Ancient Civilizations: Mayan, Incan, Toltec, Olmec, etc.

1. A Changing
World
Each civilization that you will study in this unit
made important contributions to history.
•
Native Americans built a network of trade routes.
•
Renaissance and Reformation Europeans affirmed the
importance of the human individual.
•
People in early modern Europe and America developed
ideas about freedom and democracy.
A.D. 1400 A.D. 1450 A.D. 1500 A.D. 1550
The c. A.D. 1400 A.D. 1533
Americas Aztec Empire Spanish forces defeat
Chap te r 16 reaches its the Inca in Peru
height
Incan gold mask
Renaissance
and c. A.D. 1440 A.D. 1508 A.D. 1555
Reformation Johannes Michelangelo Peace of
Cha p ter 17 Gutenberg uses paints Sistine Augsburg divides
movable type in Chapel in Rome Germany into
printing press Catholic and
Statue of Protestant states
Page from David by
Gutenberg Bible Michelangelo
Enlightenment A.D. 1488 A.D. 1518 A.D. 1543
and Revolution
Bartholomeu Dias First enslaved Copernicus pres-
Chapt er 1 8 of Portugal sails Africans ents a new view
around southern brought to of the universe
tip of Africa Americas
Ferdinand
Early compass Magellan
564
(t)akg-images/Ulrich Zillmann, (cl)The Pierpont Morgan Library/Art Resource, NY, (cr)Vatican Museums & Galleries, Rome/Fratelli Alinari/SuperStock, (bl)Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA, (br)North Wind
Picture Archives

2. 180°
N 1,000 mi.
0
W E Chapter 0 1,000 km
Chapter S 17
Mercator projection
16 60°N
ASIA
Caspian
EUROPE Sea
Black Sea
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
60°N
AFRICA
Hudson
Bay
NORTH
AMERICA
M
Chapter
iss
0 1,000 mi.
issi p i R.
N
18
p
60°N Hudson 0 1,000 km
Bay
Mercator projection W E
Gulf of
Mexico
NORTH
0 1,000 mi.
Caribbean Sea
AMERICA
M EUROPE Caspian Sea ASIA S
ATLANTIC
iss
0 1,000 km Black Sea
gH
issi p i R.
OCEAN
e
Mercator projection
n
EQUATOR Hu a
0° Persian us R.
p
mazon R.
Ind
A
Gulf
Ji
Gulf of an g ang
PACIFIC Ch
OCEAN
SOUTH Mexico
South
N
AMERICA Caribbean Sea AFRICA Arabian
Sea
Bay of
Bengal
China
Sea
PACIFIC
W E OCEAN SOUTH EQUATOR INDIAN
0°
120°W
AMERICA
60°W 0° 60°E
OCEAN
120°E
S
A.D. 1600 A.D. 1650 A.D. 1700 A.D. 1750 A.D. 1800
c. A.D. 1570 A.D. 1769 A.D. 1839
Eastern Woodland Spaniards found Scientists
peoples form mission at San Diego uncover Mayan
Iroquois League city of Copan
Native American
warrior shirt
A.D. 1598 A.D. 1608 A.D. 1648
King Henry IV First checks Thirty Years’ War ends Queen Elizabeth I
introduces reli- are used to of England
gious toleration replace cash in
in France the Netherlands
A.D. 1690 A.D. 1702 A.D. 1776
John Locke First daily newspaper American
develops published in London Revolution
theory of begins
government
George Washington
World map, 1630
(t)Christie’s Images/CORBIS, (c)National Portrait Gallery, London/SuperStock, (bl)Bluestone Production/SuperStock, (br)Independence National Historical Park

3. 1 Machu Picchu
See The Americas NORTH
Chapter 16
AMERICA
2 Atlantic
Tikal
Ocean
2
See The Americas
Chapter 16
Pacific Ocean
SOUTH
AMERICA
1
A.D. 1452–1519 A.D. 1483–1546
Ruled A.D. 1438–1471 Italian artist German Protestant A.D. 1485–1547
Inca ruler and scientist leader Spanish conqueror
Chapter 16, page 589 Chapter 17, page 622 Chapter 17, page 638 Chapter 16, page 598
566
566–567 ©Worldsat International Inc. 2004, All Rights Reserved, (t)Jeremy Horner/Getty Images, (c)David Hiser/Getty Images, (bl)The Art Archive/Museo Pedro de Osma Lima/Mireille Vautier, (bcl)Timothy
McCarthy/Art Resource, NY, (bcr)SuperStock, (br)The Art Archive/National History Museum Mexico City/Dagli Orti

4. 3 Sistine Chapel
See Renaissance and
Reformation Chapter 17
ASIA
4
EUROPE 4
5 Wittenberg
3
See Enlightenment and
Revolution Chapter 18
5 Versailles
AFRICA
Indian
Ocean
See Enlightenment and
Revolution Chapter 18
A.D. 1632–1704 A.D. 1642–1727
A.D. 1519–1589 Ruled A.D. 1558–1603 English political English
French queen English queen thinker mathematician
Chapter 17, page 647 Chapter 18, page 665 Chapter 18, page 683 Chapter 18, page 677
567
(t to b)SuperStock, Dave G. Houser/CORBIS, Buddy Mays/CORBIS, (l to r)Victoria & Albert Museum, London/Art Resource, NY, National Portrait Gallery, London/SuperStock, National Portrait Gallery, London, North
Wind Picture Archives

