The Americas – Lecture
I.
II.
III.
Migrations to the Americas
i. Early migrations from northern Asia to Alaska occurred between 35,000 and 15,000 years
ago.
ii. Some contact with Polynesians (ocean-going peoples of the South Pacific) might have
occurred as well
Geography
i. Great geographical diversity found in the Western Hemisphere
1. Frozen regions, tropical rain forests, vast plains, heavily forested areas, and high
mountain ranges
2. Made farming impossible in some areas
3. Long distances between arable areas made contact between groups difficult
a. Two main areas of agriculture
i. Mesoamerica (Mexico and Central America)
ii. Andean Mountain region (along the coast of northwestern South
America)
Early American Civilizations
a. Olmecs(1200-400 BCE) – located along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico
i. Society
1. Authoritarian
2. Hierarchal
a. Priestly class at or near the top
b. Ruler and his family at or near the top
c. Artisans and merchants (some long distance trade)
d. Labor class
ii. Political
1. Form of kingship probably existed
2. Giant sculptures of heads were probably evidence of the power of the ruling
family
3. Fall of Olmec civilization (around 400 BCE) was probably due to internal conflict
iii. Economic
1. Agricultural based economy
2. Developed domesticated agriculture but had limited domesticated animals
3. No large beasts of burden (horses, oxen, etc)
4. No wheeled vehicles
5. Human labor did all the work
6. Build elaborate drainage systems
7. Traded salt, cacao, clay, and limestone
8. Developed religious centers which grew into city states
a. No competition among city states
b. Chavin (900 – 250 BCE) – located on the Peruvian coastal plan and foothills of the Andes
Mountains. The geographical features of the area (small coastal plain, little rainfall, high
mountains) made the development of the Chavin civilization surprising
i. Social
1. Hierarchal
a. Ruler and his family
b. Priestly class
c. Artisans and merchants
d. Commoners
ii. Political
1. Empires were created to control the 3 ecological zones (coastal plains, mountain
valleys, and tropical rainforests) and the connecting trade routes
2. Some evidence of irrigation projects and organization for the defense of the
empire show political power of the central gov’t
iii. Culture
1. The Chavin religion, and perhaps its only lasting legacy, spread to other areas,
including perhaps Mesoamerica
iv. Economic
1. Chavin capital, Chavin de Huantar, was situated along long distance trade routes
between the west coast of South America and the mountain valleys of the Andes
(perhaps also to the tropical rainforests of the eastern coast of S. America)
2. Agriculture-based economy – used llamas to carry burdens up and down the
mountain tracts
IV.
Classical American Civilizations
a. Maya (300-900 C.E.) – located in Southern Mexico and parts of Central America
i. Social
1. Rigid and strict social classes
ii. Political
1. Rulers performed both priestly and political functions
a. Rulers not divine but were able to communicate with supernatural beings
and deceased ancestors
2. Fall of the Mayas
a. Around 800 CE – Maya population moved out of the cities which soon fell
into decline
i. No evidence as to why – poss. explanations include foreign
invasion, civil war, or disease epidemics
iii. Cultural
1. Polytheistic religion
2. Some rituals called for human sacrifice
a. Victims were prisoners of war (many were defeated elite)
3. Mayan priests constructed a very advanced calendar to help carry out religious
ceremonies, plant and harvest crops, etc.
iv. Economic
1. Agriculture
a. Practiced slash and burn agriculture to help nourish the poor soil
b. Also built terraced fields along river banks
2. Cities - Built large ceremonial centers in the Mesoamerican lowlands. These
centers developed into cities with tens of thousands of people
a. Primarily religious and administrative centers
b. Little trade conducted within the cities
c. Included large pyramids, houses for the elite, a ritual ball courts, and
alters and memorial pillars called “stelae”
i. To honor great actions of Maya leaders
ii. Inscribed with hieroglyphic script
b. Teotihuacan (300 C.E. to 750 C.E.) – located in Central Mexico
i. Social
1. Priests were an important part of the elite class
ii. Political
1. Teotihuacan was the name of the capital city of these people
a. Population somewhere between 125,000 and 200,000 people
b. Center of government administration
2. City was so well planned that some central planning must have taken place
a. Evidence suggests that a group of powerful families ruled cooperatively
iii. Economic
1. Agricultural based economy
a. Irrigation of crop fields produced an abundance of crops
2. Trade
a. Unlike the Mayas, the Teotihuacan had a large class of profession al
merchants who traded their products
V.
