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?