Science Technology and Society
Week 10 & 11
MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS
OLMEC 1300 B.C.
 The first civilization of Mesoamerica
 They were located in the hot and swampy
lowlands along the coast of the Gulf of
Mexico south of Veracruz.
 They had large cities that were centers for
religious rituals.
 They carved colossal stone heads
 They may have been to represent their
ancestors or gods.
Teotihuacán
 Was the first major city in Mesoamerica
 Arose around 250 B.C. and collapsed about
800 A.D.
 May have had as many as 200,000
inhabitants at its height.
 Has a main thoroughfare, known as the
Avenue of the Dead, had two main temples.
 The Temple of the Sun and the Temple of
the Moon
Mayan Civilization
 Located in the Mexican and Central
American rain forest.
 Represent by Chichén Itzá
 Group of city-states ruled by a king
 Economy based on agriculture and trade
 Polytheistic religion – Pyramids
Maya: Between 300 and 900 A.D.
- Flourished during this time. We do not know
why it fell into decline. The Maya abandoned
their cities, we do not know why.
- weeks of 20 days each.
Political and Social Structure
 Cities – were built around a central pyramid
 Pyramid – was topped with a shrine to the
gods.
 City – State – each governed by a
hereditary ruling class
Mayan Kings
- Ruled the Mayan Kingdom
 They claimed they were divine
 Were assisted by nobles and a class of
scribes
 Made special blood sacrifices to maintain the
kingdom.
People
 Included townspeople, skilled artisans,
officials, and merchants.
 Many people were peasant farmers who
worked on terraced hillsides farming.
 Men did the fighting and hunting, women
made cornmeal and were responsible for
homemaking and raising children.
Religion
 The Maya were Polytheistic.
 They believed that all of life was in the hands
of a divine power.
 They were responsible for pleasing the gods.
 Their gods were ranked in order of
importance, the Jaguar was the god of night
and was seen as evil.
 The Maya practiced human sacrifice to
appease their gods.
 Human sacrifice was also used to mark
special occasions.
 When a king ascended to the throne war
captives were tortured and beheaded to
mark the occasion.
Accomplishments
Language
 The Maya developed an independent
 Hieroglyphic language.
 The Spanish destroyed most of the Mayan
writings. They were not seen as having any
value. Their language was not translated
until the 20th century.
Calendar
 The Maya developed a calendar that had
two different parts.
 It had a solar calendar with 365 days,
divided into 18 months with 20 days each
with 5 extra days at the end.
 A Lunar calendar and a Calendar based on
the movement of the Planet Venus. This was
a sacred calendar with 260 days and 13
 The Mayan calendar says our present world
was created in 3114 B.C. and the current
world will end on December 23 2012 A.D.
Tikal
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Science Technology and Society
Week 10 & 11
Chichén Itzá
Aztec Civilization
 Located in arid valley in central Mexico
 Represented by Tenochtitlan
 Ruled by an emperor
 Economy based on agriculture and tribute
from conquered peoples
 Polytheistic religion with pyramids/rituals
The Aztec began c. 12th century A.D.
 Began a long migration that brought them
into the Valley of Mexico. They established
their capital city at Tenochtitlán.
Tenochtitlán
 An Aztec legend said that when the people
found their new home they would see an
eagle perched on a cactus holding a snake.
They saw this in lake Texcoco.
 Their city was built up on rafts made from
reeds and covered with dirt. They were
called chinampas. Present-Day Mexico-City
is built on top of this city. The original was
destroyed by the Spanish.
 Lake Texcoco - Swampy lake that was the
home of the capital city. Tenochtitlán means
the Place of the Prickly Pear Cactus.
Political and Social Structure
 By 1500 were about 4 million people in the
Aztec Empire.
5. Aztec Emperor
 Ruled over the Aztec Empire.
 Was the supreme leader of the people.
 He claimed that he was divine.
People
 Made up of commoners, indentured workers,
and slaves.
 Most people were farmers, but they also
traded with people in the surrounding areas
 Men were to be the warriors, while a
woman’s role was to be in the home. Women
were allowed to own and inherit property and
enter contracts. Women wove textiles and
raised children. They could also be
priestesses.
Religion
 Had a polytheistic religion based on warfare.
Huitzilopochtli
 Their chief god. He was the god of the sun.
The Aztec offered him human sacrifice to
give him strength to battle the forces of
darkness each night so that he could rise
each morning.
Quetzalcoatl
 The feathered Serpent
 He believed he had left the valley of
 Mexico and promised to return in triumph.
Human Sacrifice
 Each Aztec city contained a pyramid where
they practiced human sacrifice as a way to
postpone the end of the world.
Destruction of the Aztec
 The subjugation of the people of the Aztec
Empire bred hatred and discontent among
the people. When the Spanish arrived they
did not have a difficult time finding allies to
fight the Aztec.
Hernán Cortés 1519
 Spanish Conquistador who came to the
valley of Mexico in 1519 with 550 soldiers
and 16 horses. He was at first greeted by the
Aztec Emperor Montezuma (Moctezuma).
The Spanish later kidnapped the Emperor
and made him a puppet. The people rebelled
and the Emperor was killed. The Spanish
barely escaped. The Spanish returned
several months later. Many of the natives
had fallen ill with Smallpox. Cortés and his
allies destroyed the Aztec capital and
subjugated the Aztec people.
Incan civilization
 Located in the Andes Mountains of South
America
 Represented by Machu Picchu
 Ruled by an emperor
 Economy based on high-altitude agriculture
 Polytheistic religion
 Road system
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Science Technology and Society
Week 10 & 11
Late 1300's Inca
 The Inca started as a small group that were
located in Cuzco. They did not begin to
become powerful until after the fall of the
Moche of Peru.
Pachacuti
 Unified the Inca and established the Inca
Empire.
Organization of the Empire
 Incan state was built on war.
 The conquered peoples were all taught the
same language.
 Each region was appointed a governor who
answered to the Emperor.
 After the death of the Inca Emperor a civil
war broke out, Pizarro took advantage and
defeated the people.
Defeat
 Pizarro and his men established Lima as the
new capital of the Spanish Colony in 1535.
Achievements of Mayan, Aztec, and Incan
civilizations
 Calendars
 Mathematics
 Writing and other record-keeping systems

Road System: 24, 800 miles of Road

 The Inca built roads to unify their people.
 Roads made travel and communication
throughout the empire more efficient.
 There were rest houses and storage depots
along with bridges to span ravines and
waterways.

Culture
 Were required to marry from within their own
social group.
 Women were expected to live at home, the
only alternative was to be a priestess.
 Most people were farmers, they also herded
llamas and alpacas.
 Quipu-A system of knotted strings used by
the Inca to keep records
.
Great Builders
 They had great buildings made of stone held
without mortar. Their roads also show their
ability as great builders.

Machu Picchu
 City built at 8,000 ft. above sea level.

Urubamba River
 River below Machu Picchu

Defeat
 The Spanish arrived in 1531

1531: Francisco Pizarro

 Spanish Conquistador led a band of 180
men with superior weapons.
 The Inca, like the Aztec, were devastated by
disease.

Smallpox
 Devastated the Population

Civil War