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The cultures and civilizations of the “Americas” Where did the Native Americans come from? Migrations from Asia ca. 30,000 – 15,000 yrs ago over Bering strait land bridge; Isolated for at least 15,000 years! Kingdoms and & Empires of the Americas Who was in Meso-America? (“Middle America”) • • • • • Olmec Teotihuacan Maya Toltec Aztec OLMEC Former kings? • 1500 -300 BCE; Gulf of Mexico • Carved enormous stone heads of volcanic rock • Chief god - human-like with jaguar face • urban centers; astronomy • Kings, elite, merchants, laborers • Hieroglyphics; calendar • Corn, beans, squash, manioc • • • • • • • • Temples Teotihuacan Quetzalcoatl Chinampas Apartment housing for commoners Obsidian tools Aristocratic govt Military protected long distance trade Decline – violence… Teotihuacan Pyramid of the Sun Pyramid of the Moon Maya • • • • • • • • • Yucatan Peninsula City States; hereditary Swidden agriculture; no metal tools Complex religion - 3 layers (heavens, now and underworld); trances Elite, tatoos, human sacrifice (elite capt) Writing, ball playing (pok-a-tok), astronomy, **Mayan math computation Calendar (365) math system (zero) Elite women – high; women important demise - war, drought, infighting MAYA Mayan Calendar Ritual “divine” cycle calendar Solar “civil” calendar “long count” calendar • first date is actually written 13.0.0.0.0. • three possible equivalences: • 13.0.0.0.0 = 13 Aug 3114 BCE (Gregorian) 13.0.0.0.0 = 11 Aug 3114 BCE (Gregorian) 13.0.0.0.0 = 15 Oct 3374 BC (Gregorian) • Assuming one of the first two equivalences, the Long Count will again reach 13.0.0.0.0 on 21 or 23 December AD 2012 • 13.0.0.0.0 may have been the Mayas' idea of the date of the creation of the world. Maya / Aztec Calendar Palenque Mayan Temples Toltec • Transmitted Teotihuacan & Mayan culture to the Aztecs • Conquest state; military power • Violent culture • Rivalries • Tula art ----- • Decline & invasion by the Aztecs The Aztecs • Nomads; settled on islands AZTECS • in Lake Texcoco • Adopted agriculture; gradually grew into an independent power, then empire • Capital city - Tenochtitlan – • Ruler chosen by nobility • War – religious significance (of course) – legitimized the ruler • War also increased holdings of nobles • War to get captives for human sacrifice • Society - hierarchy with Aztec ruler & nobility at top & slaves/criminals/debtors at bottom; women had rights • Tremendous inequalities - nobility vs commoners • Elaborate ritual; Huitzilopochtli; war/sun • Human sacrifice • Political tribute system; pd in food; goods • Economic: chinampas; barter • Dike in lake: salt/fresh water Who was in Meso-America? (“Middle America”) • • • • • Olmec Teotihuacan Maya Toltec Aztec • Pyramids of Tenochtitlán Huitzilopochtli god of war & sun needed human hearts Tlaloc God of Rain Quetzalcoatl god of wind & knowledge Canoe moving about the chinampas Aztec Society in Transition • Increasingly hierarchical • Conflict between nobles and growing “middle” • Violence • Discontent tribute tribes; sacrifice! • Empire under Montezuma II conquered by Spaniards (Cortes) Montezuma II Cortes Moche Andean Societies environmental challenges… Andean Cultures • Background: • Early – small coastal & foothills villages • by 2600 BCE cf - Old Kingdom Egypt Chavin (900-250 BCE) • Trade routes; controlled; linked regions • Maize <----> quinoa, potatoes, llamas • Adobe & stone; 1st metals; jaguar-man • Social stratification: priests, elite, etc. Technologies to meet the needs • Environment al challenges: • Altitude • Frosts • Arid / drought • Only llamas! • Compensations: • Calendar • New varieties potatoes & grains • Terraced farming • Freeze-dried vegetables & meat • Llama & alpaca wool Andean culture • • • • • • Khipus Ayllu Hereditary aristocracy & kings Mit’a Coca (not cacao) Colonists khipus Moche • Ca. 600 CE • Maize, quinoa, beans, manioc, sweet potatoes • Irrigation, canals, aqueducts • Alpacas & llamas • Textiles • Stratified society; theocratic • Women weavers Moche ceramic sculpture The Inca huge empire & strong central gov’t INCA extending length of South America Large professional military Built paved roads & suspension bridges used running messengers; quipus • Pastoralists; men and women • Capital Cuzco; sun god; royal family • Local rulers/chiefdoms; control by hostage taking • • • • Inca terraces; Machu Picchu Machu Pichu suspension bridge Northern Peoples Southwestern desert • Aztec influence incl. maize, squash, beans • Hohokam irrigation canals • Anasazi – kivas; cliff dwellings & canyon “appts”, pottery, weaving • Chaco canyon; Mesa Verde Anasazi cliff dwellings Mississippian culture • Oldest mounds – 3000’s BCE • “mound-builders” • Chiefdoms • “Hopewell” cultures • Towns – central plaza surrounded by mounds; burial mounds, temple mounds • Social stratification; trade • (not accepted as product of the Native Americans until late 1800’s!) How Mississippian towns might have looked Cahokia mounds city; Illinois Had more inhabitants than Paris at that time (1150) Etowah Indian Mound
