Pre-Columbian America Chapter 4 PDF

Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America INFLUENCES: Middle America GEOGRAPHICAL & CLIMATIC ❑ The important areas were Central Mexico,...

Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America INFLUENCES: Middle America GEOGRAPHICAL & CLIMATIC ❑ The important areas were Central Mexico, including part of the Gulf of Mexico Coast and the Oaxaca region and the territories comprising the Yucatan Peninsula, Southern Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. ❑ Climatically these have little in common, ❑ For thousands of years, this area was the dry high plains of the former populated by groups such as the contrasting with the tropical conditions Olmec, Zapotec, Maya, Toltec, and and impenetrable rain forests of the Aztec peoples. latter.  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America INFLUENCES: GEOLOGICAL ❑ Both regions have excellent building stone: in Northern Yucatan, limestone which could be easily worked or burnt for lime; and in Mexico volcanic rock of various types, including 'tezontle’ a porous stone ranging in color from black to crimson, much favored by the Aztec builders from early times, throughout ❑ TEZONTLE – a porous, highly middle America, adobe brick made from oxidized, volcanic rock used sundried clay was widely used, as it continues extensively in construction in Mexico. It is usually reddish in color to be today, and the forests of the Southeast due to iron oxide. furnished excellent hardwoods.  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America INFLUENCES: HISTORICAL, SOCIAL & RELIGIOUS ❑ The earliest civilization the Olmec, grew up on the gulf coast in the first millennium BC and extended its influence into Guatemala to the South and Oaxaca region of Mexico to the West. ❑ OLMEC – Derived from the Nahuatl ❑ From it developed the great Maya (Aztec) word “Olmecatl”, which means culture of the Yucatan region, which at “inhabitant of the rubber country”, least as early as 600 BC and is usually Olmec is a reference to the rubber broken down into three phase: Pre- production in the area where many of Classic, until 100 AD; Classic 100-900 AD the artifacts have been found. and Post Classic 900-1525 AD.  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America INFLUENCES: HISTORICAL, SOCIAL & RELIGIOUS ❑ About 100 B.C. another important civilization came into being on the Mexican plateau at Teotihuacan which reached its peak between 150-350 A.D. then the Toltec founded nearby a new center, Tula or Tollan and ❑ The Toltecs had roots in the Tolteca-Chichimeca extended their influence people, who, during the 9th century, had through Central Mexico and migrated from the deserts of the north-west to into Maya territory. Culhuacan in the Valley of Mexico.  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America INFLUENCES: HISTORICAL, SOCIAL & RELIGIOUS ❑ Tula was overthrown about 1170 and was subjected to a series of invasions until the arrival of the Aztec people in the 14th century. ❑ The latter founded the twin capitals of Tenochtitlan and ❑ AZTEC – derived from Aztlán (variously Tlatelolco on the site of present translated as “White Land,” “Land of White -day Mexico City. Herons,” or “Place of Herons”), an allusion to their origins, probably in northwestern Mexico. Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America INFLUENCES: HISTORICAL, SOCIAL & RELIGIOUS ❑ Throughout the region the most important gods were those representing natural ❑ Quetzalcoatl, phenomena the sun, moon, or “Feathered rain, and corn. Serpent,” was ❑ The Toltecs worshipped an important Quetzalcoatl, the feathered god to the ancient serpent, and probably people of introduced human sacrifice, Mesoamerica. which later characterized the Aztec religion.  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America INFLUENCES: HISTORICAL, SOCIAL & RELIGIOUS ❑ Maize was staple food, but without domestic animals its cultivation was difficult and required an enormous labor force. ❑ Great armies of workmen were necessary to raise the pyramids and other monuments which dominated ❑ Maize was domesticated from teosinte, the religious centers, building feats the a wild grass growing in the lower more remarkable since neither the reaches of the Balsas River Valley of wheel nor pulley system was known. Central Mexico, around 9,000 years ago.  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America AZTEC CLASS SOCIETY: INFLUENCES: HISTORICAL, SOCIAL & RELIGIOUS ❑ Broadly speaking, the structure of middle American societies was based on a powerful ruling priesthood, supported by a large peasant or slave population and in essentials was similar to that of ancient Egypt. ❑ Aztec society was relatively complex and organized in a number of distinct and separate classes-priests, warriors, merchants craftsmen and serfs-and ruled by a priest-King with absolute powers, elected from the royal family by a council of priests and warriors.  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America INFLUENCES: ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER ❑ The most important building type in this region was the Temple pyramid. ❑ The temple building itself which surmounted the pyramid was a relatively small structure derived from the house form and serving as the "house of the god.” ❑ Entered by a single door, it consisted of Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacan, Mexico one or two windowless chambers and in 200 AD – the name Pyramid of the Sun Maya examples was crowned externally by comes from the Aztecs, who visited the city a high roof-crest or comb. of Teotihuacan centuries after it was ❑ Mexican examples had tall false fronts of abandoned; the name given to the pyramid wood, decorated with symbols connected by the Teotihuacanos is unknown. with the god of the temple.  