Olmec and Maya
What were the two things the Olmecs are most known for?
Arts and Carvings (Stone Heads)
Tenochtitlan
True or False. The conquistadors actively worked to convert the people to Islam.
False- Christianity, specifically Catholic
What is the word that describes many indigenous religious beliefs that there are many gods?
Polytheistic/Polytheism
Explain what a conquistador is and how that is different from migration and missionaries.
A conquistador is someone sent from a wealthy country to explore and gain land and resources for the sending country. This is different from migration because it is coming into a new place with force and not assimilating to local culture. This is different from missionaries because although there was some effort to bring Catholicism, it was done in a forceful manner.
True or False. The Maya created a phonetic writing system, advanced for the region and time.
True
Name the main language of the Aztec and then name the language of the Inca.
Nahuatl= Aztec
Quechua= Inca
What is the Treaty of Tordesillas?
The agreement between Spain and Portugal determining where each country could conquest and control in the Americas. *note that the natives had no say in this
What is Tlachtli and Pok-a-tok?
The ancient rubber ball sports game played by many indigenous groups. Each had their own name/some unique rules to the way it was played.
Define cultural borrowing and cultural hearth and explain with at least two examples of how it is seen with the early civilizations.
Cultural borrowing is where a civilization or people group borrows ideas, lifestlye...etc from another preexisting group. The cultural hearth is a term used for the origin of the ideas. In this unit, an example was the Olmec people which originated the idea of the calendar and nature religious practices. The following civilizations, like the Maya, adopted many similar ideas and expanded on them.
What was the image/animal associated with Olmec religion?
Jaguar-god of rain
Which was a bigger civilization, Aztec or Inca?
Inca
How were the Spanish successful in their conquest despite being outnumbered?
They had horses, better weapons, more unified, and immunity to European diseases (like smallpox)
Define revolution
a political movement in which the people overthrow the government and set up another
Explain the impact of geography and natural resources on the life of the indigenous people. How did they manage the resources, what innovations came out of it and what happened when they weren’t used well?
The civilizations depended on natural resources for their life. The Aztec built the capital city on Lake Texcoco and created a lake farming system. The Inca were able to terrace their land in the mountains for better farming practices. The Mayan disappearance is likely because of overuse of natural resources that could no longer sustain their civilization. The Olmec and Maya also invented the calendar as a way to monitor and explain seasons for better farming/anticipate flooding.
What was an important aspect of Mayan culture/religion that inspired scientific and technological advances?
to understand the gods through astrology
Describe the Aztec religion
They were polytheistic. There were 5 creation attempts and the only way to successfully run the earth was when the gods sacrificed themselves. However, the people also needed to provide human sacrifices to keep the gods happy and the world in balance. The creator god made humans by collecting bones, however, he tripped and that is why people are all different sizes.
What are some key ingredients in setting up for a revolution and independence?
unfair treatment or unhappiness, educated and privileged people who take inspiration and opportunity
Plantation owned by Spainards or the Catholic church
Hacienda
Describe the independence of a region of Latin America. How was it possible, who did it involve? Where did they get inspiration from?
You need unfairness or unhappiness and then an opportunity to change that. Miguel Hildago = Mexico and the cry of Dolores. He was eventually executed but inspired the revolution after influence from the west. Simon Bolivar was educated, wealthy, and respected which allowed him to gain power and fight for independence, winning much of South America Jose de San Martin served in the Spanish army and was successful due to his military surprise tactics, won much of South America as well. The Criolles (Spanish descent, born in LA, mestizos, and natives were important players)
Describe the collapse of the Olmec and Mayan civilizations.
Olmec likely just assimilated into larger or different groups and their ideas lived on through groups to come later. They left behind significant stone head statues.
Mayan collapse is unknown. However, they stopped building and deserted their civilization. Likely as a result of natural resource exploitation and migration.
Name the 5 modern day countries in which the Incan empire across.
Who was involved in the conquest and independence of the region? How did it happen? What were some of the effects?
Hernan Cortes= Aztec
Franscico Pizarro= Inca
Came in semi-peacefully and found translators but used their power and influence to take over. Eventually spread smallpox and used their weapons for violence. Also actively brought in Spanish monks to convert and killed anyone who refused. Left the indigenous captive and with distain towards Europeans.
Describe the difference between indigenous, mestizo, and criollo.
Indigenous = native (olmec, maya, aztec, inca)
Mestizo= mix of native and European descent
Criollo= European descent, born in Latin America
Describe one of the early indigenous civilizations according to the 6 strands of social studies. Make sure to have at least 1 piece of information for each category.
geography, history, economy, demographics, government, culture
Olmec
Maya
Aztec
Inca