5. 568–569 Robert Fried
The Americas
The ruins of Machu Picchu near Cuzco, Peru
c. 1500 B.C. A.D. 500 A.D. 1000 A.D. 1500
c. 1200 B.C. A.D. 500 c. A.D. 1250 A.D. 1492
Olmec build Mayan cities Aztec arrive in Columbus
an empire in flourish in central Mexico reaches the
Mexico Mesoamerica Americas

6. Chapter Preview Chapter Overview Visit
jat.glencoe.com for a preview
During Europe’s medieval age, many different of Chapter 16.
peoples were building civilizations in the Americas.
Read about how these early Americans grew corn, beans,
and other food products that are familiar to you today.
View the Chapter 16 video in the World History:
Journey Across Time Video Program.
The First Americans
The first people in the Americas arrived thousands
of years ago. Farming led to the growth of
civilizations in what is now Mexico, Central
America, and Peru.
Life in the Americas
The Maya, Aztec, and many other Native American
cultures developed in North and South America.
The Fall of the Aztec and Inca Empires
Spanish explorers and soldiers were drawn to the
riches of Native American civilizations. Using horses
and guns, they defeated the Aztec and Inca Empires
in the early A.D. 1500s.
Organizing Information Make this foldable to help you organize information
about the history and culture of the Americas.
Step 1 Collect two sheets of paper Step 2 Fold up the bottom edges Reading and Writing
and place them about 1 inch apart. of the paper to form four tabs. As you read the chapter,
write the main ideas
This makes all presented in each of the
Keep the
edges the tabs the three sections under the
straight. same size. tabs of your foldable.
Note details that
support the main ideas.
Staple
Step 3 When all the tabs are the same The Americas along the
size, crease the paper to hold the tabs in The First Americans fold.
place and staple the sheets together. Life in the Americas
Label each tab as shown. The Aztec and Inca
569

7. Summarizing
Summarizing Information
Summarizing what you have read, either orally or in writing, is a good
way to increase your understanding of the text. Read the information
about Christopher Columbus on pages 594–595, Columbus Arrives in
America and Columbus Returns. With a partner, summarize the main
points. One person should summarize what he or she read while the
other listens. Then the second person should resummarize, adding
details that the partner may have left out.
When you are finished, look at the fol-
lowing list to see if you included all the
important details.
• Columbus first arrived in the Americas
in 1492.
• He believed he had reached Asia but
actually landed on an island in the
Caribbean Sea.
• He took home many exotic treasures to
impress the Spanish rulers.
• He returned the next year with
soldiers.
ce
ead, pla
As you r the tops • He landed on Hispaniola, which is
stick y notes at der present-day Haiti and the Dominican
a remin
of p ages as ctions th
at Republic.
to retu r n to se reread. • Conquistadors conquered the Native
need to
you may Americans.
• Spain gained a foothold in the
Americas.
570

8. Retelling Read to Write
Choose one of the
Read the description of how Spain Conquers Mexico historical figures from
on pages 595–596. Before you begin, read the first para- Chapter 16 and expand
graph about Cortés aloud: his or her story with
details from your own
imagination. Add
quotes, descriptions, and
The voyages of Christopher Columbus, who
events that you think
sailed to the Americas four times, inspired many might have happened to
poor nobles to go to America to seek their fortunes. create a richer, although
fictionalized, narrative.
Many came from the part of Spain known as the
Extremadura. Its poor soil, blistering hot summers,
and icy winters held little chance for
wealth. One of these nobles was
19-year-old Hernán Cortés.
—from pages 595–596
With a partner, summarize
the story of Cortés and how he
destroyed the Aztec capital. As
you are retelling, you may want to refer
back to the text, reading aloud words in
quotation marks or italics to provide an authentic voice
to your story. Listen carefully so that you can add details
that your partner may have left out.
As you read this chapter, practice
summarizing. Stop after each section
and write a brief summary of the
major points in that section.
571
HIP/Scala/Art Resource, NY

9. The
First Americans
What’s the Connection? Meeting People
While Western Europe rebuilt Olmec (OHL • mehk)
itself after the fall of Rome, diverse Maya (MY • uh)
cultures thrived in the Americas. Toltec (TOHL • TEHK)
Moche (MOH • cheh)
Focusing on the Inca (IHNG • kuh)
• It is believed that the first people in
the Americas came from Asia during Hohokam (HOH • hoh • KAHM)
the Ice Age. (page 573) Anasazi (AH • nuh • SAH • zee)
• The invention of farming led to the
rise of civilizations in the Americas. Building Your Vocabulary
(page 574) glacier (GLAY • shuhr)
• Early people in the northern part monopoly (muh • NAH • puh • lee)
of the Americas built complex
cultures based on farming and
trade. (page 578) Reading Strategy
Summarizing Information Create a
Locating Places chart to show the characteristics of
Mesoamerica the Olmec and Moche.
(MEH • zoh • uh • MEHR • ih • kuh)
Location Dates Lifestyle
Teotihuacán
(TAY • oh • TEE • wuh • KAHN) Olmec
Cuzco (KOOS • koh) Moche
Cahokia (kuh • HOH • kee • uh)
2000 B.C. 500 B.C. A.D. 1000
c. 1200 B.C. c. A.D. 500 A.D. 1100
Olmec build an Mayan cities Inca found city
Cahokia empire in Mexico flourish in of Cuzco
Teotihuac´an Mesoamerica
Cuzco
572 CHAPTER 16 The Americas

