Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By Jose Rosario
Page 88
1. The First Americas may have arrived
to the Americans as early as 22,000 years
ago.
a. Ice glaciers had frozen vast quantities of the
Earth’s water, lowering the sea levels.
b. This exposed a land bridge between Asia
and Alaska.
c. Hunters and food gathers crossed this land
bridge into North America.
The North American Ice Cap
covered from Greenland to
Alabama.
The Last Great Migration
The First
American Face
Native Americans
came in different
waves:
a) Northern Asia
b) Japanese Islands
c) South Pacific
Islanders
d) Northern
Europe
Theories About How the First Groups
Came to the Americas
2. Experts believe that people came by
foot evidence says that they were big
time hunters.
a. According to their
legends, the Aztec's place
of origin was Aztlán.
b. It is generally thought
that Aztlán was
somewhere to the north
of the Valley of Mexico;
some experts have
placed it as far north as
the Southwestern United
States.
2. It appears that the Mexicans arrived at
Chapultepec in or around the year 1248 AD.
a. At the time of their arrival, the Valley of Mexico contained
many city-states, like Culhuacan & Azcapotzalco.
b. According to Aztec legend, the Aztecs were shown a vision of
an eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus, clutching a snake
in its talons.
c. This vision indicated that this was the location where they
were to build their home.
d. The Aztecs arrived on a small swampy island in Lake Texcoco
where they founded the town of Tenochtitlan in 1325.
e. In 1376, the Mexicas elected their first Huey Tlatoani,
Acamapichtli, who was living in Texcoco at the time.
3. The Aztecs is a collective term used for all of the Pre-
Columbian Mesoamerican peoples under the
control of the Mexica, founders of Tenochtitlan, &
their two principal allies, who built an extensive
empire in the late Post-classic period in the 14th, 15th
& 16th centuries in Central Mexico.
4. The nucleus of the Aztec Empire was the Valley of
Mexico, where their capital Tenochtitlan was built
upon raised islets in Lake Texcoco.
a. After the 1521 conquest of Tenochtitlan by Spanish
forces and their allies which brought about the
effective end of Aztec dominion,
b. The Spanish founded the new settlement of Mexico
City on the site of the now-ruined Aztec capital.
c. The capital of the modern-day nation of Mexico,
the greater metropolitan area of Mexico City now
covers much of the Valley of Mexico and the now-
drained Lake of Texcoco.
5. Aztec culture had rich & complex
mythological & religious traditions.
a. For Europeans, the most striking element of the
Aztec culture was the practice of human sacrifice
which was conducted throughout Mesoamerica
prior to the Spanish conquest.
b. While human sacrifice was practiced throughout
Mesoamerica, under the Aztecs this practice to an
unprecedented level. Ex., for the reconsecration of
Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, the Aztecs
reported that they sacrificed 84,400 prisoners in
four days,.
Human Sacrificed
The Incas
By Jose Rosario
The Inca Empire
The Incas
1. The Incas had various origin myths. These myths
have been transmitted via oral tradition, since the
Incas did not develop writing.
2. The Inca people began as a tribe in the Cuzco
area around the 12th century.
a. Under the leadership of Manco Capac, they formed
the small city-state of Cuzco.
b. In 1438 they began a far-reaching expansion under
the command of Sapa Inca Pachacuti.
c. Pachacuti reorganized the kingdom into an empire, a
federalist system which consisted of a central
government with the Inca at its head
d. Pachacuti sent spies to regions he wanted in his
empire; they brought reports on the political
organization, military might & wealth.
3. The most powerful figure in the empire was
the Sapa Inca ('the unique Inca').
a. Only descendants of the original Inca tribe
ever ascended to the level of Inca.
b. Most young members of the Inca's family
attended Yachay Wasis (houses of knowledge)
to obtain their education.
c. There were separate chains of command for
both the military and religious institutions,
which created a system of partial checks and
balances on power.
4. Architecture was by far the most important of the
Inca arts, with pottery and textiles reflecting motifs
that were at their height in architecture.
a. The breathtaking site of Machu Picchu was
constructed by Inca engineers.
b. Amaranth was one of the staple foods of the Incas,
and it is known as kiwicha in the Andes today.
c. Native Americans were responsible for some of the
world’s most prolific crops, including tomatoes,
peppers, lima beans, ancient ancestors to modern
squash and, most importantly, the potato.
d. Maize (Corn) was also deeply integrated into Inca
agriculture and daily life.