Mesoamerican Technology In Pre-Colubian Times (Olmec And Mayan - Aztec and Inca)) Flashcards

Question

Olmec art is made up of?

Answer 1

jade, clay, basalt, and greenstone, which is an archaeologist's term for carved, green-colored minera

Answer 2

anthropomorphic—human-shaped— creatures, often highly stylized, using an iconography reflective of a religious meaning

Answer 3

Olmec colossal—very big—heads. Seventeen monumental stone representations of human heads sculpted from large basalt boulders have been unearthed in the region to date.

Answer 4

cultural hearth

Answer 5

V. THE MAYA (250 A.D. –900 A.D.)

Answer 6

* Kin = 1 day; were numbered 0-19 * Uinal = 20 kin or day; were numbered 0-17 * Tun = 18 Uinal; were numbered 0 - 19 * Katun = 360 Uinal or 7,200 days; were numbered 0-19 * Baktun = 400 Tun or 144,000 days; were numbered 1-13

Answer 7

Large and complex system of roads to stay connected with other cities and people. These roads were used for trading goods inside and outside the Mayan empire.

Answer 8

ruins of huge ziggurat and observatories used by astronomers.

Answer 9

Created a 365 day calendar by watching the star

Answer 10

1. Solar calendar with 365 days, divided into 18 months with 20 days each with 5 extra days at the end 2. Lunar calendar and a Calendar based on the movement of the Planet Venus. This was a sacred calendar with 260 days and 13 weeks of 20 days each. A depiction of Mayan calendar PERSONAL

Answer 11

vigesimal number system based on base 20 (and, to some extent, base 5), probably originally developed from counting on fingers andtoes.

Answer 12

* zero - represented as shell shape * one - a dot * five - a bar

Answer 13

• The Mayans also developed a form of an early book that recorded the exploits of their gods, daily life, news and many more subjects. • Their books were written on bark and folded into fan- like structures. Many of these were sadly destroyed by the Conquistadors but thankfully some have survived to this day.

Answer 14

▪ The Mayan built towering temples, pyramids, plazas and palaces around the empire. ▪ The ceremonial centers usually consisted of pyramidal mounds with temples or other buildings on top. On top of the temples, priests performed religious ceremonies and sacrifices while people watched from the plazas below

Answer 15

- Pyramid at Chichén Itzá (In Mexico) - Sayil Palace (600-900 A.D) - Temple of Inscriptions (A.D. 675-A.D. 683) - Ball Courts

Answer 16

Pyramid at Chichén Itzá

Answer 17

Sayil Palace (600-900 A.D)

Answer 18

Temple of Inscriptions (A.D. 675-A.D. 683)

Answer 19

Ball Courts

Answer 20

the kings, or “kuhul ajaw” (holy lords),

Answer 21

“kuhul ajaw” (holy lords)

Answer 22

• Although somewhat limited by their geographical location and local plant species, Mayan farmers were expert agriculturists. Their main crop staples included Corn (maize) but they also cultivated beans and squash, which were often grown together with corn to provide mutual support for each crop. • As their population grow there is a need to double up their production of crops thus this factor drives the Mayans to mass produce the crops they have been utilizing to withstand the growing population of the empire.

Answer 23

Bird Monster

Answer 24

• Recent discoveries also indicate Mayan farmers grew manioc (cassava), a highly nutritious and energy-rich root vegetable and an excellent source of carbohydrate. It turns out that their cultivation of cassava might solve a long- standing mystery as to how they were able to sustain such a large civilization and population given their lack of metal tools andlocale. • The Mayans were highly accomplished engineers and employed their skills to develop innovative farming techniques including raised farm beds and terrace farming. These techniques were vitally important in providing means of reducing water runoff and erosion and turning mountainous regions into productive farmlands.

Answer 25

Olmec Dragon

Answer 26

The Maya cut slits in the bark of the rubber tree and collected its sap. They used the dried sap to make water-resistantshoes and clothing. Rubber was also used to make balls. The Maya played games in enclosed, I-shaped courts with the rubber balls. These ball games took on a ritual significance and were an important part of Mayan culture.

Answer 27

The Maize deity The Rain Spirit or Were-Jaguar The Fish or SharkMonster

Answer 28

• Maya were wiped out by war; • Disruption of their trade routes; • Maya’s agricultural practices and dynamic growth resulted in climate change and deforestation; • Maya culture was subsumed by the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century.

Answer 29

They knew about stitches and often used human hair to suture wounds. They also regularly made casts to speed the healing and recovery of fractures and other bone breakages used iron pyrite as tooth fillings (in dentistru) skilled in creating prosthetics made from jade and turquoise and used obsidian for making cuts.

Answer 30

More than 2 million descendants of Maya people live in Guatemala and southern Mexico today

Answer 31

VI. THE AZTECS (1200 A.D. –1521 A.D.)

Answer 32

“Tenochtitlan”

Answer 33

30 million

Answer 34

Toltec empire

Answer 35

Toltec empire

Answer 36

human sacrifice

Answer 37

Huitzilopochtli

Answer 38

Quetzalcoatl

Answer 39

Huitzilopochtli Quetzalcoatl

Answer 40

Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, the rain god.

