

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10. • Maya society was divided into classes with lords in
the highest class.
Well educated priests were also among the noble, or
highest, classes. Both kings and priests lived in
palaces close to city centers. Powerful nobles
usually lived in the largest houses. Craftsmen lived
in smaller homes that were often farther away from
the city center. Farmers lived next to their fields that
were even farther away
EWSA. I ST SEM 10
Division of Societies

11. Pyramids, Temples, Gods, and
Sacrifice
EWSA. I ST SEM 11
• Maya city-states were centers of both government and religion. Each
center had some unique architectural designs.
• However, all centers had stone pyramids and temples. Some of the
pyramids served as burial monuments to honor dead kings.
• Temples occupied the top level of the pyramids, purposefully close to
the heavens and the gods. These temples were reserved for rulers and
priests.
• Pyramid-temple complexes often surrounded a central plaza where
public ceremonies and festivals took place.

12. Pyramids, temples and gods
EWSA. I ST SEM 12

13. Belief in gods
EWSA. I ST SEM 13
• The Maya’s belief in gods and
goddesses helped them explain the
mystery of life itself. They believed that
gods controlled everything.
• The gods were responsible for the
rising and setting of the sun and the
phases of the moon. They were
certainly responsible for floods and
droughts as well as sickness and
health.
• The Maya gave thanks for a bountiful
harvest, a cured disease, or a victory in
battle. They offered sacrifices, or
precious gifts, to the gods.
• Sacrificial blood, both of animals and
humans, was a common offering.

14. EWSA. I ST SEM 14
Agriculture
• In highland areas, the Maya
cut terraces into the slopes of
mountains.
• They practiced multicropping
on this flat land, planting and
harvesting the land multiple
times throughout the year.
• Their crops included beans,
tomatoes, squash, chili
peppers, and pumpkins.
• Maize, or corn, was the main
food throughout Mesoamerica

15. Hunting and Gathering
EWSA. I ST SEM 15
• Some Maya hunted game in
the forests, including deer,
rabbits, and other small
mammals. They raised turkeys
and dogs for food.
• They raised stingless bees for
honey, which they used to
sweeten foods and drinks. In
coastal communities, the Maya
ate fish and turtles as well. It is
important to remember that the
Maya were not the first
civilization to live in
Mesoamerica.

16. • Chichén Itzá served as an important
Maya center.
• Chichén Itzá is located in an arid
region of the northern Yucatán
Peninsula.
• The Maya believed that Chichén
Itzá’s Well of Sacrifice was the
home of gods who controlled the
rain. The Maya offered sacrifices to
the rain gods.
• They did so because they believed
that their fields would be watered.
• This well continued to serve as a
sacrificial site for centuries after
Chichén Itzá’s decline as a major
Maya center.
EWSA. I ST SEM 16
Chichén Itzá

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Map Of Chichen Itza

18. • The End of a Golden Age The golden age
of the Maya came to an end between 800
and 900 CE. City-states were mostly
abandoned. No more stone statues were
raised to kings. Populations decreased
and farmers dispersed. People of the
inland rainforests left for the drier Yucatán
Peninsula
EWSA. I ST SEM 18
The End of a Golden Age

19. Aztec City on the Water’s Edge
EWSA. I ST SEM 19
• Tenochtitlán was the capital of the Aztec
Empire in the 1300s and 1400s.
• This empire existed more than 500 years
after the Maya abandoned their great
inland city-states.
• The ancestors of the people now known
as the
Aztec migrated from the north.
• By 1325 CE, they had settled in the Valley
of Mexico.

20. EWSA. I ST SEM 20
Layout of Tenochtitlán

21. EWSA. I ST SEM 21
• Other people had lived in
Mexico’s fertile valley for
thousands of years before the
Aztec arrived. Many groups
were competing for space
• The Aztec had several
temporary homes, all of which
they were eventually forced to
leave.
• The land the Aztec finally
claimed may seem an unlikely
choice—two swampy islands
in the middle of Lake Texcoco.

22. EWSA. I ST SEM 22
• On the lakeshore, the Aztec built mud huts and lived on food from
the lake: frogs, fish, and algae. They hunted deer, rabbits, coyotes,
armadillos, and snakes.
• They raised bees, turkeys, and ducks. They gathered grasshoppers
and worms for food.
• The Aztec adapted to their swampy environment by creating
habitable
land from the lake bottom.
• They built gardens, called chinampas, in the middle of Lake Texcoco.
• They cultivated corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, amaranth, and
chilies. Members of the ruling class grew fruit trees in their small
personal gardens. Crops grew throughout the year in Mesoamerica’s
tropical climate.
• As food supplies expanded, Tenochtitlán grew.
Aztec Beginnings in Lake
Texcoco

