EARLY SOCIETIES
OF MESOAMERICA
POSSIBLE MIGRATION ROUTES:
INDIANS ARE NOT ONLY ASIANS
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Genetic Evidence
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DNA evidence indicates several different sources to Amerindian DNA
Route 1: The Bering Land Bridge
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Route 2: Sea-based migration down coasts of Western Americas
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Early humans settled Southeast Asia and Australia by boats and sea routes
They island hopped across Pacific to South America
Would account for older archaeological remains in South America
Route 4: Sea-based Migration across North Atlantic
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Strong evidence of Paleolithic sea-based migration in Asia
Would explain how humans bypassed ice, barriers
Currents would drive ancient sea-farers down coast
Route 3: The Ancestors of the Polynesians
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Asian migration across a land bridge from Asia
Lower sea levels made this possible, probably route through glaciers
Migration due to hunter-gatherers following game
Early humans from Europe followed islands, ice pack of ice shelf
DNA in Great Lakes area indicates someone from Europe migrated to this region
Route 5: Across the narrow passage from Africa to South America
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Would presuppose a sea-based migration
No DNA evidence so far to suggest this route
PALEOLITHIC MIGRATIONS
TO THE AMERICAS
WHAT BLOOD
TYPES TELL US
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B Allele
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A Allele
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Highest found in small, unrelated populations in Americas
Absent among Central/South American Indians.
O Blood Type
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Highest occurrence is in Central Asia
Lowest in the Americas/Australia
Relatively high frequency pockets in Africa
B is the rarest ABO blood allele in Americas
Very common around the world
High in Indians of Central/South America (around 100%)
Also relatively high among Australian Aborigines
High in Europe (in populations with Celtic ancestors)
Lowest frequency found in Eastern Europe, Central Asia
Conclusion
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Diego Negative
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Diego Positive
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All Africans, Europeans, East Indians, Australian Aborigines, and
Polynesians are Diego negative.
The only populations with Diego positive people may be Native
Americans (2-46%) and East Asians (3-12%).
This nonrandom distribution pattern fits well with the hypothesis of
an East Asian origin for native Americans.
Also supports conclusion that most Amerindians in Meso-America,
the Caribbean, and South America have a common origin.
WAVES OF MIGRATION
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Blood Groups
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Use Haplogroups
Shows four waves
Patterns
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First Wave
• c. 20-13,000 years ago
• Patagonians, Fuegians
• Pericu of Baja California
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Second Wave
• c. 12,000 years ago
• Amerindians
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Third Wave
• c. 10,000 years ago
• Na-Dene Amerinds
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Fourth Wave
• c. 6,000 years ago
• Aleut, Eskimo
THE FIRST AMERICANS
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Patagonians and Fuegians
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Lacked A, B, N Mitochondrial DNA common to Amerindians
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Extensive DNA Study
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Remains dated from 30,000 BCE to c. 12,000 BCE
Indicates earlier arrival date that previously thought
Suggests migration by canoe from SE Asia, Australia
Land-living Ona (Selk’nam)
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1-2 different migration waves in peopling of southern South America.
Three hunter-gatherer groups from Tierra del Fuego cluster together
Mesa Verde, Chile
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Clearly the first to arrive as they lacked DNA common to northerners
Arrived between 13-20 thousand years ago
Called Foot Indians: split off from ancestral Patagonian group
Gave rise to the Tehuelche: Confined to Tierra del Fuego
Walked around naked when Europeans discovered them
Boat Oriented
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Yamana and Kawesgar
Distant relatives who split off 6,000 years ago
Use boat technology identical to oldest known to man
THE NA-DENE AMERINDIANS
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Arrived 10,000 Years Ago
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Likely route was by sea-route and boats, the by foot
Closest relatives are the Aleut and Inuit-Eskimo
Groups tend to be clanish and clickish
First settlements
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Settled in Taiga area of Alaska, Northwest America
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Natural Highways of Migration
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Athabaskan-Eyak Indians (Interior Regions)
Haida and Tlingit Coastal Indians of Alaska’s Panhandle
Hunter-gatherer-fisher
Yukon River
Great Slave Lake, Great Bear Lake River Systems
Later Migration
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Languages are clear indication of migration
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Aspects of languages are unique to Amerindians
Clusters exist in Canada and United States distant from main areas
Coastal Na-Dene of Pacific Northwest
New Mexico and Texas
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Navaho (Pueblo Indians) of New Mexico, Arizona
• Came to practice extensive agriculture
• Likely descendants of Anazsi civilization
All Apache Indians
• Originally hunter-gatherers
• Later become horse nomads after 1492
LARGEST GROUP: AMERIND
• Came From Asia
• Mitochondrial DNA indicates
• Likely Asian origin
• Two likely routes
• Down the West Coast of the Americas
• Across central regions of North America
• Creation myths
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Tell of a variety of originations of their respective peoples.
