Civilizations of latin america

1. Civilizations of
Latin America

2. Latin American
Civilizations
•The three major civilizations
that existed in Latin America
before the arrival of the
Europeans were

3. A.D. 300
Mayan
civilization
flourishes for
next 600 years
A.D. 500
Teotihuacán
dominates the
Mayan empire
A.D. 900
1075 A.D.
Incas settle in
Peru, and
Cuzco
becomes the
Incan capital
A.D. 1300
1479 A.D.
Incas
complete
conquest of
Peru
1325 – 1340
A.D. Aztecs
establish
Tenochtitlán
1420 – 1480s
A.D.
Aztec empire
expands to
Guatemala

6. The Aztec Civilization
•The Aztecs lived in the Valley of
Mexico in the A.D. 1100s.
•The Valley of Mexico is in
central Mexico and includes the
site of present-day Mexico City.

7. Aztec Civilization
•The Aztecs wandered the Valley of
Mexico looking for a permanent
home until A.D. 1325.
•They finally settled on an island in
Lake Texcoco.
•They changed the swampy land into
a magnificent city, which they called
Tenochtitlán (the site of present-day
Mexico City).

10. Tenochtitlán
•The Aztecs built floating islands by
piling rich earth from the bottom of
the lake onto rafts made of wood.
•After a while, the roots of plants and
trees grew down to the lake bottom,
anchoring the rafts.
•Some of these floating islands were
the size of football fields.

11. Tenochtitlán
•In the center of the city was the
Great Temple.
•Upper-class dwellings were made of
stone and ordinary dwellings were
made of reeds and mud.
•Canals, laid out in a grid system,
connected all parts of the city.
•Causeways, or raised earthen roads,
connected the city to the mainland.

15. Aztecs expand their
empire
•In the 1400s, Aztec warriors began
conquering the other people in the
region.
•They forced the people they
conquered to pay tribute.
•Tribute could be paid in food, cotton,
gold, or slaves.
•The Aztecs grew rich from the
tribute.

17. Aztec Accomplishments
•Tenochtitlán was a center of
learning and trade.
•Over 1,000 medicines were
made from plants.
•Astronomers predicted eclipses
and planet movement.
•Aztec hieroglyphics similar to
the Mayas.

19. The Incas
•About A.D. 1200, the Incas
settled in Cuzco, a village in the
Andes (now a city in Peru).
•Most Incas were farmers,
growing maize and other crops.
•Through wars and conquest, the
Incas won control of the Cuzco
Valley.

25. Pachacuti
•In 1438, he became ruler of the
Incas.
•The name Pachacuti means “he who
shakes the earth.”
•He conquered the people who lived
near the Pacific Ocean.
•He demanded loyalty from the
people he conquered. If disloyal, the
people were forced off their land and
replaced with loyal Incas.

27. “The Lost City”
•Pachacuti built many cities.
The most famous is the “lost
city” of Machu Picchu.
•Machu Picchu is located high in
the Andes Mountains, 54 miles
northwest of Cuzco.

31. Incan Accomplishments
•The Incans were excellent farmers,
builders, and managers.
•The capital, Cuzco, was the center
of government, trade, learning, and
religion.
•In the 1500s, one of the first
Spaniards to visit Cuzco described it
as “large enough and handsome
enough to compare to any Spanish
city.”

32. Roads and Aqueducts
•The Incas built more than 19,000
miles of roads. The roads went over
some of the most mountainous land
in the world.
•The Incas built canals and
aqueducts to carry water to dry
areas. One stone aqueduct carried
water from a mountain lake almost
500 miles to its destination.

37. Government and
Records
•The Incas organized their
government carefully.
•The Incas did not have a written
language. Incan government
officials and traders recorded
information on knotted strings
called quipus.

39. Religion
•The Incas worshipped many gods.
•The sun god, Inti, was an important
god of the Incas. They believed Inti
was their parent and they referred to
themselves as “children of the sun.”
•Another important Incan god was
Viracocha, the creator of all people
of the Andes.

42. Quechua Descendants
of the Incas
•The Spanish conquered the
Incan empire in the 1500s.
•The Incan descendants live in
present-day Peru, Ecuador,
Bolivia, Chile, and Colombia.
•They speak Quechua, the Incan
language.