Lesson 8: Ancient Civilizations in the Americas

• Mesoamerican lowlands were home to the Maya civilization, located in the Yucatan peninsula and along the Gulf of Mexico
• Olmec culture became widespread throughout Mesoamerica from 1500 to 500 BCE
• A hallmark of Olmec culture was the monumental sculpture known as the "colossal heads"
• Maya civilization represented the fusion of cultural elements from independent ancient societies of Mesoamerica
• Maya cities flourished as far back as the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE
• Distinctive pyramids of the Maya were representations of sacred mountains created by the gods at the beginning of the world
• Classic Period of Maya Civilization (250 to 950 CE) was a period of intense urban development, rise of powerful Maya city-states, and cultural and technological advances
• Maya script was used to calculate time, regulate religious observances, record genealogies of rulers, and document conquests and dynastic histories
• Maya calendar was an important advancement
• Buildings in Copán combined emphasis on religion with requirements of dynastic rule
• Ball court in Copán was of great religious significance as a reenactment of a cosmic battle between Maya gods and lords of the Underworld
• Tikal was considered the greatest Mayan city, covering an area of more than 65 square kilometers
• Calakmul was a powerful political center during the 7th century CE and a rival kingdom to Tikal
• Palenque was a notable Maya city, once a rival to Calakmul
• Pakal, the most famous king of Palenque, built the Temple of Inscriptions detailing his royal lineage
• During the Postclassic Period (900 to 1524 CE), Maya civilization endured in the northern regions of the Yucatan Peninsula
• Chichen Itzá was a prominent city during the Postclassic Period, notable for the Temple of Kukulcán (Quetzalcoatl), later called "El Castillo" temple
• Monte Alban was established in 900 BCE, becoming a complex of palaces, temples, and plazas housing almost 20,000 people
• Teotihuacan was one of several chiefdoms in the Valley of Mexico, with the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon as notable structures
• Toltecs became a prominent regional power during the 7th century CE in central Mexico
• Tula was the imperial capital of the Toltecs, a vast complex of plazas, pyramids, and ball courts
• Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl was a semi-divine leader of the Toltecs, establishing communities in Mesoamerica
• Aztec civilization developed in the Valley of Mexico and the Oaxaca Valley, tracing roots to the Toltecs
• Tenochtitlán and Tlatelolco were great Aztec cities founded on an island in Lake Texcoco
• Tenochtitlan's ceremonial district had a plaza and a Great Temple dedicated to the sun god Huitzilopochtli and the rain god Tlaloc
• Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes arrived at the Yucatan peninsula in 1519
• Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco fell to the Spaniards in 1521
• Initial progress in the Andean region happened in the coastal regions during the Preceramic Period (3000 to 1800 BCE)
• The Initial Period (1800 to 900 BCE) saw coastal communities moving inland with the cultivation of maize and cotton
• Early Horizon (900 to 200 BCE) saw the development of small kingdoms along the north and central coasts in the Andean region
• Early Intermediate Period (200 BCE to 600 CE) paved the way for the establishment of small states and kingdoms in the Andes region
• Moche in the North and Nazca in the South were notable states in the Andean region
• Moche capital of Cerro Blanco featured two monumental shrines- the Huaca del Sol and the Huaca de la Luna
• Nazca culture created the Nazca Lines, a series of markings or geoglyphs on the flat desert grasslands
• Middle Horizon Period (600 to 1000 CE) saw the formation of highland states in the Andes, with Tiwanaku and Wari emerging
• Chimor arose out of the Moche civilization and gained prominence within the northern regions at around 1100 CE
• Inca Empire emerged as a regional force in the southern Andes during the Late Horizon Period (1476 to 1534 CE)
• Inca Empire was called Tawantinsuyu, with Cuzco as the imperial capital
• Machu Picchu, located in a mountain ridge 80 kilometers from Cuzco, was a well-known Inca ruin
• Intihuatana in Machu Picchu was a ritual stone structure believed to anchor the sun as it traveled across the sky