10. into the seas. The land bridge to America
Pathway to the Americas disappeared beneath the waves.
It is believed that the first people in the
Americas came from Asia during the Ice Age. Hunting and Gathering Hunters in the
Americas were constantly on the move in
Reading Focus When and how did the first people
search of food. They fished and gathered
travel to the Americas? Nobody knows for sure. The
nuts, fruits, or roots. They also hunted mas-
story of their arrival remains one of history’s mysteries.
sive prey, such as the woolly mammoth,
antelope, caribou, and bison.
We know people came to America a It took several hunters to kill a woolly
long time ago, but how did they get here? mammoth, which could weigh as much as
Today, America is not connected by land to 9 tons. These big animals provided meat,
the rest of the world, but in the past it was. hides for clothing, and bones for tools.
Scientists have studied the earth’s geogra- As the Ice Age ended, some animals
phy during the Ice Age—a period when became extinct, or disappeared from the
temperatures dropped sharply. At that earth. The warm weather, however, opened
time, much of the earth’s water froze into new opportunities to early Americans.
huge sheets of ice, or glaciers (GLAY • shuhrz). Explain Why is there no
As the ice froze and the seas fell, an area longer a land bridge between Asia and America?
of dry land was exposed
between Asia and Alas-
ka. Scientists call this Migration to America
land bridge Beringia
(buh • RIHN • jee • uh), after ARCTIC OCEAN Greenland
Vitus Bering, a famous 0 2,000 mi.
European explorer. They L and bridge theory
NORTH
0 2,000 km
think that people in Asia ASIA AMERICA Mercator projection
followed the animals they Bering
Sea
were hunting across this EUROPE
land bridge into the l r o ut
e
Coasta
Americas. By testing the
age of bones and tools at PACIFIC ATLANTIC
ancient campsites, scien- OCEAN OCEAN AFRICA
tists estimate that the first N
people arrived between SOUTH W E
15,000 to 40,000 years ago. Over thousands of years,
AUSTRALIA AMERICA
S
When the Ice Age prehistoric people migrated
ended about 10,000 years southward through the Americas.
1. How did prehistoric people get to
ago, the glaciers melted America from Asia?
and released water back 2. Why do you think prehistoric KEY
people spread throughout the Extent of ice sheet
Americas? Land now under water
Find NGS online map resources @ Possible migration
www.nationalgeographic.com/maps routes
Stone arrowhead CHAPTER 16 The Americas 573
file photo

11. for “middle.” This region includes lands
First American Civilizations stretching from the Valley of Mexico to
The invention of farming led to the rise Costa Rica in Central America.
of civilizations in the Americas. The region’s geography was ideal for
Reading Focus What would our lives be like if people farming. Much of the area had a rich,
had never learned to farm? Read to learn how farming volcanic soil and a mild climate. Rains fell
made civilization possible in Mexico, Central America, in the spring, helping seeds to sprout. They
and South America. decreased in the summer, allowing crops to
ripen for harvest. Then, in the autumn, the
The first Americans were hunter- rains returned, soaking the soil for the next
gatherers, but as the Ice Age ended and the year’s crop.
climate warmed, people in America made The first crops grown in the Americas
an amazing discovery. They learned that included pumpkins, peppers, squash,
seeds could be planted and they would gourds, and beans. It took longer to
grow into crops that people could eat. develop corn, which grew as a wild grass.
Farming began in Mesoamerica Early plants produced a single, one-inch
(MEH • zoh • uh • MEHR • ih • kuh) 9,000 to 10,000 cob. After hundreds of years, the early
years ago. Meso comes from the Greek word Americans finally learned how to cross corn
Hunting the Woolly Mammoth
Working in groups, hunters could bring down large prey, such as a woolly
mammoth. Why do you think early hunters preferred to hunt large
animals such as mammoths instead of smaller animals?

12. Civilizations of Mesoamerica
100°W 90°W
0 300 mi.
MEXICO 0 300 km
Bipolar Oblique projection
Lake
Texcoco Chich´en
Tula Gulf of Mexico Itz´a
Tenochtitl´an Teotihuac´an 20°N An Olmec stone head
Yucat´ a n
Tlaxcala Peninsula
La Venta
N Valley of
Mexico Tikal
W E Palenque
S
PACIFIC OCEAN Copan
KEY
Mesoamerican civilizations developed in Mexico Olmec c. 500 B.C.
and Central America. Maya c. A.D. 750
1. Which civilization occupied the Yucatán Toltec c. A.D. 1200
Peninsula? Aztec c. A.D. 1500
2. Which cities developed near Lake Texcoco?
What do these cities suggest about the area?
with other grasses to get bigger cobs and make polished mirrors and basalt for carv-
more cobs per plant. With this discovery, ing gigantic stone heads.
corn, also known as maize, became the The Olmec used the region’s many
most important food in the Americas. rivers as highways for trade, but eventu-
ally, the inland peoples seized control of
Mesoamerican Civilizations Growing corn the trade. One of these groups built the first
and other crops allowed the Mesoamericans planned city in the Americas. It became
to stop wandering in search of food. As a known as Teotihuacán (TAY • oh • TEE • wuh •
result, they formed more complex societies. KAHN), or “Place of the Gods.” The city
Starting around 1500 B.C., the first of several reached its height around A.D. 400. It had a
ancient civilizations appeared. population of between 120,000 to 200,000
Near present-day Vera Cruz, Mexico, a people.
people called the Olmec (OHL • mehk) built a As Teotihuacán’s power spread, a people
far-reaching trading empire. It started called the Maya (MY • uh) built another civi-
around 1200 B.C. and lasted about 800 years. lization in the steamy rain forests of the
The Olmec enjoyed rich farming Yucatán Peninsula (YOO • kuh • TAN). They, too,
resources, but they lacked other raw mate- traded throughout Mesoamerica. The Maya
rials. They traded salt and beans with used their central location to reach into what
inland peoples to get jade for jewelry and is now southern Mexico and Central
obsidian, or volcanic glass, to make sharp- America. Mayan traders in sea-going canoes
edged knives. They used other trade goods, paddled along the coast, perhaps reaching as
such as hematite, a shiny volcanic stone, to far as the present-day United States.
CHAPTER 16 The Americas 575
Werner Forman/Art Resource, NY