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America INFLUENCES: ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER ❑ The truncated pyramid base, which formed the main part of the structures, was stepped and terraced in a variety of ways, and was bearer in form and purpose to the Mesopotamian Ziggurat than the Egyptian tomb pyramid. ❑ Early examples were built of clay reinforced with large stones, and unusual in its circular plan more elaborate forms were Truncated Pyramid – the part that is left developed at Teotihuacan and in the Maya when a cone or pyramid is cut by a plane centers, where richly carved vertical panels parallel to the base and the apical part is of stone separating the terraces now removed. increased in number. Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America TEMPLE OF THE FEATHERED SERPENT, TEOTIHUACAN ❑ The Temple of the Feathered Serpent is located at the southern end of the Avenue of the Dead, Teotihuacan's main thoroughfare, within the Ciudadela complex. ❑ The Ciudadela (Spanish, "citadel") is a structure with high walls and a large courtyard surrounding the temple. ❑ The Feathered Serpent Pyramid is a six-level step pyramid built in the talud-tablero style. ❑ The Temple of the Feathered Serpent was not only a religious center but also a political center. ❑ The rulers of Teotihuacán were not only the leaders of men; they were also the spiritual leaders of the city. Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America TIKAL TEMPLE I ❑ Tikal Temple I is the designation given to one of the major structures at Tikal, one of the largest cities and archaeological sites of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization in Mesoamerica. ❑ It is located in the Petén Basin region of northern Guatemala. ❑ It also is known as the Temple of the Great Jaguar because of a lintel that represents a king sitting upon a jaguar throne. ❑ An alternative name is the Temple of Ah Cacao, after the ruler buried in the temple. ❑ The temple rises in nine stepped levels, which may be symbolic of the nine levels of the underworld. ❑ The temple rises 55 meters (180 ft) over the Great Plaza.  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America TEMPLE OF THE WARRIORS ❑ The Temple of the Warriors is a 40 feet high and 133 feet wide structure. The central temple shows bas-reliefs of warriors, eagles and jaguars devouring human hearts. ❑ The Temple of the Warriors is one of the most impressive and important structures at Chichen Itza. ❑ The temple consists of four platforms, flanked on the south and CHICHEN ITZA, Tinúm Municipality, Yucatán west sides by 200 round and square State, Mexico was a large pre-Columbian city columns. built by the Maya people of the Terminal Classic ❑ This temple encases or entombs a period. former structure called The Temple of the Chac Mool.  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America TEMPLE OF THE WARRIORS ❑ A CHAC-MOOL is a form of pre- Columbian Mesoamerican sculpture depicting a reclining figure with its head facing 90 degrees from the front, supporting itself on its elbows and supporting a bowl or a disk upon its stomach. ❑ These figures possibly symbolized slain warriors carrying offerings to the There are two carved pillars just behind the Chac gods; the bowl upon the chest was Mool which represent Kukulcán. The voracious used to hold sacrificial offerings. serpent has its mouth open and is adorned with rattles.  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America TEMPLE OF KUKULCAN ❑ a Mesoamerican step-pyramid that dominates the center of the Chichen Itza archaeological site in the Mexican state of Yucatán. ❑ Built by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization sometime between the 8th and 12th centuries AD, the pyramid served as a temple to the deity Kukulcán, the Yucatec Maya Feathered Serpent deity closely related to Quetzalcoatl, a deity The structure is 24 m (79 ft) high, plus an known to the Aztecs and other additional 6 m (20 ft) for the temple at the top. central Mexican cultures of the The square base measures 55.3 m (181 ft) across. Postclassic period.  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America PALACE OF THE GOVERNORS ❑ The facade of the building is 8.5 m high and is divided into two deep horizontal bands. ❑ The lower of these is of plain ashlar masonry punctuated by eleven rectangular door openings, each With an undecorated architrave set back from the wall face. ❑ The upper band, approximately the height of the vaults behind, project Has a one-storey building measuring 98 m x 11.9 m over the lower band and is decorated standing on high base of a central mass linked by great with intricate patterns in relief triangular corbelled arches to smaller blocks on either reminiscent of woven designs. side, and contains twenty chambers, all covered by corbelled vaults.  