10 Ancient American Civilizations
Maya Civilization
Caral Supe Civilization
Aztec Civilization
Olmec Civilization
Nazca Civilization
Zapotec Civilization
Mississippian Civilization
Tiwanaku Empire
Wari Civilization
Inca Civilization
-DAILY LIFE :Although hunting and gathering plants for food was still important, the Mississippians were mainly farmers. They grew corn, beans, and squash, called the “three sisters” by historic Southeastern Indians. The “sisters” provided a stable and balanced diet, making a larger population possible.
-RELIGION:Mississippian religion was a distinctive Native American belief system in eastern North America that evolved out of an ancient, continuous tradition of sacred landscapes, shamanic institutions, world renewal ceremonies, and the ritual use of fire, ceremonial pipes, medicine bundles, sacred poles, and symbolic weaponry.
-LOCATION: Mississippi valley, Ohio, Oklahoma, and surrounding areas.
-DAILY LIFE :The Olmec were very good at farming. The land in this region was very fertile and food supply was steady. They lived in villages near rivers and also fished for food. Olmec people also were good at making pottery and weaving.
-GOVERNMENT:In the Olmec civilization there were rulers who oversaw the civilization. These rulers served as the majority of the government. It has also been said that no one person ruled alone, but multiple people together led the government.
-LOCATION: Southern Mexico
-RELIGION:The Olmecs were polytheistic, believing in many gods who controlled the natural forces of life. These gods took on human-like forms but had a more frightful quality through also showing mixtures of feline, reptile, and bird-like features.
-GOVERNMENT:A chiefdom is an organization in non-industrial societies usually based on leadership. The Mississippian chief was in a group called The Elite, they looked over food stockings and also made sure that people’s land was maintained in environmental zones.The most powerful chiefdoms are called Cahokia.
-DAILY LIFE :Mayans everyday lives were busy, either with jobs, trading, producing crops and goods, ceremonies, games, dancing, writing, and astronomy and mathematics
-GOVERNMENT: The Mayans developed a hierarchical government ruled by kings and priests.
-LOCATION: Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Guatemala, Yucatan Peninsula
-RELIGION: The Mayan religion was Polytheist, and they worshiped more than 165 Gods. The Gods were human-like. The Gods were born, grew up and died.
-DAILY LIFE : The zapotec did pottery, and preoccupied themselves by worshiping gods,
-GOVERNMENT:The Mayans developed a hierarchical government ruled by kings and priests. They lived in independent city-states consisting of rural communities and large urban ceremonial centers. There were no standing armies, but warfare played an important role in religion, power and prestige.
-LOCATION: Valley of Oaxaca in Mesoamerica.
-RELIGION:The Zapotec pantheon is as rich and bewildering as any other Mesoamerican religion is to modern eyes with the standard deities for such important agencies on the human condition as rain, sun, wind, earth, and war.of the sun and war, Coquebila - god of the earth's centre, Huechaana - a mother goddess also associated with hunting and fishing, Kedo - god of justice, Ndan - the androgynous god of the oceans, Pixee Pecala the god of love, and Coqui Xee - the creator god who represented infinity.
-DAILY LIFE : large amounts of polychrome pottery, plain and fancy textiles, trace amounts of gold and spondylus shells, and an array of ritual paraphernalia. They also created dolls out of sperm whale teeth, shells, and hair.
-GOVERNMENT: Weakened by a generation-long drought in the 5th century CE, the Nazca were eventually conquered by the Wari - who assumed many of their artistic traits - and Nazca settlements, thereafter, never rose beyond provincial status.
-LOCATION: located on the southern coast of present-day Peru
-RELIGION: The people of the Nazca culture were polytheistic and pantheistic, that is worshiped nature and the mountains, sea, sky, earth, fire, water, etc.. Most of the temples and other buildings were created in honor of these deities, in order to please the gods to not suffer famine.
-DAILY LIFE : Pottery, woven textiles of their gods.
-GOVERNMENT: Uknown
-LOCATION: central Andes mountains of Peru
-RELIGION:Andean beliefs (Staff God) It is thought that the Wari mainly used the Pikillaqta site for rituals and religious ceremonies.
-DAILY LIFE :The daily life of a peasant in the Inca Empire was full of hard work. The only time peasants were allowed not to work was during religious festivals. ... Most of the peasant men worked as farmers. They didn't own their own farms, but worked land owned by the government.They lived in rural areas in windowless huts and worked most of their waking hours. But everything in the Inca empire depended on them. And, the Inca were great farmers. The Incas grew their food in the fertile plains between mountains peaks, where seasonal rains made the soil suitable for agriculture.
-GOVERNMENT:The Inca government was called the Tawantinsuyu. It was a monarchy ruled by a single leader called the Sapa Inca. Sapa Inca - The emperor or king of the Inca Empire was called the Sapa Inca, which means "sole ruler". He was the most powerful person in the land and everyone else reported to the Sapa Inca.
-LOCATION: Peru
-RELIGION:The Inca religion combined features of animism, fetishism, and the worship of nature gods. The pantheon was headed by Inti, the sun god, and included also Viracocha, a creator god and culture hero, and Apu Illapu, the rain god.
-DAILY LIFE :Although hunting and gathering plants for food was still important, the Mississippians were mainly farmers. They grew corn, beans, and squash, called the “three sisters” by historic Southeastern Indians. The “sisters” provided a stable and balanced diet, making a larger population possible.
-GOVERNMENT:A chiefdom is an organization in non-industrial societies usually based on leadership. The Mississippian chief was in a group called The Elite, they looked over food stockings and also made sure that people’s land was maintained in environmental zones.The most powerful chiefdoms are called Cahokia.
-LOCATION: Mississippi valley, Ohio, Oklahoma, and surrounding areas
-RELIGION:Mississippian religion was a distinctive Native American belief system in eastern North America that evolved out of an ancient, continuous tradition of sacred landscapes, shamanic institutions, world renewal ceremonies, and the ritual use of fire, ceremonial pipes, medicine bundles, sacred poles, and symbolic weaponry.
-DAILY LIFE :herding of llamas and alpacas and organized farming in raised field system, fishing, hunting for birds, and farming.
-GOVERNMENT:Under Tiwanaku rule, many towns and colonies were creates. Tiwanaku was the capital of a powerful empire, which lasted for centuries. ... Tiwanaku's political ideology had a religious bearing, which was deeply etched into the ethnic groups occupying different regions in empire.
-LOCATION: western Bolivia
-RELIGION:a celestial high god that personified various elements of natural forces intimately associated the productive potential of altiplano ecology: the sun, wind, rain, hail – in brief, a personification of atmospherics that most directly affect agricultural production in either a positive or negative manner
-DAILY LIFE :Wealthy people lived in homes made of stone or sun-dried brick. The king of the Aztecs lived in a large palace with many rooms and gardens. ... Bathing was an important part of the Aztec daily life. Poor people lived in smaller one or two room huts that had thatched roofs made from palm leaves.
-GOVERNMENT:The Aztec government was similar to a monarchy where an Emperor or King was the primary ruler. They called their ruler the Huey Tlatoani. The Huey Tlatoani was the ultimate power in the land. They felt that he was appointed by the gods and had the divine right to rule.
-LOCATION: central and southern Mexico
-RELIGION:The Aztecs, like other Mesoamerican societies, had a wide pantheon of gods. As such they were a polytheistic society, which means they had many gods and each god represented different important parts of the world for Aztec people. Whereas a monotheistic religion, such as Christianity, only has one god.