Age of European Exploration
Native American Civilizations
NORTH AMERICA
1. Pueblos – Indians who lived in Southern part of US
• Pueblo means town
• They lived in small villages
Cliff dwellers
adobe
2. Plains Indians
• Lived in tepees
• Hunted elk, buffalo and antelope
3. Eastern Indians
• Consisted of three different Indian groups
Mound Builders
• Built earthen mounds
• Some were grave sites, temples, or effigy mounds
• Effigy mound – mound in the shape of an animal or object
Alligator
Serpent
• Lived in wooden structures covered with animal skins
Iroquois Confederacy
• One of the most powerful groups in North America
• Very savage
• Ate parts of their enemies to gain some of fallen warriors courage
Five Civilized Tribes
• Maintained peaceful relations with other tribes and adopted many colonial customs
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
Mayas
• Lived in central America in the Yucatan Peninsula
• Developed a calendar
• Superior form of writing
• Were accomplished mathematicians and astronomers
Maya Religion
• Built pyramids that were temples
• Offered human sacrifices to please their gods
• They couldn’t unite to fight against their enemies
AztecsThey lived in Central America
• Built their capital on Tenochtitlan
Tenochtitlan
• Characterized by war and warriors
• People captured in war were sacrificed to satisfy their gods
• They worshipped many gods
• Sacrificed humans
• Quetzalcoatl was one of their gods that once lived on Earth
• Had a judicial system where serious crimes were punishable by death
Incas
Lived along coast in South America
• Cuzco was the capital
• Said to be covered with sheets of gold to remind them of their sun god
• The “Inca” was the king and made all important decisions for his people
• Produced passive followers
• Made animal sacrifices, but no human ones
Ch. 7 Sec. 1Discussion Question
1. What were some societal, religious, and
cultural distinctives of the Mayas, Aztecs,
and Incas?