13. The Mayan civilization lasted about 200
(l)Bowers Museum of Cultural Art/CORBIS, (r)David Hiser/Getty Images
What Happened to the Maya? Teo-
tihuacán and Mayan cities hit their peaks in years longer. But it also came to a mysteri-
the A.D. 400s and A.D. 500s. Then, around ous end. The Maya abandoned their cities,
A.D. 600, Teotihuacán started to decline. No
and by the A.D. 900s, the cities lay deserted,
one is sure why this happened. Some hidden in a thick tangle of vines.
experts say overpopulation drained the city As the Maya left their cities, a people
of food and resources. Others blame a long called the Toltec (TOHL • TEHK) seized what is
drought, or period without rain. Still others now northern Mexico. These warrior
say that the poor people rebelled against nomads built the city of Tula northwest of
their rich rulers. Whatever the reason, by present-day Mexico City. From Tula, they
A.D. 750, the city had been destroyed. conquered lands all the way to the Yucatán
Peninsula.
Toltec rulers tightly controlled trade.
They held a monopoly (muh • NAH • puh • lee),
or sole right, to the trade in obsidian. As a
Figure of
Mayan leader result, the Toltec kept other people from
making weapons to challenge them.
This pyramid was in the Mayan city of Tikal, which was located
in present-day Guatemala. What caused the downfall of the
Mayan civilization?

14. Civilizations of South America
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
EQUATOR
0°
Moche pottery .
azon R
decorated with Am
Río
the image of Moche
R. Urubamba R.
a face Moche
Lima Machu Picchu SOUTH
A Cuzco
N Lake AMERICA
Titicaca
D E S
20°S
PACIFIC
OCEAN
0 1,000 mi.
N
0 1,000 km
E Bipolar Oblique projection
Moche pottery W
40°S
S
in the shape of
a llama
100°W 80°W 60°W 40°W 20°W
Around A.D. 1200, invaders from the The Moche and Incan peoples
developed advanced civilizations in
north captured Tula. One group of invaders, South America.
who called themselves the Aztec, admired 1. Describe the location of the
the Toltec and copied their ways. Aztec war- Moche civilization.
riors then took control of the region’s trade 2. Estimate in miles the length of
the Inca Empire.
and built a huge empire. When Europeans
arrived in the A.D. 1500s, the Aztec ruled
about five million people. This wealth of food freed the Moche to
The Moche and Inca South of Mesoamerica, do other things. Moche engineers designed
other civilizations developed along the west huge pyramids, such as the Pyramid of the
coast of South America. The Moche (MOH • Sun. Moche traders exchanged goods with
cheh) people were located in the dry coastal
people as far away as the rain forests of the
desert of what is now Peru. Amazon River valley. These goods included
The Moche ruled from about A.D. 100 to pottery, cloth, and jewelry.
A.D. 700. They dug canals that carried water
The Moche did not have a written lan-
from rivers in the Andes mountain ranges guage. Instead, their culture’s story is told
to their desert homeland. Because of this
irrigation, the desert bloomed with crops.
The Moche suffered no shortage of
food. They ate corn, squash, beans, and Web Activity Visit jat.glencoe.com and
peanuts. They also hunted llamas and click on Chapter 16—Student Web Activity to
guinea pigs and fished in the nearby learn more about civilizations in the Americas.
Pacific Ocean.
CHAPTER 16 The Americas 577
Nathan Benn/CORBIS

15. through artwork. Pottery often showed
animals important to the Moche, such as
Civilizations in North America
the llama. The llama served as a pack ani- Early people in the northern part of
mal, carrying goods for long distances. It the Americas built complex cultures based on farm-
also provided meat for food and wool for ing and trade.
weaving. Reading Focus Would you be surprised to learn that
For all their achievements, however, the early North Americans built large cities? Read to learn
Moche never expanded much beyond their about the complex civilizations that developed in the
homeland. The work of empire building American Southwest, then in the Mississippi River valley.
belonged to another people called the Inca
North of Mesoamerica, Native Americans
(IHNG • kuh).
developed their own ways of living. Still,
The Incan homeland lay in the Andes
they had learned something important from
mountain ranges of present-day Peru. They
their Mesoamerican neighbors. They learned
chose to live in high river valleys, often
how to farm.
above 10,000 feet (3,048 m). Over time, the
Farming in what would someday be the
Inca built the biggest empire in the ancient
United States began in the American
Americas. It centered around the capital of
Southwest. It also spread from Mesoamerica
Cuzco (KOOS • koh), founded in A.D. 1100.
along the coast and up the Mississippi,
Explain How did the Toltec Missouri, and Ohio Rivers. As farming devel-
keep other people from challenging them? oped, so did new civilizations.
Anasazi Cliff Dwellings From far away they look
Utah
like sand castles tightly stacked into the side of a Colorado
canyon wall. Up close they are life-sized, ancient Mesa
Verde
cliff homes. The two cowboys who discovered
N
Canyon Chaco Canyon
them in A.D. 1888 called them the “magnificent W de Chelly
city.” They found them while crossing a snowy E
S
flat-topped mountain in southwestern Arizona New
Mexico
Colorado. The men had stumbled upon the
homes of the Anasazi—an ancient people KEY
who once lived in the Southwest. Anasazi culture
Important settlements 0 200 mi.
The Anasazi built nearly 600 cliff Present-day boundaries
30°N 0 200 km
dwellings in the area now protected Azimuthal Equidistant projection
within Mesa Verde National Park. They MEXICO
110°W
began building villages under overhanging