Sometimes people were "always there”
Other times humans were created by gods or animals
Some migrated from a specified compass point
Others came from "across the ocean“
• Geographic Distribution of Languages
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Indicates waves of migration
Indicates clusters of similar, related settlers in a given area
AMERINDIAN LANGUAGE FAMILIES
THE LAST TO ARRIVE
• Aleuts of Alaska
• Inuit (Eskimo) of Arctic
• Very close relatives exist in Arctic Asia
• DNA/Blood Types identical to North Asians
• Languages have close Asian relatives
• Arrived 6000 years ago
• Ice-Age had ended long ago
• Migratory Hunter-Gatherers
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Seasonal hunters of sea lion, whales, walrus
Followed game across northern coasts
Settled Arctic area all the way to Greenland
Still today semi-nomadic
• Tended to inhabit coastal islands, tundra
• Stopped penetration at forests of north
WHAT ABOUT “EUROPEANS”?
• The Solutrean Hypothesis
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Suggests an early Cro-Magnon migration into the America
• DNA Evidence exists
• Technological Remains
• Lack of certain archeological remains
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Stone tool technology of Solutreans in prehistoric Europe
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May have later influenced the development of the Clovis tool-making culture
Clovis spear points found all throughout North America
Strong similarities between Solutrean and Clovis toolmaking styles
No predecessors of Clovis Technology in Eastern Asia, Siberia, or Berinigia
Probable Migration
• Came From Ice Age Europe probably by boat like Eskino (Inuit) hunt
• By way of British Isles, Iceland, Greenland – island hopping
• Which Amerindians?
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Paleo-Indians who produced the Clovis Point in North America
Some Indians from Great Lakes have European mitochondrial DNA
THE FACE OF THE
AMERICAN INDIAN
Inuit
Aleut
Incan
Fuegian
EARLY
PRE-HISTORY
• Migration to Mesoamerica
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Humans traveled from Siberia to Alaska, 40,000 years ago
Probably came in search of big game
By 7000 B.C.E., reached southern-most part of South America
As hunting became difficult, agriculture began, 7500 B.C.E.
Modern theorists question Bering Strait migration
• Early agriculture in Mesoamerica
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Valley of Mexico was first center of agriculture
Beans, chili peppers, avocados, squashes, gourds cultivated
By 5000 B.C.E., discovered potential of maize, the staple food
Later, developed tomatoes
• Agricultural villages appeared after 3000 B.C.E.
• No large animals, no wheeled vehicles
• Ceremonial centers, by the end of the 2nd millennium B.C.E.
MIGRATION IN MESO-AMERICA
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Migration
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A common them in legends, writings of Pre-Columbian Age
Linguistic distributions clearly show migration
In Mesoamerica
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Commoners required to migrate seasonally to labor on lands of
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People exited from existing communities to establish new ones
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Often accompanied a change in status or wealth
Rapid growth of cities
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Ruling elites are said to have come from somewhere else
They migrate, take over and assimilate into the society
Migrations from town to town were common
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Quite common amongst tribes of both continents
Major way new tribes were formed
Dynastic Migration
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Nobility, state, religious centers
Shows that numbers migrated from rural to urban
Common in the Mayans
Northern Mesoamerica semi-nomadic groups moved almost daily
People captured in war were forced to migrate as captives
THE LINGUISTIC MATRIX
THE
OLMECS
• Olmecs: The "rubber people"
• Earliest center, on the coast of Mexico Gulf, 1200 B.C.E.
