A HI 3803 Final

Aztec Culture

* Little level land so used raised garden beds Polytheistic-more than 1000 gods, offered sacrifices, held ceremonies and festivals, and dominated the Aztec life. * From Central America * Lived in family groups in large land-based communities. Men farmed, women took care of the home and children. War was sacred duty so they were fearsome warriors. * Great architects, collected writings called glyphs into books called codices. Advances in astronomy and created calendars

Inca Culture

* Mountainous so used flat terraces on the sides of the mountains * Polytheistic-many gods. They performed daily prayers and rituals, made sacrifices and believed that their emperor was divine or godlike. *from South America * Government makes decisions as to who farms, who trades, who marries, and which are soldiers. Subjects are required to donate days to repair roads and do other government required jobs. Barter is the form of economy. Moneyless economy. Communication was difficult. * Used mathematical counting tool called quipu. Were gifted builders, created effective medicine, performed blood transfusions, and performed early forms of brain surgery.

Cerro Sechin

* a town in northern Peru with a ceremonial center of ritual sacrifice

Ollantaytambo

-site outside of Cusco -heavily terraced, good example of irrigation systems -lots of bedrock modifications -Burned residues from ritual in Cusco travelled down river to Ollantaytambo

Popol Vuh

A book containing a version of the Mayan story of creation.

Florentine Codex

A document that is a major source of information on Aztec history and culture; compiled soon after the spanish conquest of the Aztecs, complied by Fray Bernardino de Shagun in 1550's based on interviews, main source in Nahuatl about the events of the Spanish conquest

Cahuachi

A large Nasca site that appears to have served as a center for pilgrimage and ritual feasting.

gable roof

A pitched roof with two sloped sides

hipped roof

A roof with four sloped sides

Machu Picchu

Abandoned city high in the Andes mountains that showcases the architectural genius of the Inca

Paracas Culture

An Andean culture dating to about 800-100 BC, inhabiting the dry coastal zone of southern Peru. They used irrigation to manage limited agriculture. The cultural practice of binding the heads of babies in order to elongate the skull has led to numerous spurious and ridiculous theories claiming the bodies are actually those of extraterrestrials.

Huaca La Florida

Archaeological site in Rímac District, Peru

Mayan Culture

Built eighty large ceremonial centers, which included pyramids, palaces, and temples; large centers included Palenque, Chichen Itza, and Tikal, the latter with a population of approximately 40,000 people and the Temple of the Jaguar. Approximately 800 C.E. people abandoned their cities, possibly as a result of civil war, internal divisions, invasions, or natural disasters.

Nazca

Culture that flourished along the southern coast of Peru from around 200 B.C. to A.D. 600

Mixtec Culture

Diego Rivera 1942 Fresco

What are six of the main attributes of Inca architecture? Describe each of those six architectural attributes and the function it served. Identify at least 2 Inca sites where we have seen some of these architectural attributes. (One attribute per site is fine.)

Dry stone masonry: machu picchu; Polygonal masonry: sacsayhuaman; Terracing: ollantaytambo; Urban Planning: Pisac; Tunnels: ingapirca; Precision in Architecture: Temple of the Sun

Chavin culture

First civilization of the Andes Mountains in Peru. Important for the domestication of camelids and successfully cultivated several crops (with the help of their advanced irrigation system).

Chavin de Huantar

Form: -U-shaped temple -sunken relief -powerful curving -stone architecture -hammered gold alloy -granite sculpture Content: -only priest and high officials could see the Lanzon (human/jaguar) Lanzon statue: -enormous, shape of agricultural tool, dark tunnels lead to the illuminated statue -nose ornament: status symbol, serpent shape relief: jaguar Function: -ceremonial center for the Chavin people Context: -Northern Highlands, Peru Chavin People -900-200 BCE Center of Chavin culture

Trophy heads

In Nazca culture, dismembered heads taken from ritually defeated warriors, preserved and often ritually buried in large caches. These heads also frequently appear in Nazca art.

Apus

Incan governors

Garagay

Initial Period, center in Rimac valley with evidence of use of San Pedro Cactus as a hallucinogen and painted friezes of the transformative jaguar deity.

Kotosh

Late Preceramic site and architectural tradition in the highlands of Peru. Includes ventilated hearth chambers and niched halls.

Codices

Maya texts, long strips of paper, many meters in length when unfolded, these texts helped analysts interpret Maya hieroglyphics on stelae.

Ayni

Means proper relationship. Helping someone if they help you.

Tlacuilo

Mesoamerican artist-writers

polygonal masonry

Method of stone work in which stones are selected for their shape and size then fitted together without the use of mortar. Irregular.

Palenque

Name of Mayan city ruins that had an aqueduct

Tiwanaku

Name of capital city and empire centered on the region near Lake Titicaca in modern Bolivia (375-1000 C.E.).