Post-classical American Civilizations
a. Toltecs (950 C.E. to 1150 C.E.) – located in Central Mexico, northwest of present-day Mexico City
i. Social
1. The priestly class was an important part of the elite class
2. Emphasis on military prowess led to the rise of an elite warrior class from which
rulers would often emerge
ii. Political
1. Capital city was Tula – population reached 60,000
2. Toltecs created an extensive Empire from Central Mexico to the Yucatan
peninsula to Guatemala in Central America
3. A strong militaristic legacy allowed the Toltecs to conquer or intimidate
neighboring peoples
a. Toltecs required “tribute” from subservient peoples in the form of
treasure, food, and prisoners/slaves
4. The Toltecs had two rulers instead of one, which often times led to internal
conflict.
5. The Toltec empire began to decline due to the exile of a famous ruler named
Topiltzin and the subsequent fragmentation of the empire
iii. Culture
1. The Toltecs relied heavily on religious human sacrifices to satisfy the many gods
of their religion
iv. Economic
1. Agriculture-based
2. The exchange of turquoise with people in the American Southwest might have
occurred
3. Tributary payment from surrounding areas were a large part of the Toltec
economy
b. Aztecs (1150 C.E. to 1535 C.E.) – located in Central Mexico near the present-day site of Mexico
City
i. Social
1. Militaristic aristocrats headed the social structure
a. A semi-divine emperor came from the noble class
b. Members of the emperor’s bureaucracy also came from this noble class
2. Priests
a. Advisers to the king and performed elaborate religious rituals
3. Warrior class
a. Came from ordinary freemen who had to prove themselves in battle
4. Merchant class (pochteca)
a. Conducted long distance trade
5. Serfs/Freemen
a. Skilled laborers/artisans
b. Farm laborers
c. Manual labor
6. Slaves
a. Mainly prisoners of war or debtors
7. Women were subservient to men but women who bore warrior sons were given
higher status than other women
ii. Political
1. Tenochtitlan was the capital city
a. As many as 300,000 people inhabited the city
2. The Aztec Emperor appointed military governors from the noble class to rule over
conquered peoples
3. The Empire stretched from Central Mexico to Guatamala
4. Aztec military power led to the Aztecs creating a tributary empire
a. Conquered peoples had to contribute food, luxury goods, and prisoners
iii. Culture
1. Religion played an extremely important role in Aztec culture
a. Large pyramids built as temples to the gods
b. Religion helped to provide political legitimacy to the emperor as he was
seen as a representative of the gods on earth
c. Human sacrifice was practiced extensively
i. Victims were mainly prisoners of war or were given as part of the
tribute offering to the Aztecs
iv. Economic
1. Agriculture-based economy
a. Innovations
i. Chinampas – floating islands in Lake Texcoco which were used to
grow food
ii. Greatly increased food production in the Aztec empire
2. Tribute system
a. The government controlled the distribution of the goods given by
tributary states to the general population but the noble class received the
majority and the commoners received much less
3. Long distance trade
a. The Aztecs conducted long distance trade for luxury goods with
neighboring peoples
b. Everything had to be carried by slaves or serfs as there were no beasts of
burden to carry the load
c. Incas (1100 C.E. to 1540 C.E.)
i. Social
1. Emperor, or Inca, was on top
2. Aristocratic class
a. Served emperor as advisers and provincial governors
3. Priests
4. Warrior class
5. Peasants
a. Organized into communities called ayllus
6. While Inca society was clearly patriarchal, women did have the ability to inherit
the use of property.
a. Inca’s chief wife was also considered a goddess of the moon
ii. Political
1. The capital was Cuzco
2. The inca, or emperor owned all property and all the commoners worked for the
inca
a. Mit’a system – all commoners owed compulsory service to the Inca state
on a rotating basis
3. The inca controlled his empire with a vast and powerful military and a extensive
network of roads
4. Alliances were made with surrounding peoples whose rulers swore allegiance to
the inca and were allowed to keep their ruling positions
iii. Culture
1. Religion played an important part in the Incan Empire
a. Temples were built for conducting religious rituals
b. The mummified remains of past incas were housed in these temples and
were worshipped as cult figures
c. Human sacrifice was practiced but not to the extend or scale of the Aztec
Empire
i. Victims were mainly prisoners of war or were part of the tribute
given to the Incas by surrounding peoples
2. The Incas had no written language instead relying on a system of cords and beads
called khipu to help administer the Empire
iv. Economic
1. Agriculture based economy
a. Innovations
i. Incas used terraced farming to utilize the more mountainous
regions of the Empire
ii. Agricultural surplus was owned by the state and stored in state
storehouses for use in times of shortage or famine
2. The mit’a system created a more socialized economy whereby the people of the
Empire did not own any property but instead worked for the good of the Inca
state
3. No distinct merchant class
a. Long distance trade was less important due to the emphasis on selfsufficiency and the state regulation of production and surplus