1000 BC â AD 1500

The Growth of Civilizations 

1. Classical Greece - 2100 BC – 150 BC 

2. Rome and Early Christianity – 750 BC – AD 500 

3. The Americas – 1000 BC – AD 1500 

4. Empires of China and India – 350 BC – AD 600

The Americas 

1000 BC to Ad 1500 

•1. North America 

•2. Meso America 

•3. South America 

•As advanced civilizations developed in Rome, other civilizations 

developed in the Americas 

•Early American civilizations all found ways to adapt to the varied 

environments of the Americas 

•Some developed sophisticated governments and engineering that 

rivaled those of the ancient Romans

1000 BC- AD1500 

Early Human Migrations

1. North America 


Kennewick Man – 9,000 year old human 

skull found along the Columbia River 

Gives us clues to some questions about 

early Americans

Cultures of North America 


•Arctic and the Subarctic, Far West, Eastern Woodlands, 

Desert West, Great Plains

Cultures of the Desert West 


Hohokam- 300 BC to AD 

1500 –adobe-mixtures of 

clay and straw for homes 

 

Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde 

Anasazi cliff dwelling 

Anasazi – 100 BC to Ad 

1300 –adopted the puebloaboveground 

structure used 

for homes

The Mound Builders 


•Hopewell – 200 BC to Ad 

500 – some form of 

organized labor 

Mississippian – built some 

of the earliest cities in 

North America

Other Cultures in North America 


Inuit – Arctic Region - 

no vegetation for foodfishing 

instead 

The Iroquois – Forest 

Environment formed a 

confederacy 

Plains Indians – 

treeless grasslands

Sculpture from the Americas 


• Origins of the Peoples of the Americas?


The “Mother Culture” of Meso- America 

Olmec-predated just about every other civilization in 

Meso- America. 

First to use writing system and first to use pyramids; 

the one to give rise to later cultures in that region.


2. Meso American Civilizations 

•Mayan Aztec


•The Olmec Civilization was small to the Mayan civilization, 

which had its height in 1000 BC consisted of 10 million in 

over 40 cities.

Lands of the Mayans 


The Yucatan 

Peninsula

Mayan Cultivation of Maize 


•Slash and Burn-farming method 

•Involves burning vegetation to clear 

•It for planting

Chichen-Itza - Pyramid 


•Mayan cities such as Michen-Itza and Tikal were some 

of the more spectacular cities, containing pyramids, 

temples, and great palaces.

Chichen-Itza - Observatory 


•Mayans made advances in astronomy. They observed the 

movements of the sun, moon, and planets. Calendar system 

– 365 days farming schedule

Chichen-Itza - Ball Court 

1000 BC- AD1500


Overview of Tikal (Guatemala) 

Temple of the Masks


Tikal Jungle View at Sunset

Tikal - Main Court 


•Mayan cities functioned as city states, each had its own ruler and 

government. 

•Trade linked the cities. 

•Warfare also linked other cities. 

•Mayan cities never united.

•Tikal: Temple of the Masks 



Tikal - Wall Mask of the Rain God 

Chac, God 

of Rain

Quetzalcoatl: 


The God of Wisdom & Learning

Mayan Glyphs 


sky king house child city 

Mayan 

Mathematics 

•The Mayans developed a complex writing system, glyphs, or 

symbols. They also created a number system, using the 

concept of zero for the first time.

Mayan Glyphs 



Mayan Underground Granaries: Chultunes


Mayan Drinking Cup for Chocolate

Pakal: The Maya Astronaut 



•The Aztecs, just a small group of farmers from northwest 

Mexico, created the most powerful empire in Meso - 

America.

Lands of the Aztecs 


•What land did they conquer?

Aztec View of Tenochtitlan 


•The Capital City of the Aztecs. Covered five miles and had a 

population of 200,000. One of the largest cities in the world 

at the time.


Tenochtitlan: The “Venice” of the Americas

Aztec Chinampa or Floating Garden: 

15ft. to 30ft. wide 


Tenochtitlan - Chinampas 


•Tenochtitlan was built on swampy island in the middle of a 

lake. To create more farm land they build floating gardens

Aztec Writing 


•They kept written 

records similar to 

Mayans but not as 

advanced. 

Aztec Math 

•They also used 

Math. Conquered 

People were 

required to pay a 

tribute, a tax.

Aztec Sun Stone -- Calendar 


•They 

created a 

260-religious 

calendar and 

a 365-day 

solar 

calendar. 

They also 

calculated 

movements of 

planets.

The Aztecs Were 


Fierce Warriors 

•Achievements in the Arts and Sciences. Artisans made 

bright feathers into headdresses, shields, and wartime 

costumes. Metalworkers fashioned gold and silver.

Aztec Gold 


Aztec Sun Motifs 


Aztecs Sacrifice Neighboring Tribes to 

the Sun God-needed human blood 


Heart Sacrifice 


on an Aztec Temple Pyramid


Wall of Skulls, Tenochtitlan

Sacrificial Statue, Tenochtitlan 



Ruins of the City Center, Tenochtitlan

Aztec Codex 

(15c Manuscript) 


•Lasted a short period of time, 200 years. Contact with 

the Europeans brought an end to the empire.


•The Codex 

Mendoza :The 

Founding of 

Tenochtitlantwenty 

years after 

the Spanish 

Conquest it contains 

the history of the 

city


3. South America 

•Many years after earlier civilizations such as the 

Chavin, Moche, and Nazca, the Inca Civilization brought 

the entire Andes Mountain region into one empire.

Lands of the Incas 


•They began as a 

small tribe in the 

Andes, but by the 

early 1500’s their 

empire extended 

almost the entire 

Pacific coast 

throughout the 

Andes.

Cuzco: Ancient Capital of the Inca 

(11,000 ft. above sea level) 


Machu Picchu 


•Pachacuti –leader of the Inca used political alliances 

and military force to gain control. 

•The emperor had most of the power.

Machu Picchu 


Incan Suspension Bridges 


•The first known bridges 

spanned cannons, and rivers. 

Woven out of fibers and vines.

Incan Terrace Farming 


•Terraces increased the amount of land available for 

agriculture.

Incan Digging Sticks 


The Quipu: An Incan Database 


•Keep track of moving 

goods they used set of 

colored and knotted 

cords.


Over 100 Different Types of Potatoes 

Cultivated 

by the Incans

Produce from a Typical Incan 

Market 


Incan Ceramic Jars 


Peanut 

Potato 

Squash 

Cacao God 

Cacao Pod

Maize in Incan Pottery 


& Gold Work

Inca Gold & Silver 


•Artisans made intricate ornaments out 

of gold and silver.

Incan Mummies 


•The Incas lasted only 

about 100 years. 

•The arrival of the 

Spanish in Peru in 1532 

marked the end.

1000 BC â AD 1500

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1000 BC â AD 1500