Chavin Nazca Moche Inca Early Civilizations of the

Chavin Nazca Moche Inca

Early Civilizations of the Andes

Settlements on the Coastal Plains • Modern day Peru • Between the mountains and ocean lies a harsh desert with river valleys • Relied on hunting, gathering, seafood, and small game…later developed farming and began to thrive

The Chavin Period • 1 st influential civilization…not on the coast but in the mountains! • 900 BCE to 200 BCE • Chavin de Huantar positioned on a trade route Named after the ancient ruin, Chavin de Huantar. Ruins above, model below

Images of jaguars and birds were carved into the stone walls!

The Chavin Period • Little evidence of political or economic organization, were primarily a religious civilization • Pyramids, plazas, and earthen mounds, oh my! • “Mother Culture” of Andean Masters of metallurgy

The Chavin Period • Diffusion of culture: pilgrims would visit impressive temples and bring back customs to their communities • Water canals beneath temples made a roaring sound…thought to be jaguar spirit

• Deities depicted with fangs and feline qualities • Lanzón: 15 foot tall stele depicting possible main deity

The Chavin Period • Decline: After 300 years, the demise is unknown • People scattered, building of temples halted • Region divides into small communities independent of each other

Time Out! • Why was Peru a difficult place for a civilization to develop? • What can you predict about early societies in Peru? • How do you think Chavin sustained an economy if most people were pilgrims? • How was the Chavin civ like the Olmec civ?

The Nazca Period • Flourishing as the Chavin were declining: 200 CE to 600 CE Nazca in RED • Along the southern coast of Peru The tectonic plate named after them created the Andes! • Known for their beautiful textiles and pottery: featured animals and mythical beings

The Nazca Period • This area is extremely dry therefor they established extensive irrigation systems, including underground canals

The Nazca Period • Cahuachi: the major religious center built where river flows above ground so they could worship the creators of the water supply. • Ventilla: residential city of the Nazca where people lived and worked Religious center for ceremony, not living and working

The Nazca Period: Trophy Heads

The Nazca Period: Nazca Lines What the heck? ! They were first discovered by the Peruvian archaeologist Toribio Mejia Xesspe, who spotted them when hiking through the foothills in 1927

The Nazca Period: Nazca Lines **NAT GEO!** http: //natgeotv. com/ca/ nasca-lines-decoded VIEW MORE! http: //2010 fall. blog. ntu. e du. tw/2010/12/15/thistime-not-for-africa-nazca -lines/

Nazca Lines: One of the Theories • Alien Theory: Swiss writer Erich Von Daniken claimed in the 1960 s that advanced beings from outer space traveled to Earth in spaceships thousands of years ago. They reproduced with the ape-like ancestors of humans, thus creating modern human beings. These aliens built many monuments, such as Stonehenge, the pyramids in Egypt, and the Mayan temples in Mesoamerica. The Nazca lines were runways for the space gods as they arrived and departed. Reasoning the lines are too straight to not do from the air.

The Nazca Period • Decline Theories: • Possible natural disaster • Drastic weather changes • Overwhelmed by neighboring people

Time Out! • How did the environment of the Andes region differ from Mesoamerica? • Speculate the reason for the Nazca lines.

The Moche Period • Meanwhile, on the northern coast of Peru, The Moche were reaching great heights • 100 CE to 700 CE • Took advantage of the rivers that flowed from the Andes Mountains • impressive irrigation systems • wide range of crops

The Moche Period • Civilization with enormous wealth • Archaeologists have found beautiful jewelry crafted from gold, silver, and semiprecious stones. • Brilliant ceramic artists • Depicted every day life • No written language, their language pottery provides a wealth of detail about their life.

The Moche Period • Scholars think rulers were warrior-priests having both military and religious function, and were god-like to the people • Wore elaborate costumes made from gold and other precious stones and metals Costumed Moche noble at the Lord of Sipan Museum

The Moche Period • Moche capital called Cerro Blanco • Huaca del Sol • a pyramidal adobe structure • largest pre. Columbian structure partly destroyed by Spanish • Huaca de la Luna • better preserved • many colorful murals with complex iconography In Quechua, the Native American language of South America, a wak'a is an object that represents something revered, typically a monument of some kind

The Moche Period • Sipán • Site found in 1987 with 14 tombs • main tomb was found intact and undisturbed by thieves Original artifacts displayed how they were fou

The Moche Period El Señor de Sipán was about 35– 45 years old at the time of his death. His jewelry and ornaments, which included headdresses, a face mask, necklaces, nose rings, ear rings and other items, indicate he was of the highest rank. Most of the ornaments were made of gold, silver, copper and semi-precious stones. Buried with the Lord of Sipán were six other people: three young women (possibly wives or concubines who had apparently died some time earlier), two males (probably warriors), and a child of about nine or ten years of age. The remains of a third male (possibly also a warrior) was found on the roof of the burial chamber sitting in a niche overlooking the chamber. The warriors who were buried with the Lord of Sipán had amputated feet, as if to prevent them from leaving the tomb. The women were dressed in ceremonial clothes. In addition to the people, archeologists found in the tomb a total of 451 ceremonial items and offerings

The Moche Period • Human Sacrifice: • one on one combat between Moche noblemen • Heavily armed and elaborately adorned • Losers were to be sacrificed to the gods, drank the blood

The Moche Period • Many questions about the Moche remain. Experts still do not fully understand Moche religious beliefs. Nor do they know why the Moche fell. Like many early cultures of the Americas, the Moche remain something of a mystery awaiting further archaeological discoveries.

Time Out! • How were archaeologists able to gain so much information about the Moche without the help of a written language? • What were the Moche known for and what evidence do we have of this?

The Inca Empire

The Inca Empire • The Inca originally lived in a high plateau of the Andes • Settled on fertile lands in the Valley of Cuzco • By the 1200 s, they had established their own small kingdom in the

The Inca Empire • Incan ruler was descended from the sun god, Inti • Only men from one of 11 noble lineages believed to be descendants of the sun god could be selected as Incan leaders

The Inca Empire • The Inca had a powerful military and were clever diplomats: force was a

The Inca Empire • Empire had extensive road system unified the empire • Official language: quechua • Government had total control over social and VOCAB WORD ALERT! • AYLLU: EXTENDED FAMILY GROUP DOING COMMUNITY COOPERATION

The Inca Empire • Tribute in the form of labor, or mita • What modern day economic system does this sound like? • Never developed writing…quipu used for numerical records. • Religion used to reinforce state power • Worshipped less gods than Aztecs • Creator god: Viracocha

The Inca Empire • Capital: Cuzco • Heavily decorated in gold “sweat of the sun”

Llama Legends: The Incas had no wheeled vehicles. They did not have horses or cows. High in the Andes, the llama was the most important animal. The llama was used for transportation. It provided the Incas with wool, food, and

Machu Picchu – “Lost city of the Inca” Machu Picchu – Incan city in the Andes mountains - discovered in 1911 untouched!!

The Inca Empire • Incan Empire was at its height in the early 1500 s • Decline: 1520 s death of an emperor splits the empire, leads to was and weakened civilization • Spanish come in last days of war, divide and conquer the empire.

Time Out! • How were the Inca able to conquer such a vast empire? • What role did the mita play in building the empire? • How was the hard work pushed on the Inca people a strategy against rebellion?

The Inca Empire