Answer 41

▪ Tenochtitlan was built on an island; ▪ It was connected to the mainland by **causeways** leading north, south, and west of the city; ▪ The city was interlaced with a series of canals, so that all sections of the city could be visited either on foot or by canoe.

Answer 42

1. One aqueduct piped in fresh water from outlying springs 2. One aqueduct could be cleansed of mud and silt

Answer 43

1. Excrement was collected. 2. Solids rowed out in barges and used as manure 3. Urine was used to make dyes fast.

Answer 44

floating gardens chinampas

Answer 45

60 passengers 3 tons

Answer 46

transportation

Answer 47

* The Aztec Empire is famous for many of its features including the amazing architectural styles that the Aztec people used in the construction of their buildings and cities. * Aztec architecture followed similar principles to other earlier Mesoamerican civilizations, including, the use of a grid system in city building and the construction of large temples in the shape of a pyramid. * The Teotihuacan pyramids are some of the largest of their kind in the Americas. Ancient Teotihuacanos constructed the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon in the year 100 C.E., centuries before the Aztec had arrived in Teotihuacan. These marvels still stand at an incredible height of around 65 meters (213 feet) and 43 meters (141 feet)

Answer 48

The Aztec's system of tracking days was very intricate and their calendar system was derived from the Mayan one * The Aztec sunstone, a very famous calendar, weighs 24 tons and is 13 feet in diameter. It contains information on the days that begin and end months as well as the gods related to the days. The center of the stone contains a god called Tonatiuh. Surrounding it are four squares containing symbols that represent the ages preceding the time of the Aztecs (tiger, water, wind,rain). Lastly, around the squares, there is a ring that possesses 20 segments for the 20 days of the month. Each day has it's own unique symbol and god.

Answer 49

1. One was a more sacred calendar consisting of 13 months of 20 days 2. the other was an agricultural or solar calendar with 18 months of 20 days. The solar calendar, being the scientific one, should add up to 365 days, yet it only adds up360.

Answer 50

* The Aztecs language was called Classical Nahuatl and it wasn't written as an alphabet but as a series of glyphs. Each symbol represented only one sound. The language of the Aztecs were eventually developed into an alphabet, yet they used to simply be a series of pictures used in three different ways. * The first way was pictograms. This was simply about the symbol meaning what it looked like. This method was easy understand but it required hundreds and thousands of symbols to have meaningful language. * The second way is ideograms. Ideograms are related to idea behind what the symbol represents. A picture of footprints could represent a trip or even a passage of time in a certain direction. * The last way is phonograms. This is finally how a picture can represent a certain sound such as a picture of a bee could represent the sound of "b". All these components came together in the Aztec glyphs.

Answer 51

* Aztec number system was a vigesimal one, which means they used 20 as a base number. In their arithmetic calculations, there were symbols that were used to represent different values. A dot meant the number 1, a bar meant 5, and there were many other symbols for 20 and its various multiples. * It was also clear that the Aztecs had a very clear understanding of multiplication and division in the sense of geometry. Their standard unit of linear measurement was called land rod, equivalent to 2.5 meters. If an object was not an exact amount of land rods, certain symbols were added to indicate the remaining length (less than a land rod).

Answer 52

They decided to make it mandatory for children to attend school and receive education.

Answer 53

*cuicalli* also known as **house of song**

Answer 54

15 yrs old

Answer 55

telpochalli * They slept at this school, but if that wasn't an option the boys went to another type called **calmécac**. Calmécac taught of a variety of subjects as well as trained them for the military as the school offered opportunities for a government position.

Answer 56

Chocolates

Answer 57

Invaders led by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés overthrew the Aztec Empire by force and captured Tenochtitlan in 1521, bringing an end to Mesoamerica’s last great native civilization.

Answer 58

* The Inca civilization flourished in ancient Peru between c. 1400 and 1533 CE, and their empire eventually extended across western South America from Quito in the north to Santiago in the south, making it the largest empire ever seen in the Americas and the largest in the world at that time. * the Incas conquered people and exploited landscapes in such diverse settings as plains, mountains, deserts, and tropical jungle. * Famed for their unique art and architecture, they constructed finely-built and imposing buildings wherever they conquered, and their spectacular adaptation of natural landscapes with terracing, highways, and mountaintop settlements continues to impress modern visitors at such world famous sites as MachuPicchu

Answer 59

Tawantinsuyu Sapa Inca

Answer 60

Below the Sapa Inca was the viceroy, or Inkap Rantin. He was a close relative of the Sapa Inca and worked as his closest advisor.

Answer 61

The high priest, called the "Willaq Umu", was also a very powerful man. He was probably second in power to the Sapa Inca due to the importance of religion in the Inca Empire.

