CHAPTER 11 LECTURE OUTLINE
Civilizations of the Americas
I.
Classic-Era Culture and Society in Mesoamerica, 200–900
A. Teotihuacan
1. Large Mesoamerican city
Height of power between 450–600 C.E..
Population of 125,000 to 150,000
Dominated by religious structures
Huge pyramids
Temples for human sacrifice
2. Growth was made possible by forced relocation and technology
Farm families moved to the city
Agricultural innovations
Irrigation
Chinampas (“floating gardens”)
Increased production
Supported a larger population
3. Elite lived in residential compounds
Separated from the commoners
Controlled
State bureaucracy
Tax collection
Commerce
4. Ruled by alliances of wealthy families rather than by kings
Military was used to protect and expand long-distance trade
Military made sure farmers paid taxes or tribute to the elite
5. Collapse around 750 C.E.
May have been caused by
Mismanagement of resources
Conflict within the elite
Result of invasion
B. The Maya
1. Single culture
Lived in modern Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, and southern Mexico
Never formed a politically unified state
Various Maya kingdoms fought each other for regional dominance
2. Agricultural activity
Drained swamps
Elevated fields
Terraced fields
Irrigation systems
Managed forest resources
3. Largest Maya city-states
Dominated neighboring city-states and agricultural areas
Constructed impressive and beautifully decorated buildings
Used very simple technology such as levers and stone tools
4. Believed the cosmos consisted of three layers
The heavens
The human world
The underworld
Temple architecture reflected this cosmology
Rulers and elites served as priests
5.
6.
7.
8.
II.
Communicated with the two supernatural worlds
Military forces
Fought for captives, not for territory
Elite captives were sacrificed
Commoners were enslaved
Women
Elite women
Participated in bloodletting rituals and other ceremonies
Rarely held political power
Non-elite women
Probably played an essential role in agricultural and textile production
Most notable Maya technology
Developed the Maya calendar
Mathematics
Base 20 system
Maya writing system
Most city-states abandoned or destroyed between 800 and 900 C.E.
Reasons for the decline
Disruption of Mesoamerican trade
Fall of Teotihuacan
Environmental pressure
Overpopulation
Increased warfare
The Postclassical Period in Mesoamerica, 900–1500
A. The Toltecs
1. Arrived in central Mexico in the tenth century
Built a civilization based on the legacy of Teotihuacan
Contributed innovations in the areas of politics and war
2. Capital at Tula
Center of the first conquest state in the Americas
Dual kings ruled the state
Probably caused the internal struggle
Undermined the Toltec state around 1150 C.E.
Toltecs were destroyed by invaders around 1175 C.E.
B. The Aztecs
1. Originally a northern people
Clan-based social organization
Migrated to the Lake Texcoco area
Established the cities of Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco around 1325
Developed a monarchical system of government
2. Gender division of labor
Distinct yet complementary
Warfare increased male power
Females maintained control over household and market
3. Political power
Kings increased their wealth and power by means of territorial conquest
Empire increased in size
Commoners lost their ability to influence political decisions
Inequalities in wealth grew more severe
4. Increased agricultural production
Land reclamation projects
Constructing irrigated fields and Chinampas
5.
6.
III.
Food tribute met nearly one-quarter of the capital’s food requirements
Merchants
Distinct from and subordinate to the political elite
Controlled long-distance trade
Technology of trade was simple
No wheeled vehicles, draft animals, or money
Goods were carried by human porters
Exchanged through barter
Aztec religion
Worshiped a large number of gods
Most important of was Huitzilopochtli, the Sun god
Required a diet of human hearts
Increased sacrifice over time
Northern Peoples
A. Southwestern Desert Cultures
1. Irrigation-based agriculture
Introduced to Arizona from Mexico around 300 B.C.E..
Most notable Mexican-influenced civilization was the Hohokam
Constructed extensive irrigation works
Located near Salt and Gila valleys
2. The Anasazi
More influential
Developed a maize, rice, and bean economy
Constructed underground buildings (kivas)
Located in Arizona/New Mexico/Colorado/Utah region
Most notable period between 450–750 C.E..
3. Major Anasazi community
Chaco Canyon
Population of about 15,000
Engaged in hunting, trade, and irrigated agriculture
Exerted some political or religious dominance over a large region
Civilization declined in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries
Due to drought, overpopulation, and warfare
B. Mound Builders: The Hopewell and Mississippian Cultures
1. Hopewell culture developed out of the earlier Adena culture around 100 C.E.
Based in the Ohio Valley
Trade and influence extended as far as
Illinois
Michigan
Wisconsin
New York
Ontario
Florida
Hopewell economy was based on hunting and gathering
Supplemented by agriculture
2. Hopewell centers were ruled by hereditary chiefs
Served as priests
Managed secular affairs such as long-distance trade
Built large mounds both as burial sites
Also used as platforms for temples and residences of chiefs
3. Hopewell sites were abandoned around 400 C.E.
Technology linked to the development of the Mississippian culture
4.
