The Americas: Pre-Columbian

Empires to Colonies
• This Power Point
presentation goes
with the Mastering
the TEKS in World
History book by
Jarrett, Zimmer, and
Killoran.
• Unit 4, Chapter 12
 Essential Questions
• What were the major characteristics of the
Maya, Inca, and Aztec civilizations?

• How did the voyages of Christopher

Columbus forever change the world?
 Important Ideas
• Complex American Civilizations
• Renaissance encouraged European
Exploration
• Christopher Columbus
• Spanish Conquest
• Europe got rich from the Americas
• American farming encouraged African
slave trade
The Kellogg Institute
 Early Americans
• Nomadic Asians How did the Ice
followed herd animals Age effect the
into the Americas. population of
the Americas?
• American Peoples What if it had
experienced their own not occurred?
Neolithic Revolution.
• Pre-Columbian (before
Columbus) Civilizations
– Grew maize (corn)
– Did not live in river valleys
– Developed complex
societies

UCLA.edu
 The Maya (1500 B.C. to 1546 A.D.)
• Present day Guatemala
• Each city had a chief who was half man and half god
• Social Structure
– Hereditary nobility (performed sacred ceremonies and
assisted ruler)
– Craftsmen (made goods for nobility)
– Farmers (most people)
• Warlike people who
practiced human sacrifice
Based on the information
above, what type of
religion did the Mayans
have? Harvard.edu
 Built
Developed a
magnificent
system of
cities with
hieroglyphics
palaces,
or picture
temples, and
words
pyramids

What similarities does

Mayanhave to
this civilization
Achievements
the Egyptian civilization?

Created
Complex
colorful
system of
murals and
math with use
created a
of zero, 365
popular ball
day calendar
game
 The Aztecs (1200-1521)
• Present day Mexico
• Grew crops in “floating gardens” in wet, marshy
lands
• Complex Social Structure:
– Emperor who was all powerful
– Nobility served in government, army officers, and
priesthood
– Commoners who worked as
farmers, fishermen, craftsmen,
and warriors
– Slaves
• Religion: Polytheistic
• Warlike group that conquered
all surrounding tribes Wku.edu
Built complex
temples that Created
were aligned accurate
based on the calendars
movements of based on the
the sun and wikipedia sun
moon

Compare the Aztecs

Aztec
to the Maya
Achievements
Calendar SFA.edu

UNM.edu Sacrificed
humans to
Built a large
their main
empire with a
god, the Sun
complex
god. Sacrifice
government
was need to
structure and
keep the
large cities
universe in
wikimedia motion
 The Inca Empire (122-1535)
• Present day Peru,
Ecuador, Bolivia, and
Chile
• Terrace farmed and
grew potatoes and
other root crops
• Raised llamas and
alpacas for food, wool,
and transportation
Uncp.edu
 Machu Picchu
Built Excellent
thousands of engineers that
miles of roads built buildings
to connect the out of fitted
empire stones

How are the

Incas different
from other
Neolithic
Inca
Civilizations
Achievements
you have
Built a large Used a system
empire that
studied? of knotted and
covers present colored ropes
day Peru, (quipu) for
Ecuador, communicatio
Bolivia, and n instead of
Chile writing
Inca Quipu Larco Museum Collection
 Pre Columbian Art

La balsa Muisca (The Muisca raft), a pre-Columbian Aztec jade mask depicting the god
Carved Mayan flint
gold sculpture representing the Muisca´s offerings of Xipe Totec
dagger.
gold.

Describe Pre-
Columbian art
based on these
works of art.

The Aztec
goddess
Coatlicue, mother
Inca Jar Mayan jade mask of earth.
Women’s Roles in Mesoamerica
• Women:
– Harvested grains
– Prepared food (made maize into flour)
– Cared for livestock
– Cared for children and home
– Some sold goods in markets
– Some were artisans
– Some worked as priestesses
 Lesson Suggestions
• The Empire of the Americas Activity
• Nystrom Atlas Activity 40: Olmec and
Maya Civilizations
• Nystrom Atlas Activity 42: Aztec Empire
• Nystrom Atlas Activity 43: Inca Empire
The Columbian Exchange

Jarett Publishing
 Why the Interest in Exploration?
• Asia
– Marco Polo’s writings
sparked European interest in
Asia
– Asian goods, especially
spices and silk, were sought
after in Europe
– The Silk Road was cut off by
the Ottoman Turks
• Renaissance:
– A new spirit of inquiry arose
– Europeans wanted to explore
the oceans Caravel: TAMU.edu
– New technology allowed for
better navigation, especially What impact did the
the compass and triangular
lateen sail Ottoman Empire have on
European Exploration?
 The Age of Discovery
• Both Spain and Portugal wanted
to establish trade with Asia and
financed overseas exploration
• Spain’s Rulers, Ferdinand and
Isabella:
– Captured the Muslim areas of Spain
– Expelled Spain’s Jewish Community
– Reunited all of Spain under Christian
Rule
– Sough to spread Christianity across
the world Ferdinand and Isabella
• Portugal wedding portrait, unknown
artist
– Prince Henry developed a lighter
sailing ship
– He sponsored expeditions along the
Why would European
coast of Africa monarchs spend so
much money on
exploration?
 Christopher Columbus (1451-1506)

