Incas And Aztecs : Maize And Impacts Of The New World

The Columbian Exchange, beginning in 1492 with Christopher Columbus’s first voyage, was a global trading standoff between the Old World and the New World. Plants, animals, and diseases were being traded fervently between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. The global and social changes made during this exchange would leave a lasting impression on the Americas in the years that followed.

Convinced of the superiority of Catholicism to all other religions, Spain insisted that the primary goal of colonization was to save the Indians from heathenism and prevent them from falling under the sway of Protestantism. The aim was neither to exterminate nor to remove the Indians, but to transform them into obedient Christian subjects of the crown. To the Spanish colonizers, the large native populations of the Americas were not only souls to be saved but also a labor force to be organized to extract gold and silver that would enrich their mother country. Las Casas’ writings and the abuses they exposed contributed to the spread of the Black Legend-the image of Spain as a uniquely brutal and exploitative colonizer. This would provide of a potent justification for other European powers to challenge Spain’s predominance in the New World.

The Aztecs had one of the most successful and advanced empires of all time. They had a dwelling culture The Aztec civilization was located directly in the middle of two mountain ranges in the central valley of Mexico ( Platt 10). Although the Aztec empire eventually came to an end they were able to do well as an empire. Contributing factors that led to the rise of the empire was their political structure, social components, and religious traditions which they preformed earnestly.

Columbian Exchange- The Columbian Exchange was a way exchanging new resources between the new world and the old world. This impacted Europeans and Native Americans positively with the new materials now available, like technology, plants, and animals. There were some negative effects from these exchanges too, such as diseases. Made it easier to interact with other cultures.

The development of agriculture by Native Americans more than five thousand years ago sparked new cultures and innovations. Hunters who previously roamed the land like nomads established permanent villages. Corn, sun, and water became focal points for many societies and played

My focus is on the agriculture and maize domestication of both areas. Maize was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, southern Mexico about 9000 years ago and dispersed into the southwestern United States during the late middle archaic period.

The Incas and the Aztecs Before the Spanish and Portuguese "discovered" the New World, there

During the 15th century, there were two leading empires of Mesoamerica. The Inca Empire, which was located in what is now Peru and the Aztecs, whose area was located in what is now Mexico. Both the Aztec and Inca empires were advanced civilizations with a good economy, agricultural developments, and religious practices that spread across the region of Mesoamerica.

Located in present day Collinsville, Illinois is Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, which was once home to the largest city north of Mexico from 700 to 1400 A.D. Settled by the Mississippian people, today their decline remains a mystery. First visited in 1811 by traveler Henry Brackenridge and considered the “discoverer of Cahokia” only in the sense that he wrote several papers and articles about the findings to the public’s attention. After walking around the mounds, Brackenridge described that the locations of the last inhabitants were clearly visible to him, as were fragments of their tools and utensils. Many extensive archeological excavations and several case study theories have come about through the years as to why this magnificent ancient metropolis faced such demise.

The Cahokia Indians were settled near modern-day St. Louis, Missouri close to the Mississippi River. Some archaeologist believe that the Cahokia once had 20,000 Natives and over 100 mounds in their village. The reason they believe in these outstanding growth in people was the land around them. Situated with land with great

I believe that historians should emphasize more on Aztec agriculture than Aztec human sacrifice. The Aztecs were an ancient civilization found in the modern day Mexico City of there empire tenochitlan which was there Aztec empire. Two aspects that they are known for are Agriculture and human sacrifice. However, historians should emphasize on Agriculture more for many reasons. One reason why is this had a big growth on the empire because they used agriculture for food and to grow plants to make for they city to eat. Another reason is because they had a major engineering achievement because they built Chinampas to farm and grow crops to eat. The last reason is that they had a large scale of Chinampas and because of this they had and abundance

The Columbian Exchange is the movement of goods or products and people. It was introduced in the time of Columbus voyages. It put plants, animals and cultures together. Europe introduced technology, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, peanuts, tobacco and cotton. The Old world then introduced wheat, rice, sugarcane, horses, cattle, pigs and sheep. One downfall of this transaction was that Europeans brought with them germs.

Native Americans started the development of maize. In 1491 Mann says, “Indians developed an extraordinary number of maize varieties for different growing conditions, which meant that the crop could and did spread throughout the planet”(pg17). With the spread of maize the Indians caused several

1) Columbian Exchange- the Columbian Exchange term is, described as the massive worldwide trade of animals, plants, foods, and slaves. Christopher Columbus first voyage launched an era of extensive contact between the Old and New Worlds that resulted in the ecological revolution. The Columbian Exchange is important because, it affected every society on earth, by bringing devastating diseases that depopulated many cultures.

In 2012 everyone was convinced that the world was going to come to an end, there is one civilization that we can put the blame on, the Mayans. There were many myths and legends that come from the 3 major civilizations that we’ve all learned about; Mayans, Incas, and Aztecs. The Mayans, Incas, and Aztecs built great and legendary civilizations in Mexico, Central America, and South America and with understanding these three we get a better understanding of the early life in these places. The first of these three is the Maya civilization.