• Topics:

• Before 1000 CE

• Questions:

• What conditions shaped human societies in the Western Hemisphere? (see today’s readings!)

• Where and when did the first civilizations emerge?

• How do they compare with the ancient empires of Eurasia?

• What characterized Maya civilization? What led to its collapse?

Lecture 25:Civilizations of the Western Hemisphere

Humans and the Environment

12,000 BCE Humans cross landbridge to Western Hemisphere

8500 BCE Domestication of beans & peppers (& tubers) in Andes

7000 BCE Extinction of larger animal species

5500-2000 BCE Villages & regional centers in coastal Andes

4200 BCE Domestication of camelids in Andes

3000 BCE Domestication of cotton in Andes

2000-1500 BCE Agriculture in Mesoamerica

by 1600 BCE Villages, regional centers, pottery throughout Mesoamerica

Early Andean Civilizations

Ceramic from Moche (ca. 300-700 CE)

• Flexible exploitation of coast, river, & mountains

• Large-scale ceremonial architecture

• Along coast after 2800 BCE

• Lake Titicaca region after 1000 BCE

• Regional organization around Chavin, 500-200 BCE

• 200 BCE - 600 CE: Early civilizations

• 600-1250 CE: Huari Empire & Chimu Kingdom

No writing

Tiwanaku

• Large, planned capital (pop. 30,000-60,000)

• Monumental architecture

• Raised-field agriculture

• Camelid herding

• Distinctive, sophisticated pottery

No writing 100-1000 CE

Mesoamerica

The Olmec (1350-400 BCE)

600-250 BCEcomplex regional societies

emerge beyond Olmec heartland

250 BCE - 250 CEpopulation increase in Basin of Mexico,

Oaxaca Valley, and Maya Lowlands

“Preclassic” Maya civilization

• Large regional centers (four known, incl. La Venta)

• Monumental architecture

• Mobilization of labor

• Social stratification (aristocracy)

• Long-distance trade (jade, obsidian, cacao, concave mirrors)

• Sophisticated art (sculpture, jewelry=craftsmanship)

Teotihuacan

200 BCE 2,000 ppl

100 CE 60,000

550 CE 125,000

Religious, economic, political center

Political & military domination of neighboring regions

Supported by trade & raised-field or irrigation agriculture

Zapotecs: dominate Oaxaca Valley from Monte Alban

“Grand Plaza” at Tikal

The Maya

Pop. 80,000 in 750 CE

Maya Empire

• Water storage & wetland agriculture

• Religiously sanctioned aristocracy

• Monumental architecture

• Temples & palaces

• Fortifications

• Specialized craftsmen

• Administrators

• Long-distance trade

• Military organization

Mural from Bonampak Vase painting

Maya Civilization

Jade vessel

Carved door lintel

Maya Glyphs

Aristocratic inscriptions

No administrative or economic records

Logographic + phonetic = Syllabic

Sculpture, Painting, Books

Elaborate calendrical system

+ Zero-based calendar

(base date = 3114 BCE)

Flourished 250-900 CE

Inscription about Smoking Frog of Tikal, 416 CE

Decline of Maya Civilization

• Elite (non-productive) grows from 5% to 25% of population

• Demand for luxuries = long-distance trade & specialized artisans

• Petty wars between cities and regions

• Monumental construction projects

• Too many people working land too intensively

• Malnutrition increases morbidity

• 840 CE: long-term drought triggers massive collapse

Internal collapse:Overextend beyond agricultural base

Population decreases by 85%