John P. McKay ● Bennett D. Hill ● John Buckler
Patricia Buckley Ebrey ● Roger B. Beck
Clare Haru Crowston ● Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks
A History of World Societies
Ninth Edition
CHAPTER 11
The Americas,
2500 B.C.E.–1500 C.E.
Copyright © 2011 by Bedford/St. Martin’s
I. The First Peoples of the Americas
A. Describing the Americas and Their Peoples
1. Amerigo Vespucci
2. The word Indian
I. The First Peoples of the Americas
B. Settling the Americas
1. The Bering Strait
2. Gathering and hunting societies
I. The First Peoples of the Americas
C. The Development of Agriculture
1. Maize
2. Early agricultural techniques
3. Livestock domestication
II. Early Societies
A. Mounds, Towns, and Trade in North and South America
1. Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys
2. Norte Chico
B. Olmec Agriculture, Technology, and Religion
1. Agriculture and trade
2. Egalitarian societies
3. Religious structures
III. Classical Era Mesoamerica
and North America, 300–900 C.E.
A. Maya Agriculture and Trade
1. Staple crops
2. Raised fields
3. Transportation for trade
III. Classical Era Mesoamerica
and North America, 300–900 C.E.
B. Maya Science and Religion
1. Popul Vuh
2. Religious rituals
3. Mathematics
4. Astronomy and calendric development
III. Classical Era Mesoamerica
and North America, 300–900 C.E.
C. Growth and Assimilation of the Teotihuacán and Toltec
Cultures
1. Zapotecan-speaking peoples
2. Urban centers
3. Toltec confederation
III. Classical Era Mesoamerica
and North America, 300–900 C.E.
D. Hohokam, Hopewell, and Mississippian Societies
1. Hohokam earthworks
2. Hopewell earthworks
3. Cahokia
IV. The Aztecs
A. Religion and War in Aztec Society
1. Quetzalcoatl
2. Huitzilopochtli
3. Sacrifice
IV. The Aztecs
B. Social Distinctions Among Aztecs
1. Warrior aristocracy
2. Ordinary citizens
3. Landless workers
4. Slaves
IV. The Aztecs
C. The City of Tenochtitlán
1. Population
2. City layout
3. Markets
4. The temple
V. The Incas
A. Earlier Peruvian Cultures
1. Moche civilization
2. Warfare
B. Inca Imperialism and Its Religious Basis
1. Royal mummies
2. Culture of warfare
3. Imperial unification
4. Domestic infrastructure
V. The Incas
C. The Clan-Based Structure of Inca Society
1. Land grants
2. Tribute
3. Domestic laws
4. Exploited labor