IV.
Urbanized Mississippian chiefdoms
Made possible by
Increased agricultural productivity
The bow and arrow
Expanded trade networks
Largest Mississippian center was Cahokia
Population of about 30,000 by 1200 C.E..
Abandoned around 1250
Climate changes and population pressure
Andean Civilizations, 200–1500
A. Cultural Response to Environmental Challenge
1. Harsh environment
High-altitude Andes
Dry coastal plain
Amazonian tropical headwaters
Forced inhabitants to organize labor efficiently in order to survive
2. Basic unit of Andean labor organization was the clan (ayllu)
Clans held land collectively
Clan members were obligated to assist each other
Also required to supply goods and labor to the clan chief
3. Territorial states organized after 1000 C.E.
Introduced the institution of the mit’a
Required each ayllu to
Provide a set number of workers each year
Labor for
Religious establishments
Royal court
Aristocracy
4. Work divided along gender lines
Men were responsible for hunting, war, and government
Women wove and cared for the crops and the home
5. Andean region
Divided into four major ecological zones
The coast
Mountain valleys
Higher elevations
Amazonian region
Each region produced different goods
Goods were exchanged among the various regions
Used a complex network of trade routes
B. Moche
1. Emerged in the north coastal region of Peru in about 200 C.E..
Used forced labor to construct an extensive irrigated agriculture system
Produced maize, quinoa, beans, and manioc
2. Moche society
Stratified and theocratic
Wealth and power concentrated in an elite class of priests and military leaders
Lived in elaborate housing atop large platforms
Decorated themselves with magnificent clothing, jewelry, and headdresses
3. Moche artisans
Skilled in the production of textiles, portrait vases, and metallurgy
Gold and silver were used for decorative purposes
C.
D.
Copper and copper alloy were used for farm tools and weapons
4. The decline and fall of the Moche
May be attributed to a series of natural disasters in the sixth century
Perhaps pressure from the warlike Wari people in the eighth century
Tiwanaku and Wari
1. Tiwanaku in Bolivia
Experienced increased agricultural productivity and urbanization
Developed following 200 C.E..
Tiwanaku cultivated potatoes and grains
Raised fields reclaimed from marshland
2. Urban construction
Large terraced pyramids
Walled enclosures
Reservoirs
Large stones
Quarried, moved, and laid by thousands of laborers
Worked with simple technology and copper alloy tools
3. Society was highly stratified
Ruled by a hereditary elite
4. Wari culture
Located near the city of Ayucucho, Peru
Contact with Tiwanaku
Separate culture
Main city was built without central planning
Different techniques
Much smaller scale than Tiwanaku
Both Tiwanaku and Wari declined to insignificance by 1000 C.E.
The Inca
1. Small chiefdom in Cuzco
Leaders consolidated political authority
Began a program of military expansion in the 1430s
By 1525 the Inca had constructed a huge empire
2. Inca wealth
Developed a strong military
Used it to expand the traditional exchange system
Linked various ecological zones of the Andes region together
Used the mit’a labor system to
Form their armies
Build their capital city
Maintain their religious institutions
Provide for the old, the weak, and the ill
3. Inca leadership
Generally left local rulers in place
Controlling them by means of military garrisons
Took heirs of local leaders as ritual captives to Cuzco as hostages
Created an imperial bureaucracy led by a king
Each king was required to prove himself by conquering new territory
4. Capital city of Cuzco
Laid out in the shape of a puma
Buildings were constructed of stone laid together without mortar
Palaces and richly decorated temples
Used for
Rituals
5.
6.
Feasts
Sacrifices
Sacrificial offerings included
Textiles
Animals
Various tribute goods
Occasional human sacrifice
Cultural attainments
Astronomical observations
Weaving
Copper and bronze metallurgy
Gold and silver working
Did not rely on extensive record-keeping
Kept track of bureaucratic records such as tribute
Used a system of knotted cords called khipus
The Inca did not introduce new technologies
Made more efficient use of existing technology to increase wealth
Decline
Inca domination resulted in increased wealth
Reduced levels of local autonomy
Elite fell into civil war in 1525
Inca control over its vast territories was weakened
The Spanish arrived during this process