16. (t)Charles & Josette Lenars/CORBIS, (c)Dewitt Jones/CORBIS, (b)Richard A. Cooke/CORBIS
The Hohokam and Anasazi News of Around A.D. 600, as the Hohokam
farming traveled north along with planted fields near rivers, the Anasazi
Mesoamerican traders. But it took a long (AH • nuh • SAH • zee) moved into the region’s
time for nomads in the scorching deserts of canyons and cliffs. They also took up farm-
the Southwest to try farming. ing. However, they did not rely only on
Finally, around A.D. 300, a people called rivers for irrigation. They collected water
the Hohokam (HOH • hoh • KAHM) planted that ran off cliffs during heavy rains and
gardens on lands between the Salt and Gila channeled it to their fields.
Rivers. They dug more than 500 miles Anasazi culture reached its height at
(805 km) of canals to carry river waters to Chaco Canyon, an area in present-day New
their fields. They grew corn, cotton, beans, Mexico. The people there controlled the
and squash. They also made pottery, trade in turquoise. They used it like money,
turquoise pendants, and the world’s first to buy goods from many different regions
etchings by using cactus juice to eat including Mesoamerica.
through the surface of shells. The Anasazi lived in huge apartment-
The Hohokam thrived for about 1,000 like houses carved into cliffs. The cliff
years. In the mid-A.D. 1300s, they mysteri- houses had hundreds of rooms and held
ously fled. Perhaps a long drought drove thousands of people. Spanish explorers
them away, or floods from heavy rains later called these buildings pueblos—the
destroyed their canals. No one is sure. Spanish word for “village.” The Anasazi
The Cliff Palace at Mesa
Verde National Park
cliffs around A.D. 1200. Many scholars believe they
settled in the cliffs for protection from the weather and
from other groups. Villages were not constructed
according to any plan. Each home was built to fill the
space available. Some homes are several stories tall.
Sandstone and mud mortar still hold them together.
The Anasazi probably did much of their daily work in Anasazi
pottery
open courtyards. Artifacts have revealed their skill at
making baskets, sandals, and pottery. By A.D.1300, the
Anasazi had left Mesa Verde. A severe drought during
that time may have forced them to leave the area.
Connecting to the Past Anasazi
1. Why do you think villages were not jewelry
constructed according to a plan?
2. The Anasazi lived at Mesa Verde for only about
100 years. What—besides the drought—might have
made them leave?
579

17. prospered until a 50-year drought occurred that women planted the first seeds. Women
in the early A.D. 1000s. Like the Hohokam, probably knew the most about plants
they also drifted away. because they gathered wild foods while the
men hunted.
Who Were the Mound Builders? Far to Corn was first brought to the region
the east, across the Mississippi River, around A.D. 100, probably carried there by
another civilization was taking shape. It traders. These traders traveled near and far
started around 1000 B.C. and lasted until to find raw materials for weapons, jewelry,
about A.D. 400. Its founders built huge and fine carvings. Many of these objects
mounds made of earth, some in the shape were placed in huge burial mounds to
of animals. Such earthworks gave these honor the dead.
people their name—“Mound Builders.”
Two groups formed the mound-building The Mississippians The mound-building
culture—first the Adena, then the Hopewell. culture changed when the Hopewell
Together they settled on lands stretching mysteriously declined and a new people
from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. known as the Mississippians emerged.
Although the Mound Builders lived The Mississippians were named for their
mostly as hunters and gatherers, they location in the Mississippi River valley.
experimented with farming. Scientists think Their lands reached from present-day
they tamed many wild plants, including Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, south to the
sunflowers, gourds, and barley. It is likely Gulf of Mexico.
The Great Serpent Mound in
southern Ohio is an example
of the earthen mounds built
by the Adena culture. Besides
the Adena, what other group
made up the mound-
building culture?
These two-foot-high marble statues of a man
and a woman are from a mound in Georgia.
580 CHAPTER 16 The Americas
(l)Richard A. Cooke/CORBIS, (r)Mark Burnett