Tiwanaku

Name of capital city and empire centered on the region near Lake Titicaca in modern Bolivia (375-1000 C.E.). (p. 315)

Panaca

Nobles closely related to the emperor

Tlatelolco

Originally a separate island city in Lake Texcoco; later incorporated into Tenochtitlan; Market remained the most important in combined city.

Wari Culture

Peruvian culture (600-1100 AD); same time as Tiwanaku culture; El Castillo de Huarmey is undisturbed royal tomb

Tinku

Pronounced teen koo: Quechua word for convergence, or "two into one," referring to a confluence of rivers, a ritual battle, etc., creating a focus of power and energy.

Chinampa

Raised fields constructed along lake shores in Mesoamerica to increase agricultural yields.

Kalasasaya

Religious site for the Tiahuanaco-Huari - nail heads - The Moon Door - Temple of the Standing Stones - interlocking clamps on walls (architectural technique)

ESSAY QUESTION: what are some ways in which the Inca Empire and the Aztec Empire were similar? How were they different?Be sure to compare/contrast the Inca and Aztec experiences of Spanish colonization as well.

Similarities: Advanced Civilizations: Both the Inca and Aztec civilizations were highly advanced and had sophisticated social, political, and economic systems. Agricultural Practices: They implemented advanced farming techniques such as terracing (Inca) and chinampas (Aztec) to maximize agricultural productivity. Road Systems: Both civilizations developed extensive road systems to facilitate communication Differences: Geography and Environment: Inca: The Inca Empire was located in the Andes Mountains of South America, characterized by rugged terrain and diverse climates. Aztec: The Aztec Empire was situated in the Valley of Mexico, surrounded by lakes and fertile plains. Political Structure: Inca: The Inca Empire had a highly centralized government with the ruler, known as the Sapa Inca, holding absolute power. Aztec: The Aztec Empire had a more decentralized political structure with power shared between a king (tlatoani) and a council of nobles. Spanish Colonization: (both rulers were captured) Inca: The capture of the Inca ruler Atahualpa in 1532 played a crucial role in the downfall of the empire. Spanish colonization led to the destruction of the Inca political and social structures, with the imposition of Spanish culture, religion, and institutions. Aztec: Hernán Cortés led the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. The Spanish destroyed the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, and established Mexico City on its ruins. In both cases, the introduction of diseases, forced labor, and cultural upheaval had devastating effects on the indigenous populations. The Spanish colonization marked the end of the Inca and Aztec civilizations as autonomous entities, leading to the creation of a new colonial society in the Americas.

Huaca del Sol

Temple of the Sun; a stepped pyramid; located at the site of Moche.

Cuzco

The capital city of the Incan Empire, Located in present-day Peru

Nazca Culture

They created the famous Nazca lines and built an impressive system of underground aqueducts that still function today.

Hanan/Hurin

Upper half/lower half- concept of duality and hierarchy

Ballcourt

Used the ballcourt as a religious ceremonial game.and sacrifice. Found in many mesoamerican cities.

Calendar Round

a 52-year cycle which combines dates taken from the solar and religious calendars of the Maya.

Quetzal

a bird of the trogon family, with iridescent green plumage and typically red underparts, found in the forests of tropical America

terraced house

a house that is one of a row of houses that are joined together on each side

Puna

a treeless, windswept tableland or basin in the higher Andes

battered walls

a wall that slopes inward as it rises

Uaxactun

an *ancient sacred place of the Maya civilization,* located in the Petén Basin region of the Maya lowlands, in the present-day department of Petén, Guatemala

Chichen Itza

an ancient Mayan city located on the Yucatan Peninsula

Teoihuacan

an early city state, first in valley of mexico; city that dominated the Valley of Mexico from about a.d. 200 to a.d. 750 and that influenced the culture of later Mesoamerican peoples, earliest mesoamerican empire

ashlar masonry

carefully cut and grooved stones that support a building without the use of concrete or other kinds of masonry

Tenon Heads

carved heads with a long stone stem on the back, allowing them to be inserted into a facade

Teponaztli

is a Mexican slit drum hollowed out and carved from a piece of hardwood

Huehuetl

is a percussion instrument from Mexico; wooden upright drum; used by Aztecs

Nahua

language of the Aztecs

Moche Culture

may have been ended by environmental changes.

Carhua

peru

Quispiguanca

royal estate of the Inca emperor Huayna Capac (c. 1464-1525 CE)

Cenote

sinkhole with fresh water at the bottom; place of sacrifice (mayans)

Tikal

the most important Maya political center between the 4th-9th centuries. It was a city that had temples, pyramids, palaces, and public buildings.

Chincherro

town in peru

Pisac

town in peru

Vagina Dentata

vaginas originally had teeth and the teeth had to be broken out for sexual intercourse to occur