23. EWSA. I ST SEM 23

24. • In the 1300s, the Aztec created an empire in Mexico and the
Inca built an empire in the Andes. These civilizations
developed nearly 3,000 miles apart. There is no evidence to
suggest that the two empires had any direct knowledge of one
another.
• According to legend, the sun god chose the birthplace of the
Inca civilization. He chose Cuzco, located in a beautiful valley
in present-day Peru, as the place where the Quechua people
should settle.
• They lived mostly in small farming communities for about 200
years.
• Then, in 1438 CE, a powerful enemy threatened the
Quechua’s way of life. The Quechua defeated this enemy,
greatly increasing their power
Birth of the
Inca Empire
EWSA. I ST SEM 24

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Machu Picchu is a testament to the power and ingenuity of the Inca
empire. Built without the use of mortar, metal tools, or the wheel,
Machu Picchu stands as an archaeological wonder of the ancient
world.

26. Pyramid of Power
EWSA. I ST SEM 26
• The Inca believed that the Sapa Inca
was descended from Inti, the
sun god.
• Heredity determined who would
become emperor, meaning that when
the emperor died, his son would
become the next ruler.
• If the Sapa Inca had more than one
son, he chose the strongest of his sons
to replace him.

27. EWSA. I ST SEM 27

28. • The Inca did not use any form of money.
Like the Aztecs, they had a tribute, or tax,
system. The government collected tribute
in two ways.
• First, people paid a goods tax based on
the number of people in their ayllu.
• For example, commoners only kept about
one third of their harvest. They sent two
thirds to the gods and nobles.
• People also paid tribute with pottery,
textiles, and gems
Government organizations
EWSA. I ST SEM 28

29. • WScientists suggest at least three waves of human movement and
periods of wetness between 130,000 and 10,000 BCE.
• During these periods, Africa’s Sahara region was a patchwork of
forests, grasslands, and lakes. Within these settings, human
inhabitants eked out a living.
• Before the Sahara became a desert between 7,000 and 4,000 BCE,
this vast region included fishing communities around lakes and rivers
toward its southern and expanding frontiers, pastoral communities to
the north and east, and the spread of tropical cereal grains in environs,
including grasslands, to the south.
EWSA. I ST SEM 29
Early societies in the sahara

30. Map of the Sahara Desert
• The Sahara is a
desert that stretches
across Northern
Africa and is home to
many peoples,
including the Berbers,
Egyptians, Sudanese,
and Arabs.
EWSA. I ST SEM 30

31. Here are some early societies
and cultures in the Sahara:
EWSA. I ST SEM 31

32. • Some say the Berbers
have been in the Sahara
since before the 7th
century, making them one
of the oldest cultures in
the region.
Archaeologists consider
the Berbers the original
inhabitants of the Sahara,
dating back to 10,000
BC.
Berbers
EWSA. I ST SEM 32

33. • Established in 1070 BCE,
the Kingdom of Kush was
one of the first
civilizations to develop in
Sub-Saharan Africa. It
developed to the south of
Egypt along the upper
Nile River in a region
known as Nubia.
Kingdom of Kush
EWSA. I ST SEM 33

34. • The Nok culture is
generally regarded as
one of the earliest iron
age cultures in the part of
Africa south of the
Sahara. It is said to have
existed between about
the 5th and 2nd century
BCE.
The Nok Culture
EWSA. I ST SEM 34

35. • The Bantu people were
early Africans from
Sahara who spread
culture and language to
various parts of Africa.
Their skills included
agriculture and
ironworking, which
helped promote extensive
trade.
Bantu people
EWSA. I ST SEM 35

36. • Located in the Nubian
desert about 14,000
years ago, Nabta Playa
was part of the Green
Sahara. The region was
inhabited by people who
practiced astronomy and
cattle worship rituals.
Nabta Playa
EWSA. I ST SEM 36

37. • The Kiffian culture is a prehistoric
industry, or domain, that existed between
10,000 and 8,000 years ago in the Sahara,
during the Neolithic Subpluvial. Human
remains from this culture were found in
2000 at a site known as Gobero, located in
Niger in the Ténéré Desert.
Kiffians
EWSA. I ST SEM 37

38. • Geography was a major factor in the
development of West African societies.
Settled communities grew south of the
Sahara, where the land permitted farming.
Geography also influenced trading
patterns.
Geography of Sahara
EWSA. I ST SEM 38

39. • People The Sahara desert despite its
harsh climate has been inhabited by
various groups of people, who pursue
different activities. Among them are the
Bedouins and Tuaregs. These groups are
nomadic tribes rearing livestock such as
goats, sheep, camels and horses.
Climate Conditions
EWSA. I ST SEM 39