18. A Cahokia mound in Illinois
The Mississippians found that plants
grew well in the rich floodplains along the
river. They harvested enough crops to
become full-time farmers. The most common
crops included corn, squash, and beans.
As in Mesoamerica, large-scale farming
led to the rise of cities. Some contained 10,000
or more people. The largest city, Cahokia (kuh •
HOH • kee • uh), may have had 30,000 people.
The remains of this city can still be seen in
southwestern Illinois.
The Mississippians built a different kind mounds. The flat tops of the mounds held
of mound. Their mounds were pyramid temples, homes for the rich, and burial places.
shaped but with flat tops. The base of the In the early A.D. 1300s, the Mississippian
biggest one covered 16 acres (6.5 ha), more civilization collapsed, and the cities
than the base of the Great Pyramid of Egypt. were abandoned. Perhaps other Native
The finished mound, known today as Americans attacked them, or the city may
Monks Mound, rose more than 100 feet have become too big to feed itself.
(30 m) high. From the mound’s summit, Identify How was tur-
rulers gazed down at dozens of smaller quoise used by the Anasazi of Chaco Canyon?
Study CentralTM Need help with the
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What Did You Learn?
Reading Summary 1. Why was Mesoamerica’s geog-
raphy ideal for farming?
4. Summarize How and when
did the first people come to
Review the
2. How did the first Americans the Americas, and how did they
• The first Americans were most live once they were here?
likely hunter-gatherers who came develop corn?
from Asia across a land bridge. 5. Geography How did geogra-
Critical Thinking
phy shape the development of
3. Summarizing Information
• A number of civilizations devel- the Anasazi civilization?
Draw a chart like the one
oped in the Americas, including 6. Expository Writing Write a
below. Add details about the
the Olmec, Maya, and Toltec in short essay comparing the civi-
early peoples of North America.
Central America and Mexico, and lizations that developed in
the Moche and Inca in South Native Americans Mesoamerica to those that
America. All were dependent on Southwest developed in South America.
farming.
7. Summarizing
• In North America, farming civi- Information Write a para-
lizations arose in the Southwest East/Mississippi River Valley
graph that summarizes how
and then in the Ohio and farming led to the develop-
Mississippi River valleys. ment of civilizations.
CHAPTER 16 The Americas 581
Jim Wark/Index Stock

19. Life in
the Americas
What’s the Connection? Locating Places
In Section 1, you read about the Petén (peh • TEHN)
rise of the first civilizations in the Tenochtitlán
Americas. The first Americans had to (tay • NAWCH • teet • LAHN)
use whatever natural resources the
land had to offer. As a result, they Meeting People
developed many different cultures Pachacuti (PAH • chah • KOO • tee)
suited to where they lived. Iroquois (IHR • uh • KWOY)
Focusing on the Building Your Vocabulary
• The Maya adjusted to life in the trop-
quipu (KEE • poo)
ical rain forest and built a culture based
on their religious beliefs. (page 583) igloo
adobe (uh • DOH • bee)
• The Aztec moved into the Valley of
confederation
Mexico, where they created an empire
(kuhn • FEH • duh • RAY • shuhn)
based on conquest and war. (page 585)
• To unite their huge empire, Incan Reading Strategy
rulers set up a highly organized Organizing Information Use a
government and society. (page 588) pyramid to show the Inca’s social classes.
• The geography in lands north of
present-day Mexico shaped the
developement of many different
Native American cultures. (page 590)
A.D. 1300 A.D. 1400 A.D. 1500
c. A.D. 1250 A.D. 1325 c. A.D. 1438
Aztec arrive Aztec build Pachacuti
in central Tenochtitlán starts to build
Mexico Inca Empire
Tenochtitl´an
Cuzco
582 CHAPTER 16 The Americas

20. The Mayan People Mayan City-States At first glance, it
looked like the Maya had settled in one of
The Maya adjusted to life in the tropical the worst spots on Earth. They picked the
rain forest and built a culture based on their reli- Petén (peh • TEHN), the Mayan word for “flat
gious beliefs. region.” Located in present-day Guatemala,
Reading Focus What would it be like to live in a jun- the Petén’s dense forests nearly blocked out
gle? What resources would be easy to find? Read to the sun. Stinging insects filled the air.
learn how the Maya adapted to life in the jungles of Poisonous snakes slithered on the ground,
Mesoamerica. and monkeys and parrots screeched in the
treetops. Even so, the ancient Maya thrived.
In A.D. 1839 an American lawyer named The Maya saw what others missed.
John Lloyd Stevens and an English artist Swamps and sinkholes gave them a year-
named Frederick Catherwood slashed round source of water. The sinkholes—areas
their way into the tangled Yucatán rain where the earth has collapsed—connected
forest. There they made an amazing dis- the Maya with a huge system of under-
covery. They found the vine-covered ruins ground rivers and streams. They served as
of an ancient city. Mayan wells.
Stevens and Catherwood soon learned Even with a ready water supply, only an
that the people who had built the city were organized culture could have succeeded in
called the Maya, and that they were the building cities and fields in the Petén. The
ancestors of the millions of Maya who still effort required cooperation among many
live in present-day Mexico, Guatemala, people, which could only be accomplished
Honduras, El Salvador, and Belize. by having an organized government.
This Mayan wall painting shows musicians celebrating a royal birth.
Where did the Maya first settle?
CHAPTER 16 The Americas 583
Doug Stern & Enrico Ferorelli/National Geographic Society Image Collection