• The other two later centers: La Venta and Tres Zapotes
• Olmec society
• Authoritarian in nature
• Colossal heads – possibly rulers
• Power shown in pyramid construction
• Trade in jade and obsidian
• Decline and fall of Olmec society
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The cause remains a mystery
Olmecs destroyed ceremonial centers
Most likely, civil conflict ruined their society
By 400 B.C.E., other societies eclipsed the Olmecs
• Influence of Olmec traditions
• Maize, ceremonial centers were common to later societies
• Other legacies: Calendar, rituals of human sacrifice, ballgame
• Olmecs did not leave written records
OLMEC ART
TEOTIHUACAN
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The city of Teotihuacan
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Built in the highlands of Mexico
Colossal pyramids of sun and moon dominated the skyline
Between 400 and 600 C.E., the city had 200,000 inhabitants
Paintings and murals reflect the importance of priests
Teotihuacan society
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Rulers and priests dominated society
Two-thirds of inhabitants worked in fields
Famous for obsidian tools, orange pottery
Professional merchants traded widely
No sign of military organization
Cultural traditions
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Inherited Olmecs' culture
Honored earth god, rain god
Decline of Teotihuacan
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Military pressure from other peoples since 500 C.E.
Began to decline 650 C.E.; Invaders sacked city, mid-8th century
TEOTIHUACAN THE CITY
TEOTIHUACAN
AND TULA
AMONG THE MAYA
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Mayan Origins
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Original home: southern Mexico, Yucatan, Central America
Tikal: 600-900 CE expanded from Belize into Yucatan, Mexico
Evidence that a group, its ideas (Teotihuacan?) migrated into area to establish states
Toltec Origins
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Several lineages such as Cocom, Xiu, Itza were called dzulob or foreigners
Chronicles of Chilam Balam kept by villages indicate this origin
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Popul Vu and Chronicles of Cakchiquels
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Founders had special knowledge that gave them right to establish a state
Many leaders recorded in Mayan records for 700 years but had Nahua names
Show migration as common in region and in founding of cities in area
Indicate Nahua or Tolan connections
Teotihuacan Influences
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Use of aspects of Teotihuacan writing and phraseology suddenly appear in Mayan
In 378 CE in Mayan Long Count, Tikal conquered Uaxacatun
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A stella erected to commemorate the event: its iconography is from Teotihuacan
After that the iconography occurs in other Mayan stella
Chichen Itza
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Early founders are clearly Toltec
Could have been an indication of Toltec invasion of the area
EARLY GEOGRAPHY
THE MAYANS
THE
MAYA
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The Maya
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Earliest heir of the Olmecs, lived in highlands of Guatemala
Kaminaljuyú, a ceremonial center, but not a full-fledged city
Teotihuacan became dominant during the 4th century C.E.
After the 4th century, society flourished in lowlands
Besides maize, also cultivated cotton and cacao
Tikal
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Most important Maya political center, 300 to 900 C.E.