40. • In the history of India, the Thar Desert always
had a backseat due to its harsh weather
conditions and apprehensions flowing from the
adverse weather conditions. Ignorance of the
region for long in writings of the discipline has
pushed the region under the carpet and if any
approach has been made to explore its history, it
has been mainly in terms of the nomadic (Mer,
Rebari, etc.) and professional groups like
musicians (Maganiyars, Bhopa, etc.) and folk
artists (Kalbeliyas, Dum, etc.).
Early societies and cultures of
thar desert
EWSA. I ST SEM 40

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42. • Three-quarters of the state is the Thar
Desert, which forms part of the South
Asian desertscape that moves through
Pakistani Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan.
The remaining one quarter of the state
consists of the gently rolling Aravalli range
that undulates north and northeast into the
plains of the Yamuna and the Chenab
rivers, and connects to the Malwa plateau
in the southeast.
EWSA. I ST SEM 42

43. • The word 'thul' is the source of the desert's
name, the Thar. The great Indian desert is
the 9th largest sub-tropical desert in the
world and the biggest wool-producing area
in India. This biome has sand hillocks and
sand ridges. The local people refer to the
sand ridges as 'thul' or 'thal'.
‘Thar’- name origin
EWSA. I ST SEM 43

44. • About 5,000 years ago, this desert was the
site of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa,
ancient cities that supported a civilization
contemporaneous with ancient Egypt,
Mesopotamia, and Minoan Crete.
History of Thar
EWSA. I ST SEM 44

45. • Meeting the people of the Thar Desert –
MATHINI TRAVEL
• The Thar is home to various ethnic
groups, Hindu and Muslim mostly, who
have developed very specific customs
and traditions. Among them we find the
Bishnois, protector of nature, the
'gypsy' (Banjaras, Bhopas, Sapera ..),
the Bhils, known as fine archers, and
the Garasias, Sahariyas and Rabaris.
Who are the tribes in the
Thar Desert?
EWSA. I ST SEM 45

46. • The Thar live in the harsh environment
of the Thar Desert, which explains why
they are always running after their
water, camel, donkeys, etc.
• The Thari marry early, often during
teenage years.
• They wake up early and herd the
animals with the females waking up
earlier than the men.
Lifestyle and Culture
EWSA. I ST SEM 46

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48. • The Maya, Aztec, and Inca are examples of pre-Columbian civilizations
that developed before Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the
Americas in 1492. These civilizations are considered indigenous
groups that developed a variety of cultural traits.
• The Sacred City of Caral-Supe is the oldest center of civilization in the
Americas, dating back 5,000 years. The Mississippi River Valley was a
nearly limitless source of resources for early people.
• North American native cultures were more widely dispersed than the
Mayan, Aztec, and Incan societies. They did not have the same
population size or organized social structures.
• Many Indians still practiced hunting and gathering, although the
cultivation of corn had made its way north.
Early societies and cultures in the
north America
EWSA. I ST SEM 48

49. EWSA. I ST SEM 49

50. • In North America, the complex Pueblo
societies including the Mogollon,
Hohokam, and Anasazi as well as the
city at Cahokia had peaked and were
largely memories.
• The Eastern Woodland peoples were
thriving, but they were soon
overwhelmed as the number of English,
French, and Dutch settlers increased.
North america
EWSA. I ST SEM 50

51. • With more than 5 thousand years old,
Caral is considered the oldest
civilization in the American continent.
Caral - The Oldest Civilization
EWSA. I ST SEM 51

52. • The date of the arrival in North America
of the initial wave of peoples from
whom the American Indians (or Native
Americans) emerged is still a matter of
considerable uncertainty.
• The glaciations of the Pleistocene
Epoch (about 1,800,000 to 11,700 years
ago) coincided with the evolution of
modern humans, and ice sheets
blocked ingress into North America for
The North American Indian
heritage
EWSA. I ST SEM 52

53. • Although great architectural and
scientific advances did occur in
Mesoamerica, there was markedly less
in the way of metallurgy, transportation
networks, and complex commerce than
among the contemporary civilizations
of Asia, Europe, and sections of Africa.
• Cities appeared first among the Olmec
in the strategic narrows between
Mexico and Central America and among
the Maya in portions of Guatemala, the
Yucatán Peninsula, and Honduras.
City Development
EWSA. I ST SEM 53

54. • https://www.coreknowledge.org/wp-
content/uploads/2017/01/CKLA_G5U2_Ea
rly-American-Civilizations_SR.pdf
• https://kwasikonadu.info/blog/2018/3/18/ea
rly-societies-of-the-sahara
• https://study.com/academy/lesson/ancient-
sub-saharan-african-civilization-
culture.html
• https://www.nigerheritage.org/desert-
cultural-heritage
Bibliogarphy
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