Ancient Civilization in the Americas
Settling the Americas
Much is unclear about the settlement of the Americas. The first large wave of migration from Siberia to
Alaska probably took place about 13000 BCE. But
small numbers of migrants may have crossed the
Bering land bridge earlier, and it is also possible that
some migrants reached the west coast of the Americas
by watercraft - sailing or drifting with the currents.
Several archeological excavations have yielded
remains that scholars date to 15000 BCE or earlier,
suggesting that at least a few human groups made
their way to the Americas before the beginning of
large scale migration from Siberia. In any case, after
13000 BCE, migrants arrived in large numbers and
quickly populated all habitable regions of the western
hemisphere. By 9500 BCE, they had reached the southernmost part of South America.
Development of Agriculture
The earliest human inhabitants of the Americas lived exclusively by hunting and gathering. Beginning in
8000 BCE, however, it became increasingly difficult for them to survive by foraging. Large game animals
became scarce as temperatures warmed and humans settled the Americas following the Ice Age. By 7500
BCE, many species of large mammals in the Americas were well on the road to extinction. Some human
communities adapted by relying on fish or small game to supplement foods they gathered, while others
turned to agriculture giving rise to the first complex societies in the Americas – centered in Mesoamerica
and the Andes Mountains of South America.
In Mesoamerica, people began to experiment with farming beans and squashes by 7000 BCE with
cultivation of maize (a corn prototype) and tomatoes to follow shortly thereafter. The agricultural potential
of maize soon made it the staple crop of the region. Due to the steady rainfall of the region, there was so
need to build extensive irrigation near river systems. Although early Mesoamerican peoples had a diet rich
in cultivated foods, they did not domesticate as many animals as civilizations in the eastern hemisphere.
Mesoamericans domesticated a few small animals (such as turkeys and dogs) for food, but most large
animals of the western hemisphere were not susceptible to domestication. As a result, Mesoamericans
were unable to harness animal energy leaving human laborers to prepare fields for cultivation and human
porters carried trade goods on their backs. Additionally, with no draft animals, Mesoamericans had little
need for the invention of wheeled vehicles. Yet, the slow transition to agricultural led to the establishment
of villages around 3000 BCE.
In South America, migrating peoples found both the mountainous highlands and the coastal regions below
hospitable with a cool moist climate. This environment of western South America yielded natural harvests
of squashes, gourds, and wild potatoes as well as deer, llama, and alpaca for hunting. Again around 8000
BCE, pressure on natural food supplies led human communities to experiment with agriculture. Here, as
elsewhere, agriculture encouraged the growth of population, the establishment of villages, and the
elaboration of cultural traditions.
The Olmec of Mesoamerica
By 1500 BCE, the tempo of Mesoamerican life quickened as elaborate ceremonial centers with monumental
pyramids, temples, and palaces arose alongside the agricultural villages. The first of these centers were not
cities like those of early societies in the eastern hemisphere. Permanent residents of the ceremonial
centers included members of the ruling elite, priests, and a few artisans to tend to the needs of the
aristocrats. Large numbers o f people gathered in the ceremonial centers on special occasions to observe
rituals or on market days to exchange goods, but most people then returned to their homes in neighboring
villages.
The earliest known ceremonial centers of the ancient Americas appeared on the coast of the Gulf of
Mexico, and they served as the nerve center of the first complex society of the Americas, known as the
Olmecs. The first Olmec ceremonial center arose about 1200 BCE on the site of the modern town of San
Lorenzo, and it served as their capital for some four hundred years. When the influence of San Lorenzo
waned, leadership passed to new ceremonial
centers at La Venta (800-400 BCE) and Tres
Zapotes (400-100 BCE). These sites defined the
heartland of Olmec society, where agriculture
produced rich harvests.
Based on archaeological remains of these
ceremonial centers, historians believe Olmec
society was probably authoritarian in nature.
Untold thousands of laborers must have
participated in the construction of the ceremonial centers. Each of the principal Olmec sites featured an
elaborate complex of temples, pyramids, altars, stone sculptures, and tombs for rulers. Commoners
delivered a portion of their harvests for the maintenance of the elite classes living in the ceremonial centers
and provided labor for various large-scale construction and art projects. The most distinction artistic
creations of the Olmecs were colossal human heads sculpted from basalt rock. The largest of the sculptures
stands almost 10 feet tall and weighs some 20 tons. In the absence of draft animals and wheels, human
laborers dragged enormous boulders from quarries, floated them on rafts to points near their destinations,
dragged them to their intended sites, and them positioned them for the sculptors. The largest sculptures
required the services of about one thousand laborers.