A bustling city of 40,000 people
Enormous plazas, scores of temples, pyramids, palaces
Maya warfare
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Victorious warriors won enormous prestige
War captives became slaves or sacrificial victims to gods
Chichén Itzá
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Rose as a power by the 9th century
Organized a loose empire in the northern Yucatan
Maya decline
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Began in 800 C.E., the Mayas (except in Chichén Itzá) deserted their cities
Causes of decline remain unclear
MAYAN
SOCIETY
• Maya society
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Kings, priests, and hereditary nobility at the top
Merchants were from the ruling class, served also as ambassadors
Professional architects and artisans were important
Peasants and slaves were majority of population
• The Maya calendar
• Maya priests understood planetary cycles and could predict eclipses
• Besides the solar year, also had a ritual year of 260 days and 20
months
• Combined attributes of two calendars determined the fortune of
activities
• Maya writing
• Contained both ideographic elements and symbols for syllables
• Maya scribes used writing extensively
• Only four books survived the destruction by Spanish conquerors
• The Maya ballgame
• Played by two individuals or two teams
• Very popular, every ceremonial center had stone-paved courts
MAYAN
RELIGION
• Religious thought
• Popol Vuh, a Maya creation myth
• Gods created humans out of maize and water
• Gods maintained agricultural cycles
• Gods placated
• Exchanged for honors and sacrifices
• Priests interpreted calendars
• Bloodletting rituals
• Most important rituals, to honor the gods for rains
• Sacrificing captives let to many wars for victims
• Also voluntary bloodshedding
MAYAN TRADE
Mayan Weaving
EARLY MIGRATIONS IN
CENTRAL MEXICO
• c. 800 Chichimeca and Nonoalca
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Migrated into valley; may have sacked Teotihuacan
Created Tulan Empire, a militaristic state
After fall of Tula, Tolteca people became migratory
• 987 CE conquer or found Maya city of Chichen Itza
• Chichimecs were nomadic wanders in Central Mexico
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Tolteca and Chichimeca became progenitors of later royal dynasties
Quetzalcoatl was a prince of Tula, perhaps a god worshipped by Toltecs
• Either the hero was deified or the god’s worship spread
• It spread throughout Mesoamerica including the Maya as Kukulcan
• Michoacan
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Tarascan monarchy looked back to Chichimeca
They had settled among the lake dwellers
The Michoaque or Tarascans are linked with the Nahua and Otomi
Toltec ancestry different from Chichimec
TOLTECS
AND TULA
• Toltecs
• Collapse of Teotihuacan in central Mexico, 9th to 10th century
• Toltecs migrated to central Mexico about the 8th century
• Established large state, powerful army from mid-10th to 12th century
• Tula
• Capital city of Toltecs
• Center of weaving, pottery, obsidian work
• Close relations with societies of coast, Yucatan
• Toltec decline
• Civil strife at Tula, beginning in 1125
• Nomadic incursion of 1175
• End of 12th c., no longer powerful
• Quetzalcoatl
• Originally a human prince of Tula, dedicated to his people
• Tricked, driven from power
• Gradually became a hero, god in struggle with evil deities
THE MYTHICAL MIGRATION
OF ROOTS
• Aztecs or Mexica
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Migration of the Aztecs from the north towards Mexico valley
Began c. 1000 CE; reached Central Valley c. 1250 CE
Glorifying their Chichimec ancestry
• The Aztec rulers chose a member of the Colhua royal family, Acamapichtli
• He became their first emperor (tlatoani) after the foundation of Tenochtitlan
• The Aztecs
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Circular Migration
• Sometimes it starts in Basin of Mexico at Colhuacan
• Means the “Place of the Owners of Grandfathers”
• Often disguised as Teo- (true) Colhuacan
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Aztlan
• Situated on an island in a lake like Lake Texcoco
• Duran, Spanish Chronicler records Mexica account
• Moteuczoma sent envoys to locate Chicomoztoc, Colhuacan
• His accounts indicate a primitive, idyllic version of Tenochtitlan
• Account indicates Aztecs could not go back after “fall from grace”
EARLY
AZTECS
• The Mexica
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Known as Aztecs, arrived in central Mexico about mid-13th century
Tough people, wandering, fighting for century in central Mexico
Settled at Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City) about 1345
Plentiful food supplies and chinampas by Lake Texcoco
• The Aztec empire
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Military campaigns against neighboring societies, mid-15th century
Conquered and colonized Oaxaco in southwestern Mexico
Made alliance with Texcoco and Tlacopan
Empire ruled 12 million people and most of Mesoamerica
• Tribute and trade
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Tribute obligations were very oppressive
Empire had no bureaucracy or administration
Allies did not have standing army
Tribute from 489 subject territories
Tribute flowed into Tenochtitlan
AZTEC WORLD
MEXICA
SOCIETY
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Warriors