21. The Maya set up city-states. Within each
Gianni Dagli Orti/CORBIS
city-state, rulers supplied the leadership—
and military force—for great building proj-
ects. Leadership passed from one king to the
next, and the city-states often fought with
Mayan Ball Game Mayan cities had each other.
many ball courts. In a Mayan ball game,
teams of two or three players tried Life in the Mayan Cities The rulers of
to drive a hard rubber ball through a Mayan city-states said they were descended
decorated stone ring. Players wore from the sun. They claimed the right to rule
as god-kings and expected every person to
helmets, gloves, and knee and hip
serve them. Service included building huge
guards made of animal hide to protect
monuments to honor them.
themselves against the hard rubber balls. As god-kings, Mayan rulers taught their
They were not allowed to use their subjects how to please the gods. One way
hands or feet to throw or bat the ball. was human sacrifice. The Maya believed
They had to use their hips to drive the that the gods gave their life-giving fluid,
ball through the stone rings. rain, to keep humans strong. So humans
Because the stone rings were placed kept the gods strong by giving their own
27 feet (8 m) above the ground on a life-giving fluid, blood.
large rectangular field, players had to When the Maya marched into
have incredible skill to score a goal. battle, they wanted captives more
Making a goal was so rare that when a than they wanted land. During times
player scored, crowds rewarded the of drought, Mayan priests offered the
hero with clothing and jewelry. captives to Chac, the god of rain and
Scholars think sunlight. The Maya believed Chac
lived in the waters below the sink-
that a Mayan ball
holes. Captives were often thrown
game was more
into these watery pits to earn the
than a sport or god’s favor.
contest. It had a religious The Maya believed that the gods
and symbolic meaning— controlled everything that happened
as well as deadly results. on Earth. As a result, religion was at
The losing team was the core of Mayan life. A huge pyra-
sacrificed to the gods mid with a temple at the top towered
in a ceremony after over every city. Priests, who claimed
the game. to know what the gods wanted, set
Mayan ballplayer up a strict class system in which
everyone had a place.
Royal Mayan women often married into
Connecting to the Past royal families in distant Mayan city-states.
1. How did a player score in a Mayan ball game?
This practice strengthened trade. It also
2. Why was losing especially painful for a team? helped form alliances—political agree-
ments between people or states to work
together.

22. Women played a
large role in the
The Aztec
Mayan city-states. In The Aztec moved into the Valley of
one Mayan carving, Mexico, where they created an empire based on
a woman wears a war conquest and war.
headdress and rides Reading Focus Why do you think some countries try to
atop a platform carried conquer other countries? Read to learn why the Aztec
by soldiers. In the people conquered their neighbors and built an empire.
city-state of Calakmul,
at least two women The warlike Aztec nomads who arrived in
served as all-powerful the Valley of Mexico about A.D. 1250 were
queens. One of them anything but welcome. One king was sure he
may have helped to knew a way to get rid of them. He granted the
Statue of a
Mayan god found the city. Aztec a patch of snake-filled land. He
expected the deadly serpents to destroy them.
Instead, the Aztec feasted on roasted snakes
Mayan Science and Writing Both queens
and eventually built their own kingdom.
and kings turned to Mayan priests for
advice. The priests thought gods revealed The Aztec Government The Aztec clearly
their plans through movements of the sun, knew how to survive. They had wandered for
moon, and stars, so they studied the heavens hundreds of years in search of a home that
closely.
The Maya also needed to know when to
plant their crops. By watching the sky, the An Aztec Warrior
priests learned about astronomy. They
developed a 365-day calendar to keep track Aztec warriors often
of heavenly movements. They used it to wore colorful
costumes decorated
predict eclipses and to schedule religious with feathers or
festivals, plantings, and harvests. To chart animal skins. They
the passage of time, the Maya developed a fought with obsidian-
system of mathematics. They invented a tipped weapons.
method of counting based on 20. Where did the Aztec
build their empire?
The Maya also invented a written lan-
guage to record numbers and dates. Like
the Egyptians, the Maya used a system of
hieroglyphics. Symbols represented sounds,
words, or ideas. Only nobles could read
them, however. After the collapse of the
Mayan civilization, nobody could read
them at all. Only in recent times have
scholars begun to unlock the stories told
by the hieroglyphics.
Aztec shield
Identify What was the decorated
main advantage of living in a tropical rain forest? with feathers
585
(tl)Boltin Picture Library, (c)Michel Zabe/Museo Templo Mayor, (br)Museum of Ethnology, Vienna

23. they believed their sun god—the feathered Priests, speaking for the gods, told the
Gianni Dagli Orti/CORBIS
serpent Quetzalcoatl (KWEHT • suhl • kuh • WAH • Aztec what to do next: build a great city.
tuhl)—had promised them. According to Workers toiled day and night. They dug soil
legend, the Aztec would know they had from the lake bottom to build bridges to the
found this place when an eagle “screams mainland. They built floating gardens, piling
and spreads its wings, and eats . . . the soil on rafts anchored to the lake bottom.
serpent.” The Aztec called their new city
According to Aztec legend, they found Tenochtitlán (tay • NAWCH • teet • LAHN), which
their homeland after they sacrificed a means “place of the prickly pear cactus.” As
local princess to one of their gods. The the city rose from the marshes, the Aztec
princess’s father vowed to wipe out the dreamed of conquest and wealth. They
Aztec, who only numbered several wanted to collect tribute, or payment for
hundred. The Aztec went on the run. In protection, from conquered peoples.
A . D . 1325, they took shelter on a soggy, To fulfill their goal, the Aztec turned to
swampy island in Lake Texcoco (tehs • KOH • strong kings who claimed descent from the
koh). There an eagle greeted them from its gods. A council of warriors, priests, and
perch on a prickly pear cactus. It tore apart nobles picked each king from the royal fam-
a snake dangling from its beak. Then it ily. Council members usually chose the last
spread its wings and screamed in triumph. king’s son, but not always. They looked for
Filled with wonder at this sight, the Aztec a king who would bring glory to the Aztec.
believed that they had reached the end of They expected a king to prove himself by
their journey. leading troops into battle.
Tenochtitlán
The founding of
At the center of Tenochtitlán was a walled Tenochtitlán
ceremonial area. It contained temples,
schools and the priests’ houses. What
ceremonial act took place at the top of
the Great Temple?
The Great Temple
Atop the Great Temple were
two shrines dedicated to the
rain god Tlaloc and the sun and
war god Huitzilopochtli.
Round Temple
The round temple was
dedicated to the Aztec
god Quetzalcoatl.
Ball Court
Aztecs played a ritual ball
game on courts that were
often richly decorated.

