The Americas
Inca
11,000ft plateau, started in Cuzco
How much land did the inca rule
2500mi
Anasazi
A Native American who lived in what is now southern Colorado and Utah and northern Arizona and New Mexico and who built cliff dwellings
Mexica ruler was
A semi divine king on top of hierarchy, warrior, free class, serf, slaves
Quipus
A system of record keeping with string
Pueblos
Above ground houses made of a heavy clay called adobe.
Inca emporer was
Absolute and divine
What did Mayan religion support
Agriculture
Inca state owned
All land/resources
Where was the Inca located?
Andes Mountains of South America
Huitzilopochtli
Aztec tribal patron god; central figure of cult of human sacrifice and warfare; identified with old sun god
Sacrifices with Mayans included
Blood
What did incas have
Bronze weapons, great stone masons, amazing roads
Inca ruler was
Chief, diety who descended from sun
Inca did what with their political power
Consolidated it
The capital of the Inca empire was
Cuzco
The uniqueness of Andean civilizations
Developed Isolated, still shared characteristics of other civilizations
What two things did America lack
Domestic animals, only had llamas which sucked
What did the east construct
Earthern mounds for events
Where was large scale agriculture located
East of Mississippi
Who does the sacrifices impact (Aztecs)
Empire building and relationships w/ conquered people
What was the Toltecs time period
Fast ruling; ended quick
What made Mayan agriculture good
Fertile soil
How did the population of inca expand
Food supply chain
Mayan writing
Hieroglyphics
What did women recieve for birthing sons
Higher honor
Patron deity of the Aztecs
Huitzilopochtli
What year did the Mayans decline
In 800
The mexica
In meso; inca in the south
What was the largest empire in the Americas
Incan Empire
What was trade like in the Americas
Just within regions
Inca
Largest and most powerful Andean empire. Controlled the Pacific coast of South America from Ecuador to Chile from its capital of Cuzco.
Structure of the Aztec Empire
Loosely structured; conquered peoples to become tribute states
Mayans lived in
Lowlands
What two cities rose to control
Meso America and Andes mountains
Where did the Aztecs trade throughout
Mesoamerica
Toltecs
Migrants from west Mexico, unified groups
Who ruled in the inca land
Militaristic
What was the structure of the mexica
Militaristic aristocrats, centered
How did mexica rise to power
Military; dominated allies as independent powers
South American groups were
More complex in Andes, mesoamerica, and south
Cahokia
Most important mound-builder settlement 80 mounds
What class were Mayans
Mostly peasants
How did the Mayans decline
Mystery
Did the Inca have a writing system?
No
Did they have interregional trade
No
Were the Andean civilizations advanced
No
What was mysterious about the ruling and decline of teotihuacan
No records
Was the maya empire unified?
No, city states
North American lifestyle
Nomadic + villager lifestyle
Which groups populated North America
Nomadic and subsistent farmers
What was the first mesoamerican civilization
Olmec civilization
Maya
Olmec hier; modern day south Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras
Mesoamerican civilization names
Olmec, Toltec, maya, teotihuacan, Aztec
Was the Aztec's religion polytheistic or monotheistic?
Polytheistic
Were the Incas monotheistic or polytheistic?
Polytheistic
What type of gods did Mayans believe in
Polytheistic
Pochteca
Professional merchants among the Aztecs.
The pyramid of the sun
Pyramid found in ancient Teotihuacan, it was 200-feet tall and had a base larger than that of the Great Pyramid in Egypt. Had a Main Street between pyramid of sun and moon
Language of the Incas
Quechua
2 American calendars
Solar; 365 day based on agriculture. 260 ritual one
Moche Civilization
South American civilization which rose to power following the collapse of the Chavin in the Andes, no written records
Capital of the Aztecs
Tenochtitlan
What was a disadvantage of the Americas
Their geography
Cyclical world view
There is no beginning and no ending, everything is infinite
How did the food supply chain expand
They understood agriculture
Who replaced mexica
Toltec in 1200
Moche decline is known or unknown
Unknown
Cahokia's language
Wasn't written, most info was found from archaeological societies
How did the incas expand
Well organized military
Did the Aztecs do human sacrifice
Yes
Were they pro merchants
Yes
Where was the Mayan Empire located?
Yucatan Peninsula
slash and burn agriculture
a farming technique in which trees are cut down and burned to clear and fertilize the land
Kiva
a round room used by the Pueblo peoples for religious ceremonies
Teotihuacan
first major metropolis in Mesoamerica, collapsed around 800 CE. It is most remembered for the gigantic "pyramid of the sun".
Chinampas
floating gardens
Ayllus
in Incan society, a clan or community that worked together on projects required by the ruler, the way taxes were collected
Quechua language + MIT'A; road systems
language spoken from the Inca Empire
Mita System (Inca)
mandatory public service in the society of the Inca Empire
Mexica priests
received a special education in calendrical and ritual lore and presided over religious ceremonies
What held the Incan Empire together
road system
Mayan Calendar
solar calendar of 365.242 days (17 seconds off of today), ritual calendar of 260 days
Mexica tribute system
tax paid in goods, crops, animals, etc. and enforced by military power. allowed mexica to dominate central mexico and beyond