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Mexica women
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Ranked among the Mexica elite; specialized in calendrical and ritual lore
Advisers to Mexica rulers, occasionally, became supreme rulers themselves
Cultivators and slaves
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No public role, but enjoyed high honor as mothers of warriors
Honor of bearing children was equal to that of capturing enemies in battle
Priests
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Military elite at top of rigid social hierarchy
Mostly from the Mexica aristocracy
Enjoyed great wealth, honor, and privileges
Cultivators worked on chinampas (small plots of reclaimed land)
Often worked on aristocrats‘ land
Paid tribute and provided labor service for public works
Large number of slaves, worked as domestic servants
Craftsmen and merchants
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Skilled craftsmen enjoyed some prestige
Tenuous position of merchants:
• Supplied exotic goods and military intelligence
• Under suspicion as greedy profiteers
MEXICA RELIGION
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Mexica gods
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Tezcatlipoca: giver/taker of life, patron deity of warriors
Quetzalcóatl: supporter of arts, crafts, and agriculture
Ritual bloodletting: common to all Mesoamericans
Huitzilopochtli: the war god
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Human sacrifice encouraged by devotion to Huitzilopochtli
Large temple at the center of Tenochtitlan
Hundreds of thousands sacrificed to this war god
Rivalry between Huitzilpochtli, Quetzalcoatl
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Quetzalcoatl protector of humans
Tricked by some gods, fall from grace
Driven into exile with promise to return
CARIBBEAN MIGRATIONS
• The Saladoids
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Migrated c. 6000 BCE to islands
Known by the style of the pottery they made
Ancestors of the Taino
• Arawak and Carib Indians
• Arawak
• Migrated from north coast of South America c. 1000 CE
• Settled the islands of the Caribbean
• Largely peaceful, traded with other islands, mainland
• Carib
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Originated in the Orinoco Area
Language indicate they migrated from interior of Brazil
Master boat builders, sailors
Traded goods for gold, silver of mainland
Very warlike and aggressive
EARLY ANDEAN
SOCIETY
• Geography
• Impacted north-south movement and communication
• Created micro-cultures – small cultures isolated within region
• Early migration
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By 12,000 B.C.E. hunter-gathers reached South America
By 8000 B.C.E. began to experiment with agriculture
Complex societies appeared in central Andean region 1000 B.C.E.
Andean societies located in modern day Peru and Bolivia
• Early agriculture in South America
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Main crops: beans, peanuts, sweet potatoes, cotton
Fishing supplemented agricultural harvests
By 1800 B.C.E., produced pottery,
Temples and pyramids appeared
CHAVIN
AND MOCHE
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The Chavín Cult
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Very popular around 900 to 800 B.C.E.
Vanished completely by about 300 B.C.E.
Cult was probably related to introduction of maize
Cult left large temple complexes and elaborate art works
Complexity of Andean society
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Techniques of producing cotton textiles and fishing nets
Discovered gold, silver, and copper metallurgy
Cities began to appear shortly after Chavíncult
Early Andeans did not make use of writing
Mochica (300-700 C.E.)
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One of several early Andean states, located in northern Peru
Mochica ceramics: lives of different social classes
Mochica did not integrate the whole Andean region
ANDEAN GEOGRAPHY
COMING OF
THE INCA
• After Chavin and Moche
• Several regional states dominated Andean South America
• All built upon previous accomplishments, civilizations
• Chucuito
• Chucuito dominated highlands around Lake Titicaca
• Cultivation of potatoes, herding llamas and alpacas
• Traded with lower valleys, chewed coca leaves
• Chimu
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Powerful kingdom in lowlands of Peru
Arose prior to mid-15th century
Extensive Irrigation networks
Cultivation of maize and sweet potatoes
Capital city at Chanchan, massive brick buildings
THE INCA
• The Inca empire
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Settled first around Lake Titicaca among other peoples
Ruler Pachacuti launched campaigns against neighbors, 1438
Built a huge empire stretching 4000 kilometers from north to south
Ruled the empire with military and administrative elite
Inca bureaucrats relied on quipu
• Mnemonic aid made of an array of small cords to keep track of
information
• Cuzco and Machu Picchu
• Capital of the Inca: had 300,000 people in the late 15th century
• Machu Picchu hidden in mountain, jungles: last retreat of Inca
• Inca roads
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Two major roads linked the south and north
Runners carried messages across empire
Paved with stone, shaded by trees
Supported centralized government, facilitated spread of Quechua
