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 Formative Period (2000 BC-150 AD): Olmecs

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

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

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

Monte Alban

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

Pyramid of the Sun--Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan (1st Century AD - 8th Century AD)

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

Decline

Shrinks after 500 AD 8th century—destroyed by Fire Yet it remains seen as a golden age

The Maya

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

Tikal, Great City of the Maya

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

Huitzilopochtli

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 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”

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

Chimu Pottery

Inca Empire

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

North America

Forest Tribes

Mobile Temporary Farm Villages Mound Builders

Urbanized Farmers Plains Tribes

Foot Nomads Pacific Northwest Tribes

Seagoing Fishers; Totem Pole and Potlach Customs Arid Southwest

Elevated Towns; irrigation agriculture