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The Maya, Aztec and Inca Civilizations

The Maya, Aztec and Inca Civilizations. Essential Question. What are the cultural achievements of the Ancient Maya?. Timeline. Incas 1200-1500 CE. 1600 CE. 0. Aztecs 1100-1521 CE. Maya 300-900 CE. The Mayas. What geographical features did the Mayan lands include?

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The Maya, Aztec and Inca Civilizations

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  1. The Maya, Aztec and Inca Civilizations

  2. Essential Question What are the cultural achievements of the Ancient Maya?

  3. Timeline Incas 1200-1500 CE 1600 CE 0 Aztecs 1100-1521 CE Maya 300-900 CE

  4. The Mayas • What geographical features did the Mayan lands include? • Southern Mexico (Yucatan Peninsula), Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras • Gulf of Mexico to Caribbean Sea • Rugged highlands/swamps

  5. The Mayas • What did the Mayans look like? • Short with straight, black hair, painted bodies, tattoos, crossed eyes, flattened foreheads

  6. The Mayas • Why did Mayas tie objects from their infants’ foreheads? • To encourage their eyes to cross • Why did some Mayas tie boards to their children’s heads? • To flatten their foreheads – this was a sign of beauty in their culture

  7. The Mayas • What did early Mayas eat? • They fished and they grew maize (corn), beans, squash, peppers, avocados, and papayas

  8. The Mayan Eras • Pre-Classic: 2,500BC to AD 250 – fishing villages/learned to plant crops • Classic Era: AD 250 – AD 900 – built cities, pyramid temples, developed advanced math and astronomy and writing • Post-Classic Era: AD 900 – 1500 – Mayas left their great cities and scattered through out countryside – not sure why – we will discuss possible reasons

  9. The Maya - Tikal • Largest city - Tikal (in present day Guatemala) – 100,000+ people

  10. The Maya – Copan • 2nd Largest city – Copán (in present day Honduras) • The Great Staircase: 30ft wide, 63 steps, picture writing covers each step

  11. Chichen Itza – Large observatory tower used by ancient astronomers and Well of Sacrifice

  12. Mayan Writing • Borrowed a writing from Olmecs • Developed a system of writing using pictures (glyphs) and symbols

  13. Mayan Books • Made paper by pounding fibers from bark of ficus tree into pulp and glued it together with tree sap • When the paper dried they coated it with white lime • A Mayan book is called a codex • Fiber paper/deer hide for covers • Why did the Spanish destroy Mayan books? • Why do you think they thought they were evil?

  14. Mayan Math + = 7 + 3 = 10 - = - 7 = 18 11 - + + = - + 0 + 5 = 3 12 10 - = + 0 7 2 9 - = +

  15. Mayan Calendar • The Mayan priest used their knowledge of astronomy and math to develop two accurate calendars • One was sacred (religious), the other was for planning • The Mayan Calendar • solar year of 365 days. • divided into 18 months of 20 days each, followed by a five-day period that was highly unlucky. • Did the Mayan’s predicted that the world would end on December 21, 2012?

  16. The Great Mystery of the Maya • Around AD 850/900 the Mayas suddenly left their cities and were scattered throughout the countryside – Why?? • Some theories for why they did this include: • Natural Disasters – earthquake, hurricane, drought • Disease • Crop failures/famine (no plow, did not develop new agriculture methods) • Peasant rebellion against the priests and nobles who ruled the cities • Invaders - Toltecs

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