INCA MAP
INCA
SOCIETY
• Trade
• No large merchant class
• Incas bartered agricultural surplus locally
• Not much specialization
• The chief ruler
• Chief ruler was viewed as descended from the sun
• In theory, the god-king owned everything on earth
• After death, mummified rulers became intermediaries with gods
• Aristocrats and priests
• Aristocrats enjoyed fine food, embroidered clothes, and wore ear
spools
• Priests led celibate and ascetic lives, very influential figures
• Peasants
• Delivered portion of their products to bureaucrats
• Besides supporting ruling classes, revenue also used for famine relief
• Provided heavy labor (mita) for public works
• Society ruled as a socialist type centralized state
INCA
RELIGION
• Inca gods: Inti and Viracocha
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Venerated sun god called Inti
Considered other natural forces divine
Also honored the creator god, Viracocha
Sacrifices of animals, agricultural products, not humans
• Moral thought
• Concept of sin
• Violation of established order
• Concept of after-death
• Punishment and reward
• Rituals of absolving sins
• Through confession, penance
THE INCA
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Emergence, c. 1200 CE
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Emerged in the area of Cuzco
Originated as city-state, small population
Wide-ranging Expansion, 1438 CE
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Significance of Conquest, Expansion
• Each Inca had to conquer land, goods
• Booty became treasury for mortuary temple
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No conquest, no treasure, lousy temple to gods
Movements
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Transportation
• Empire was linked by roads and royal runners
• Roads used to transport goods to and from capital, store houses
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Social Movement
• Local nobles educated in capital and returned to lands to rule
• Local nobles sent tribute to Inca’s capital
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Labor Movement
• Mita: each village owed specific number of laborers, days to Inca
• Workers moved to work on projects for the Inca
• Mita also provided soldiers to the Incas armies to expand the state
AYLLU & MITMAQ
AS COLONIES
• Ayllu
• All Inca divided into social groups
• Kinship groups spread across geography
• Each Ayllu
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Claimed land at different elevations
This insured a variety of produce
Grazing land within ayllu held in common
Farming land given to families based on size
Conquered peoples had their own ayllus similarly structured
• Mitmaq
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Inca colonies
Each ayllu contributed people
Relocated to new territories
Each new mitmaq required to bring lands under cultivation
Each mitmaq served as a garrison to control new lands
Each mitmaq spoke Quechua, Amyara, the Incan languages
QUECHUA SHOWS
COLONIZATION
INDIGENOUS
AMERICAN
CULTURAL
REGIONS
SOCIETIES OF
THE NORTH
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Pueblo and Navajo societies
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Two large settled societies in the contemporary American
southwest
By about 700 C.E., began to build stone and adobe buildings
Iroquois peoples
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Agricultural society in the woodlands east of the Mississippi River
Five Iroquois nations emerged from Swasco society, 1400 C.E.
Women were in charge of Iroquois villages and longhouses
Mound-building peoples
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Built earthen mounds throughout eastern North America
Mounds used for ceremonies, rituals, dwelling, burial sites
Showed influence of contacts with Mesoamericans, Mayans
Cahokia
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The largest mound at Cahokia, Illinois
15-38,000 people lived in Cahokia society, c. 12th century
Burial sites reveal existence of social classes and trade
AMERICAN
SOUTHWEST
• The Anasazi
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Nomadic Hunter Gathers became Sedentary farmers
• Semi-permanent farming villages later arose with extensive trade
• Settlements linked by extensive pedestrian roads like Inca roads
• Original trade goods were surplus foods
• Area lacks trees, metals, etc. for which Anasazi traded food, finished goods
• Trade goods from the Great Basin, North Mexico, Pacific, Mississippi area
• Many trade goods (copper, feathers) from Central Mexico
• Mined turquoise for trade to Mesoamerica
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300 Year Great Drought c. 1200 forced abandonment of towns
• Semi-sedentary, farming an area for 30 years and migrating to new site
• Environmental stress could have weakened civilization
• Area had thin soil, little water so overfarming relatively easy
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Internal conflict, invasion by new nomads likely cause of migration
• Descendents
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Likely Descendents: Hopi, Navajo, Zuni
Pueblo Indians have similar building techniques, farming, pottery
They also had trade contacts with Mesoamerica
THE ANASAZI
& MOVEMENT
Archaeology and
Space Age
Technology have
revealed an
extensive
network of
roads
GEOGRAPHIC MAP