View
220
Download
3
Category
Tags:
Preview:
Citation preview
Historical Issues
Andean Civilizations Had No Writing Conquistadores Burned and Defaced Much
Evidence We learn through physical remains Conquistadors tried to collect some historical
knowledge but distorted it
Mesoamerica (2000 BC – 1500 AD)
Culture Zone in Central-South Mexico and Central America
Obsidian is primary weapon / tool material Stone housing City-States Mesoamerican Calendar Sacrifice of blood and humans
Archaic Period (8000-2000 BC)
Domestication of maize, beans, peppers allows shift to village life
Few domestic animals Maize + Beans = more protein than Eurasian
grains
The Olmecs
San Lorenzo (1200-900 BC) La Venta (900 BC)
110 foot pyramids 1000 inhabitants (Priest Elite)
Extensive Jade and Obsidian trade
Olmec Inventions
Heavily copied by later civilizations Priest-ruled City-States Sacrifice: Bloodletting and Humans Mesoamerican Calendar Writing Idea of Zero The Ballgame
Olmec Heads
17 Survive 20-40 ton weight Carved from single blocks Transported 50 or more miles from mines to
cities Unclear purpose; some mutilated
Olmec Art / Were-Jaguars
Olmec Art mixes humans, jungle animals and half-man / half-Jaguars
Degree of mixing varies Were-jaguar babies often are portrayed as held
by a stoic, seated adult male. Role of this art uncertain but some is traded to
other places
Monte Alban
Founded around 500 BC where branches of Oxcaca River Meet
5000 people Mesoamerican Calendar is found here too
365 day cycle, 260 day cycle, 52 year 'century'
Classical Era (150-900 AD)
Maya at their height and Teotihuacan An age of prosperous city-states Warfare is common
Teotihuacan (1st Century AD - 8th Century AD)
Ready Access to Sacred Caves and Obsidian and Farmland
150,000 at height, 9 miles across 2000 Elite homes in center; masses live in
apartments further out May have ruled, definitely influenced other
cities Large Trade Network Worships a Storm god and goddess and a
feathered serpent with blood and humans
The Maya
Most literate; best writing system Greatest City: Tikal
50-70,000 Nobles and retainers rule over numerous
commoners Wars are common; losers get sacrificed
Maya Religion
Nature and Supernatural = the same So Rulers have Secular and Religious power Human sacrifice and blood to appease the gods The Mayan Ballgame
Reenacts the conflict between the Hero Twins and the Lords of Xibalba, the Underworld
Mayan 'Science'
Expert Astronomers and Mathematicians (had idea of zero)
The Long Count Calendar—Most Accurate before modern times 11 August 3114 BC is cycle starting point (almost
certainly retroactive) Used interactive cycles of days and true length of
lunar calendar Base 20 math Giant cycle will end in 2012 AD
Tikal, Great City of the Maya
3000 buildings, 14 miles Massive Causeways link main buildings Access to flint, swamps, and rivers 39 Kings of the Jaguar Paw Line
Ah Cacau (682-723?) Collapse in 8th century AD
Collapse
800-900 AD—Total Collapse of original Maya War, Eco-catastrophe, Overcrowding? Maya now move to the Yucatan, building Chichen
Itza then Mayapan Weak by time of Spanish (1500s AD)
The Post-Classic Period (900 AD-1521 AD)
The Toltecs: Invade around 900 AD Capital at Tula
60,000 people
The Aztecs / Mexica
Arrive in Valley of Mexico in 1200s Forced onto islands in Lake Texcoco Build artificial islands of bounded lake muck Build Tenochtitlan on Islands Ally with Texcoco and Tlacopan by 1400s A Tributary Style Empire
Aztec Religion
Sun god Huitzilopochtli needs human hearts or he will die
Warfare must be constant to get sacrifices of live warriors
“Flower Wars” used in peacetime Children sacrificed to Tlaloc to get rain
Tenochtitlan
Linked to mainland by causeways Ritual center and Imperial Palace at center Divided into Wards (capulli) Grid System Aqueducts bring fresh water
Aztec Society
Classes Nobles / Priests Merchants (pochteca) and Artisans Commoners
Dress Codes for each class Commoners are part of capulli; each has tribute
obligations and local temple
Aztec Trade
Guild System Cacao Beans for small purchases Fixed lengths of Cotton Cloth(quachtli) for large Examples:
Small Rabbit: 30 beans Tamale: 1 bean 1 quachtli = 65 to 300 beans by quality 20 quachtli = 1 year commoner income Sell your daughter = 500 to 700 beans
Aztec Warfare
All young men learn to fight Some will become professional warriors Battle involves mass combat with little strategy;
largely one on one fights to capture people Clubs and swords of wood with obsidian set in it
and cotton armor
Aztec Women
More rights than medieval / early-modern European women Hold property Inherit property Trade in marketplace Craftwork Low-level priests But couldn't be warriors
PUMP OUT THOSE BABIES Death in Childbirth or battle = high position in
afterlife!
