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NING Project 5 #1

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This document provides an overview of the two major civilizations in the Americas in 1491: the Incas and the Mexica (Aztecs). It notes that these empires had risen to power in the century before Columbus' arrival, and were the latest in a long line of cultures in Mesoamerica and the Andes dating back 4000 years. The document outlines some of the major pre-Columbian civilizations like the Olmecs, Zapotecs, and Teotihuacan, noting their advances in agriculture, architecture, and communications, as well as their development of writing, one of only two independent inventions of writing in human history.

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When Worlds Collide the new world before contact a power point presentation by J.Q. Hammer
The 2 Great Civilizations • In 1491, two great civilizations ruled large parts of the New World: the Incas in the Andes Mountains of Peru and the Mexica, or the Triple Alliance, in Mesoamerica, a region running from Central Mexico south to Honduras. • These cultures both had strong leaders driven to expand their empires, had swiftly conquered neighboring lands, and had built large, beautiful capitals to reflect their power and grandeur.
Dominance • As the Incas and the Mexica were in 1491, they had only become pre-eminent in the century before Columbus. • They were the latest in a 4000- year long line of cultures that arose, reached their peaks, and declined or disappeared as a result of conquest, changes in climate and weather conditions, destruction of their environments, or internal divisions.
The Ways of the Ancients • From Norte Chico, the first urban complex in the Americas, begun around 3000 BC, to the Olmecs (1200 - 200 BC) who created the first cities in North America and the Zapotec (600 BC - 800 AD) who developed writing around 600 BC , a number of civilizations were long gone by the time the Spanish landed. • In their wake, these societies left tantalizing clues to their lifestyles and belief systems: great pyramids, enormous earthen mounds, and ruins of sophisticated aqueducts and ritual centers that would not be discovered or begin to be scientifically analyzed until the 20th century.
The Heart of Invention • Since 1800 BC, Mesoamerica was the homeland of a series of developing cultures responsible for significant advances in agriculture, architecture, and communications. • The Olmecs, Zapotecs, Toltecs, and Teotihuacan were just a few of the civilizations that flourished there as people abandoned pure hunter/gatherer lifestyles and began to live communally in villages and cities. • They created pottery, artwork, and spiritual belief sets; developed intricate political and religious structures; established markets and trade; and domesticated plants and cultivated crops. • They also invented writing, one of only two indisputable times in human history that writing was invented independently. T • The people of Mesoamerica created many systems of pictorial writing and at least two full writing systems.

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NING Project 5 #1

  • 1. When Worlds Collide the new world before contact a power point presentation by J.Q. Hammer
  • 2. The 2 Great Civilizations • In 1491, two great civilizations ruled large parts of the New World: the Incas in the Andes Mountains of Peru and the Mexica, or the Triple Alliance, in Mesoamerica, a region running from Central Mexico south to Honduras. • These cultures both had strong leaders driven to expand their empires, had swiftly conquered neighboring lands, and had built large, beautiful capitals to reflect their power and grandeur.
  • 3. Dominance • As the Incas and the Mexica were in 1491, they had only become pre-eminent in the century before Columbus. • They were the latest in a 4000- year long line of cultures that arose, reached their peaks, and declined or disappeared as a result of conquest, changes in climate and weather conditions, destruction of their environments, or internal divisions.
  • 4. The Ways of the Ancients • From Norte Chico, the first urban complex in the Americas, begun around 3000 BC, to the Olmecs (1200 - 200 BC) who created the first cities in North America and the Zapotec (600 BC - 800 AD) who developed writing around 600 BC , a number of civilizations were long gone by the time the Spanish landed. • In their wake, these societies left tantalizing clues to their lifestyles and belief systems: great pyramids, enormous earthen mounds, and ruins of sophisticated aqueducts and ritual centers that would not be discovered or begin to be scientifically analyzed until the 20th century.
  • 5. The Heart of Invention • Since 1800 BC, Mesoamerica was the homeland of a series of developing cultures responsible for significant advances in agriculture, architecture, and communications. • The Olmecs, Zapotecs, Toltecs, and Teotihuacan were just a few of the civilizations that flourished there as people abandoned pure hunter/gatherer lifestyles and began to live communally in villages and cities. • They created pottery, artwork, and spiritual belief sets; developed intricate political and religious structures; established markets and trade; and domesticated plants and cultivated crops. • They also invented writing, one of only two indisputable times in human history that writing was invented independently. T • The people of Mesoamerica created many systems of pictorial writing and at least two full writing systems.