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America TENOCHTITLAN ❑ Was a large Mexica altepetl in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear. ❑ The city was the capital of the expanding Aztec Empire in the 15th century until it was captured by the Spanish in 1521. ❑ The ancient capital of the Aztecs, Tenochtitlan stood 8,000 ft. above sea level in a landscape of a bare The plaza probably contained temples to the gods volcanic mountains and forested of the rain, the winds and the sun, as well as to valleys. The sacred center, the Great Huitzilopochtu, the tribal god of the Aztecs. Plaza of Tenochtitlan, now lies under His temple is at the summit of the largest pyramid. Mexico City. Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America INFLUENCES: Peru GEOGRAPHICAL, GEOLOGICAL & CLIMATIC ❑ Physically the region falls into two sections; the great mountain range of the Andes, and between it and the Pacific, a narrow coastal strip in place no wider than 96 km (60 miles) rising rapidly to the east of the coastal strip, the Andes provide some of the wildest and most desolate in the world. ❑ The mountains are cut deeply by gages and steep valleys, fertile pockets in an otherwise bleak and rocky wilderness. Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America INFLUENCES: Peru GEOGRAPHICAL, GEOLOGICAL & CLIMATIC ❑ In the coastal region, adobe Black Andesite Diorite Porphyry brick was the basic building material, even for the largest structures in the highlands, three types of stone were in general use for important buildings: black andesite, Yucay limestone and diorite porphyry. Yucay Limestone  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America INFLUENCES: Peru HISTORICAL, SOCIAL & RELIGIOUS ❑ Relatively advanced civilizations existed in Peru before the first B.C. ❑ The influence at Tiahuanaco, especially in religious matters, was great and extended throughout Peru, providing a sense of political and religious unity in the area which continued after the collapse of the center in the eleventh century. ❑ The Inca people of the central highlands settled in the Cusco basin, where they founded their capital for some two centuries the Inca waged war against neighboring tribes until their superiority was conclusively established in the fifteenth century. ❑ Invading the coastal region, they conquered the powerful CHIMU and eventually extended their empire into central Chile to the South, and Southern Columbia to the North.  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America INFLUENCES: Peru HISTORICAL, SOCIAL & RELIGIOUS ❑ Under the Incas, religion and the state were interdependent, the Inca himself being supposedly related to the all powerful sun god. ❑ The Inca governed as an absolute ruler, with below him a series of nobles, members of the royal family and the rulers of states within the empire. ❑ The system was extremely rigid, yet through it an enormous area was controlled which, on the arrival of Pizzaro's Spanish expedition in 1532, extended from North to South for some 4,000 km (12,500 miles).  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America INFLUENCES: Peru ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER ❑ Adobe brick, was the basic building material in the coastal region, and with it, great structures like the Temple of the Sun at Moche and the fortress at Paramonga built. The Temples of the Sun & Moon, together ❑ Roofs were sometimes gabled, openings known as the Temples of Moche, are kept to a minimum and generally the found just over three miles south of architecture was one of strong simple Trujillo. These two pyramid-like adobe structures were constructed by the forms. mysterious Moche people, who ruled the ❑ Adobe bricks were made in a variety of northern coast of Peru between A.D. 100 8hapes at different periods and included and 800. conical, hemispherical and cubic forms.  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America GATE OF THE SUN ❑ A monolith carved in the form of an arch or gateway at the site of Tiahuanaco by the Tiwanaku culture, an Andean civilization of Bolivia that thrived around Lake Titicaca in the Andes of western South America around 500-950 CE. ❑ The Gate of the Sun is approximately 9.8 ft (3.0 m) tall and 13 ft (4.0 m) The carvings that decorate the gate are believed to possess astronomical and/or wide, and was carved from a single astrological significance and may have served a piece of stone. calendrical purpose. ❑ Its weight is estimated to be 10 tons.  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America MACHU PICHU ❑ Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is the most familiar icon of Inca civilization. ❑ The Incas built the estate around 1450 but abandoned it a century later, at the time of the Spanish conquest. ❑ Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry- stone walls. Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel ❑ Its three primary structures are the located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, on a 2,430-meter (7,970 ft) mountain ridge. and the Room of the Three Windows. Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America  Chapter 4: Pre-Columbian America SACSAYHUAMÁN ❑ A citadel on the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco, Peru, the historic capital of the Inca Empire. ❑ The complex was built by the Inca in the 15th century, particularly under Pachacuti and successors. They built dry stone walls constructed of huge stones. The workers carefully cut the boulders to fit them together tightly without mortar. The site is at an altitude of 3,701 m (12,142 ft).