24. Aztec Daily Life
Aztec homes were simple and
built for usefulness rather than
beauty. How do you think the
Aztec used each of the household
items shown here?
Aztec bowl and loom
Aztec
grinding
stone Painting of Aztec home
Life in the Aztec Empire The king, or that your home is not here where you have
emperor, was at the top of Aztec society. The been born, for you are a warrior!”
rest of the population fell into four classes: A baby girl heard different words. As
nobles, commoners, unskilled laborers, and she drew her first breath, the midwife
enslaved people. Commoners formed the declared: “As the heart stays in the body, so
largest group, working as farmers, artisans, you must stay in the house.” Although
or traders. They could join the noble class by women stayed at home, those who gave birth
performing one act of bravery in war. They, or were honored as heroes by Aztec society.
their children if the soldier died, received Nearly everything the Aztec did grew
land and the rank of noble. out of a promise. Speaking through priests,
In serving their gods, the Aztec saw the god Huitzilopochtli (wee • tsee • loh •
death as honorable. Those worthy of an POHKT • lee) vowed: “We shall conquer all
afterlife included soldiers who died in bat- the people in the universe.”
tle, captives who gave their lives in sacri- This promise inspired the Aztec to
fice, and women who died in childbirth. honor the god with a huge pyramid in the
Others went to the “Land of the Dead,” the center of Tenochtitlán. Known as the Great
lowest level in the underworld. Temple, it rose 135 feet (41 m) high and had
From an early age, children learned more than 100 steps. Thousands of victims
about the glories of war and their duties as were taken to the top, where they were sac-
an Aztec. When a baby boy came into the rificed to the gods.
world, the midwife, or woman who helped Describe How could com-
with the birth, cried: “You must understand moners move into the noble class?
CHAPTER 16 The Americas 587
(r)E.T. Archive, (others)Michel Zabe/Museo Templo Mayor

25. rulers and their wives, known as Coyas,
Life in the Inca Empire were at the top of society.
To unite their huge empire, Incan rulers The head priest and commander of the
set up a highly organized government and society. armies were just below the royal couple. Next
Reading Focus Have you ever tried to organize a large came regional army leaders. Below them
number of people? It is not easy to get everyone to work were temple priests, army commanders, and
together. Read how the Inca organized their society and skilled workers—musicians, artisans, and
developed ways to hold their empire together. accountants. The bottom level consisted of
farmers, herders, and ordinary soldiers.
The ancient Inca blamed earthquakes on The Inca further divided society into
the god Pachacamac, “Lord of the earth.” 12 job categories. Within these, every man,
Whenever Pachacamac lost his temper, the woman, and child over age five had work
earth shook. Pachacamac was the highest to do. Young girls, for example, were baby-
Incan god. It is not surprising that the greatest sitters, while young boys chased birds from
Incan leader took the name Pachacuti (PAH • gardens.
chah • KOO • tee), which means “Earthshaker.”
Pachacuti lived up to his name. Starting
What Was Incan Culture Like? The Inca
rarely honored their gods with human sac-
around A.D. 1438, Pachacuti and his son, Topa
rifice. They turned to sacrifice only in times
Inca, built the largest ancient empire in the
of trouble, such as during earthquakes, or
Americas. It stretched north to south about
on special occasions. Priests most often sac-
2,500 miles (4,023 km)—about the distance
rificed children, whom they thought were
between present-
more pure than adults. The Inca worshiped
day Los Angeles
the sacrificed children as gods.
and New York.
To please their gods, the Inca built large
Pachacuti cre-
works of stone. They had no system of writ-
ated a plan to hold
ing, no wheels, and no iron tools. Yet they
his empire together.
built places like Machu Picchu (MAH • choo
He set up a strong
PEE • choo), a retreat for Incan kings.
central government
Building large structures required the
Incan gold mask but let local rulers
Inca to develop a way to do mathematical
stay in power. To
calculations. The Inca used a quipu (KEE •
ensure their loyalty, he took their sons to
poo), a rope with knotted cords of different
Cuzco for training.
lengths and colors. Each knot represented a
Pachacuti united the empire in other
number or item, which was also a way of
ways too. He required people to learn
keeping records.
Quechua (KEH • chuh • wuh), the language
The Inca were skilled engineers. Workers
spoken by the Inca. He also designed a
fit stones so tightly together that a knife
system of roads, which covered about
could not slip between them. Because the
25,000 miles (40,234 km) when finished.
Inca used no mortar, the stone blocks could
An Organized Society The Inca believed slide up and down without collapsing when-
the sun god Inti protected Cuzco, the Incan ever an earthquake rocked the earth.
capital. The rulers who lived there called Explain How did Pachacuti
themselves “sons of the sun.” As such, make sure local leaders would be loyal to him?
588 CHAPTER 16 The Americas
akg-images/Ulrich Zillmann