• Sea Captain from Why would Columbus risk his

Genoa, Italy life to find a new trade route?
• Sailed west in 3 ships
in hopes of finding a
quicker route to Asia
• Sponsored by the
King and Queen of
Spain
• Found instead the
Americas
• This new land brought
riches and raw
materials to Europe
 The Columbian Exchange
• Goods from America • Goods from Europe to
to Europe: America:
– Tomatoes – Wheat
– Corn – Sugar
– Potatoes – Cattle
– Peppers – Horses
– Squash – Pigs
– Pineapples – Sheep
– Chocolate – Chickens
– Tobacco – Grains
– Turkey
 What other items might
have been exchanged
Wikipedia.com besides food and
animals?
How is this
map
different
from the
previous
one?
 Later Explorers
• Vasco de Gama (1460-
1524):
– Portuguese
– Discovered an all water
route to India
– Sailed around the tip of
Africa in 1497
What dangers might
• Ferdinand Megellan these men have faced in
(1480-1521): these voyages?
– Portuguese
– 1st to sail around the
world (1519)
 Other Explorers
• England:
– John Cabot: claimed parts of
North America
• France:
– Jacques Cartier: explored the
St. Lawrence River
– Samuel Chaplain: explored the
Great Lakes area
– Robert de la Salle: explored the
Mississippi River
• Dutch:
– Henry Hudson: explored
Hudson Bay and Hudson River
looking for a “Northwest
Passage” to Asia
 Lesson Suggestions
• Explorers Activity
• Nystrom Atlas Activity 44: Europeans
Explore and Settle in the Americas
The Conquest of the Americas

wikipedia
 The Conquest of Mexico
• 1519: Hernando Cortez
sailed from Cuba to
Mexico.
• The Aztecs first thought
the Spanish were gods
• 1521 Cortez attacked the
Aztecs with the help of
other Native Americans.
• The Aztecs were
defeated mainly because
a smallpox epidemic had
broke out and killed many
of them. The Aztecs surrender to
Based on what you know Cortex, The British Library
about the Aztecs, why would The caption means “Now the
other tribes help Cortez? Mexica (Aztecs) were finished.”
 The Conquest of Peru
• 1530 Francisco Pizarro left
Panama to conquer the Incas.
• The Incas just had a civil war.
• The Spanish pretended to be
friendly and ambushed and killed
the emperor. Spain won because
of their superior technology.
• In 1533 Pizarro captured the Inca
capital.
• The Spanish forced the Inca to What advantages in
become Christian and were used Conquistador fighting the Incas
technology did the
as a labor force. Spanish have over the
American natives?
 Colonial Latin America
• Latin America= blend of
European and Native
American culture
• Government: Viceroys
(governor) ruled each Spanish
province.
• Spanish born citizens filled
most positions in the
government and military.
• Gold and silver from the
Americas was shipped back to
Spain. This made Spain the What problems in
strongest European power. governing such a
large territory might
the Spanish have
faced?
ushistory.com
 Colonial Society
• Conquistadors:
(Spanish Nobles)
owned the land
• Native Americans:
worked the land
• Priests: tried to
convert the Indians to
Christianity and keep
them from becoming
slaves
 Colonial Society
• After a while this social order
developed:
• Noble officials and
landowners born in Spain
(peninsulares): head of
colonial society

• Spanish people born in the

New World (creoles)

• Mixed Spanish and Native

American people (mestizos)
What observations do
• Native Americans (did most you have about this
of the hard work) social structure?
 New France
• Canada and along Great
Lakes down the
Mississippi River
• French missionaries tried
to convert the Indians
• By end of 17th century the
territory covered 3/4th of
North America
• Sent animal skins and
pelts back to France to
make hats
How might the population of
New France create problems
for the ruling government?
 New Netherlands
• Around present-day New
York
• Traded with native
peoples
• Colony was controlled by
Dutch West India
Company
• New Amsterdam (New
York City) had a good
harbor and became the
center for trade. The coastline claimed by New
Netherland and some settlements
shown relative to modern borders.
wikipedia
 The English Colonies
• 1607: English
established
Jamestown in Virginia
• 1620: Pilgrims
establish colony in
Massachusetts
• 1630: The Puritans
settle near the
Pilgrims
• Eventually 13
colonies arose along
the Atlantic coast
 The Atlantic Slave Trade
• Disease killed
many Native
Americans
• A new labor force
was needed in
the New World
• In Africa
conquering tribes
sold their
captives to the Based on the map, which
Europeans European power
acquired the most
African slaves?
 The Atlantic Slave Trade
• 15 million Africans
were enslaved
• 11 million went to
Spanish colonies
• Many died coming
across the Atlantic in
what has become
known as the “Middle
Passage.”
 Disrupted African
Encouraged African
Culture:
Warfare:
destroyed Africa’s
captured slaves were
culture and heritage
traded for guns, rum,
and led to violence,
and other manufactured
bitterness, and social
goods
upheaval

Legacy of the
Transatlantic Slave
Trade on Africa

Increased Cultural
Diffusion: How has African
ideas, good, and culture effected
cultures were American society
exchanged in Africa and culture?
and the Americas
 Lesson Suggestions
• Conquering the Americas Activity
• Nystrom Atlas Activity 45: Three Worlds
Meet