Aztec Technology
High Tech Aqueducts and superb sanitation Skilled Irrigation Expert Stone, gold and silver work
Low Tech Little use of Iron or Bronze, No Wheel Obsidian Weapons Poor to no ships
Andean South America: Preceramic and Initial Period: 3000-800 BC
Oldest Ritual Center: 2800 BC Mix of Seafood, Squash, Beans, Chili Peppers Cotton Clothing 2500 BC: The Llama is domesticated 2000 BC – Pottery is invented, Agriculture
Rises
Chavin de Huantar and the Early Horizon (800 BC-200 AD)
Chavin de Huantar—900 BC, Peru Highlands Trade and Agriculture Declines between 500 and 300 B.C Skilled metal workers and textile makers Religion involved hallucinogens and
shamanism
The Early Intermediate Period (200 BC-600 AD)
The Nazca (100 BC – 700 AD) A Coastal People Used underground irrigation to turn desert to
farms Nazca art—animals and plants, severed human
heads Skilled with making llama cloth from wool Most famous for their geoglyphs = “Nazca
Lines”
Moche Culture (200-700 AD)
Moche Valley in Highlands Sun and Moon Pyramids
Sun Pyramid = largest adobe structure in the Andes 1200 feet long, 500 feet wide, 60 feet high, made of over
143 million adobe bricks
Irrigation style farmers Art shows many facets of life Mass produced but highly diverse pottery with
art showing normal life
The Middle Horizon Through the Late Intermediate Period (600 AD-
1475 AD)Tiwanaku (Bolivia) and Huari (Peru) Expansionist Cultures in highlands Tiwanaku—12,000 feet above sea level
20-40,000 by Lake Titicaca Raised Field Agriculture
Huari 20-30,000 Terraced hills and mountainsides
Chimu Empire
Coastal Empire Chan Chan (Capital)
30-40,000 people Big Nobles, Small Nobles, Artisans Worshipped the Moon
Chimu make monochromatic pottery and work with precious metals Pottery shaped like a creature or human Shiny black finish
The Inca Empire (13th-16th Century AD)
2600 miles of coastline Ruled by a Divine King Incan Civilization revolved around maintaining
elaborate irrigation—strong rule needed Potatoes, Gains, Fish, Vegetables, Nuts, Maize,
Camelid and Cuyes meat Primitive Socialism, managed by King and his
minions
Incas II
Labor Taxation System Mita System of Labor Tax Men owed military service State Employees:
– Virgins of the Sun—cloth and ceremonial beer makers
Men managing Imperial herds and warehouses Dress conveys rank and ethnicity
Inca Technology
Stoneworkers and builders of incredible skill Reshape mountains to their needs Expert with pottery and textiles Art and medicine But only a knot code for writing Little bronze and no iron and no wheels Very crude weaponry
Recommended