As the first organized society of Mesoamerica, the Olmec extended their influence beyond their heartland
to neighboring regions through military force and trade. The Olmecs produced large numbers of decorative
objects from jade, which they had to import. In the absence of any metal technology, they also made
extensive use of obsidian from which they fashioned knives and axes with wickedly sharp blades. Like jade,
obsidian came to the Gulf coast from distant regions in the interior of Mesoamerica. In exchange for the
imports, the Olmecs traded small works of art, ceramics, and animal skins.
Among the many mysteries surrounding the Olmecs, one of the most perplexing concerns the decline and
fall of their society. The Olmecs systemically destroyed their ceremonial centers at both San Lorenzo and
La Venta and their deserted sites. Archaeologists studying these sites found statues broken and buried,
monuments defaced, and the capitals themselves burned. Although intruders may have ravaged the
capitals, many scholars believe that that the Olmecs deliberately destroyed their ceremonial centers by
defacing monuments and burying statues because of civil conflict with the ruling classes. The Olmecs left
no written records beyond calendarical inscriptions, however, so the exact meanings of many Olmec
traditions remain up for debate. Nevertheless, it is certain the Olmec heritage of maize cultivation,
ceremonial pyramid temples, and ritual human sacrifice heavily influenced later Mesoamerican civilizations,
including the Maya and Aztecs.
The Chavin of South America
Developing at the same time as the Olmecs in Mesoamerica
was a culture inhabiting the Andes Mountains of South
America. Although they were exact contemporaries, early
Mesoamerican and Andean societies largely developed
independently. Geography discouraged the establishment
of communications between the Andean region and
Mesoamerica because neither the soaring Andes Mountains
nor the dense rainforests of Central America offered an
attractive highway to link the two regions. Geography even
conspired against the establishment of communications
within the central Andean region as deep valleys divided the
Andes Mountains making transportation very difficult.
Nevertheless, a few powerful Andean societies sometimes
overcame the difficulties and united highlands, valleys, and
coastal areas.
Most of the early Andean heartland came under cultivation by 2000 BCE, and permanent settlements
dotted the coastal regions in particular. The earliest cultivators of the region relied on beans, peanuts, and
sweet potatoes as their main food crops. The rich marine life of the Pacific Ocean supplemented
agricultural harvests, enabling coastal peoples to build increasingly complex societies. Settlements
probably appeared later in the Andean highlands than in the coastal regions, but many varieties of potatoes
supported agricultural communities in the highlands after 2000 BCE. By 1500 BCE, peoples in all Andean
regions had begun to fashion many distinctive styles of pottery and to build temples and pyramids in large
ceremonial centers. This marked the quickened pace of life in South America. These first signs of
civilization are often called the Chavin culture because of the appearance of a new religion in the central
Andes that accompanied these agricultural gains.
The Chavin cult, which enjoyed enormous popularity, spread through most of the territory occupied by
modern Peru and then vanished about 300 BCE. The capacity of agriculture to support large populations
might well have served as the stimulus for the emergence of a cult designed to promote fertility and
abundant harvests. In any case, the large temple complexes and elaborate works of art that accompanied
the cult demonstrate its importance to those who honored it. Devotees produced intricate carvings
representing their deities with the features of humans and wild animals such as jaguars, eagles, and snakes.
The extensive distribution of the temples and carvings shows that the Chavin cult seized the imagination of
agricultural peoples throughout the central Andes.
During the era of the Chavin cult, Andean society became increasingly complex. Weavers devised
techniques of producing elaborate cotton textiles with intricate patterns and designs. Artisans
manufactured large, light, and strong fishnets from cotton string. Craftsmen experimented with minerals
and discovered techniques of gold, silver, and copper metallurgy. They mostly fashioned metal into pieces
of jewelry or other decorative items but also made small tools out of copper. There is no evidence to
suggest that Chavin cultural and religious beliefs led to the establishment of a state or any organized
political order, however. Indeed, they probably inspired the building of ceremonial centers rather than the
making of true cities. It was not until after ht collapse of Chavin culture around 200 BCE that true cities
began to emerge in South America.
Again, although little is known about the Chavin culture, they established a civilization that was the
forerunner to the Incas and despite its relative isolation witnessed several agricultural products and
technologies slowly diffuse. By the end of the Chavin era, cultivation of maize had spread from
Mesoamerica to Andean South America while Andean metallurgy traveled north from the Andean region to
Mesoamerica.
TO WHAT EXTENT DO THE OLMEC AND CHAVIN FIT OUR DEFINITION OF THE ANCIENT PERIOD AND RIVER
VALLEY CIVILIZATION?

How are they similar to the Egyptians and Mesopotamians?
 How are they different?
Olmec:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerican_chronology
http://www.famsi.org/research/pohl/chronology.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olmec
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/olmecs.htm
http://www.aztec-history.com/olmec-civilization.html
Chavin:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_South_America#Chav.C3.ADn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav%C3%ADn_culture
http://www.jqjacobs.net/andes/chavin.html
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/chavin.htm