States and Empires of
Mesoamerica and North America
 The peoples of North and South America, who had
only fleeting contact with Asia, Africa, and Europe
during the period 1000-1500 CE, did develop similar
empires of highly structured governments, distinctive
cultural and religious traditions, and elaborate trade
networks.
States and Empires in
Mesoamerica and North America
 The Toltecs
 Toltecs
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Dominant culture in central Mexico from 950-1150 CE
Capital city was Tula with population of 60,000
Grew crops of beans, maize, peppers, tomatoes, chilies, and
cotton
Large armies helped build a regional empire
Trade network extended throughout the Gulf of Mexico
By 1175 could no longer suppress civil strife between ethnic
groups or defend themselves from northwest Mexico’s
nomadic invaders.
States and Empires in
Mesoamerica and North America
 The Mexica
 Mexica, often referred to as the Aztecs, arrived in central
Mexico about the middle of the thirteenth century.
 Known for being disorderly (kidnapping women, etc)
 1345 CE settle in the marsh region of Lake Texcoco and
founded the capital city of Tenochtitlan
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Developed an extremely productive Agricultural system based on
floating gardens called chinampas.
 Early 1400s – Under the leadership of Itzcoatl and then
Moctezuma, the Aztecs expanded throughout much of
Mesoamerica via military campaigns.
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Motivated by quest for food crops, textiles, jewelry, obsidian knives,
cacao, and rubber
Flow into the capital city and into the hands of the Aztec elites
No centralized bureaucracy… Left local affairs to local people as their
reputation for fierceness kept most subjects in line
States and Empires In
Mesoamerica and North America
 Mexica Society
 Patriarchal
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Women’s primary role was to give birth to warriors
Death during childbirth considered the same as death in
battle
 Hierarchical
 Accomplished Warriors – Great material wealth and power
 Priestly class – Wealthy and well educated
 Artisans and Merchants
 Commoners – Farmed on the chinampas, and land was
distributed to them by calpulli (organized community groups)
 Slaves – Mexica themselves, most were criminals or were sold
into slavery out of their family’s financial needs.
States and Empires in
Mesoamerica and North America
 Mexica Religion
 Believed in and practiced many of the same religious
traditions as the early Mesoamerican cultures
 Engaged in ritualized bloodletting and human sacrifice
because of their belief that their pantheon (many gods)
had shed blood to create the earth, the sun, and rain,
and therefore they must give back blood in return.
 Sacrificed criminals, prisoners of war, and Mexica
people
States and Empires of
Mesoamerica and North America
 Peoples and Societies of the North
 Most of the peoples of North America lived in hunting,
gathering, and foraging societies.
 Some built large scale agricultural societies
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Pueblo and Navajo – Maize crops
Iroquois – Agricultural regions east of the Mississippi
Mound-builders on the eastern half of the U.S.
None of these societies left written records, but archeological
evidence suggests that these societies were linked by trade and
characterized by a range of social class.
States and Empires in South
America
 Since there was no tradition of writing in South
America prior to Spanish arrival, knowledge about
those empires comes mostly from archaeological
evidence and from information recorded by Spanish
conquerors.
 Complex societies had existed her since c. 1000 BCE
 By 1000 CE secular governments were becoming
increasingly powerful, and by the end of the fifteenth
century, the Incas built the largest empire South
America had ever seen.
States and Empires of South
America
 The Coming of the Incas
 By the late fifteenth century the Inca empire stretched
from the Pacific to the limits of the Amazon rainforest
and from modern Ecuador to Argentina, with a
population of more than eleven million people.
 Cuzco was their capital
 Had over 10,000 miles of road systems to enhance trade
and communication
 Kept detailed records of population, tax rolls and
receipts, labor services, and historical information.
States and Empires in South
America
 Inca Society and Religion
 Society
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Rulers – In theory, the chief ruler was an absolute and
infallible deity descended from the sun, and he owned all the
land, livestock, and property in his realm during his lifetime.
Aristocrats
Priests
Peasants
 Religion
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Believed that their chief rulers, even in death, still had power
and acted as intermediaries between the dead and the living.
The Societies of Oceania
 The peoples of Oceania built flourishing societies of
their own, creating trade networks between hunting
and gathering societies.
The Societies of Oceania
 Nomadic Foragers of Australia
 Australia’s aboriginal people never developed
agriculture, despite having knowledge of it.
 Instead relied upon the bounties of the land.
 Traded frequently with the peoples of New Guinea and
the islands of southeast Asia.
The Development of Pacific Island
Societies
 By 1000 CE a surging population prompted social and
political development in Pacific Island societies.
 Developments in agriculture and sea technology allowed
this to occur.
 Lead to social stratification and hierarchies
 Religion
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Often worshiped gods of war and agriculture