Answer 62

The Inca Empire was divided up into four quarters. Each of these quarters was ruled by a governor called an Apu

Answer 63

The Sapa Inca also kept a council of men who advised him on major matters. These men were powerful nobles.

Answer 64

In order to maintain control and to make sure people were paying their taxes and following the ways of the Inca, the Sapa Inca had inspectorsthat watched over the people. The inspectors were called "tokoyrikoq".

Answer 65

There were also military generals. The head general was usually a close relative of the Sapa Inca. These leaders were called"Apukuna".

Answer 66

There were many other government officials and leaders throughout the Inca Empire such aspriests, military officers, judges, and taxcollectors.

Answer 67

* For tax purposes censuses were taken and populations divided up into groups based on multiples of ten (Inca mathematics was almost identical to the system we use today). As there was no currency in the Inca world, taxes were paid in kind - usually foodstuffs, precious metals, textiles, exotic feathers, dyes, and spondylus shell - but also in labourers who could be shifted about the empire to be used where they were most needed, known as mit'a service. * To keep track of all these statistics, the Inca used the **quipu**, a sophisticated assembly of knots and strings which was also highly transportable and could record decimals up to 10,000.

Answer 68

* Master stone masons, the Incas constructed large buildings, walls and fortifications using finely-worked blocks - either regular or polygonal - which fitted together so precisely no mortar was needed. * With an emphasis on clean lines, trapezoid shapes, and incorporating natural features into these buildings, they have easily withstood the powerful earthquakes which frequently hit the region. * The distinctive sloping trapezoid form and fine masonry of Inca buildings were, besides their obvious aesthetic value, also used as a recognisable symbol of Inca domination throughout the empire. * Inca qollqa (storehouses) used for storing grain and other foodstuffs. 15-16th century CE, Ollantaytambo. * The Inca site of Machu Picchu built by Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui(1438-71 CE). Fortress, sanctuary, and once home to around 1,000 residents, the site is perched in the high Andes above the river Urubamba

Answer 69

* The Inca Empire was connected by its vast road system (running 25,000 miles), which made communication between even far away points possible within days. Messengers lived in pairs – and their whole responsibility was to be ready to receive a message and run to deliver it –so one of them would sleep while the other remained ready to do the job. * With the road system and messenger service, the king could send out an order to mobilize an army for defense and the men of the various communities would respond in a timely fashion. * There were stations, inns, and storage depots along this roadway to supply troops, give travelers a rest, and maintain those who worked for the messenger services. * Inca roads were built without the benefit of sophisticated surveying equipment using only wooden, stone, and bronze tools. As they were built in different geographical zones using local populations, the roads are, consequently, not uniform in construction design or materials. * Sometimes there are also two or three roads constructed in parallel, especially near the larger urban centres. Flattened road beds - often raised - were usually made using packed earth, sand, or grass. The more important roads were finished with precisely arranged paving stones or cobbles. * Roads were typically edged and protected with small stone walls, stone markers, wooden or cane posts, or piles of stones. Drainage was provided by frequent drains and culverts, which drew off rainwater from the road surface, channelling it either along or under the road. When crossing wetlands, roads were often supported by buttress walls or built on causeways.

Answer 70

* The Inca state developed a huge farming apparatus, where crops and herds were commandeered from conquered people and the people themselves were periodically commandeered to work on state-owned farms. More positively, a vast network of storage facilities was developed to insure against times of drought and disaster and foodstuffs were often given out as gifts by rulers seeking to make themselves popular. * Land was worked using simple tools such as a hoe, clod breaker, and foot plough - the chakitaqlla, which consisted of a wooden or bronze pointed pole that was pushed into the ground by placing one's foot on a horizontal bar. Hoe blades were typically made using sharpened cobble stones. * Crops cultivated across the Inca Empire included maize, coca, beans, grains, potatoes, sweet potatoes, ulluco, oca, mashwa, pepper, tomatoes, peanuts, cashews, squash, cucumber, quinoa, gourd, cotton, talwi, carob, chirimoya, lúcuma, guayabo, and avocado. * Livestock was primarily llama and alpaca herds. These animals were vital to many aspects of Andean life as they provided wool, meat, leather, moveable wealth, transportation - especially for the army, and they were often sacrificed in religious ceremonies. * The Incas were ambitious farmers, and to maximise agricultural production, they transformed the landscape with terracing, canals, and irrigation networks, whilst wetlands were often drained to make them suitable for farming.

Answer 71

* The Inca Empire fell to the Spanish conquistadores under Francisco Pizarro in 1533 CE, but it had been in decline already for sometime. * Rebellions throughout the empire were already ongoing by the time Pizarro arrived in the region and the diseases (especially smallpox) brought by Europeans had already destroyed large swaths of the population (up to 90%).

Mesoamerican Technology In Pre-Colubian Times (Olmec And Mayan - Aztec and Inca)) Flashcards

(103 cards)