The cultures and civilizations of the Americas

The cultures and civilizations of the Americas

Where did the Native Americans come from?

Who was in Meso-America? ( Middle America ) Olmec Teotihuacan Maya Toltec Aztec

Teotihuacan Temples Quetzalcoatl Chinampas Apartment housing for commoners Obsidian tools Aristocratic govt Military protected long distance trade Decline violence

Teotihuacan Pyramid of the Sun Pyramid of the Moon

Maya

MAYA Yucatan Peninsula City States; hereditary Swidden agriculture; no metal tools Complex religion - 3 layers (heavens, now and underworld); trances Elite, tatoos, human sacrifice (elite capt) Writing, ball playing (pok-a-tok), astronomy, Calendar (365) math system (zero) **Mayan math computa`tion Elite women high; women important demise - war, drought, infighting

Mayan Calendar Ritual divine cycle calendar Solar civil calendar long count calendar first date is actually written 13.0.0.0.0. three possible equivalences: 13.0.0.0.0 = 13 Aug 3114 BCE (Gregorian) 13.0.0.0.0 = 11 Aug 3114 BCE (Gregorian) 13.0.0.0.0 = 15 Oct 3374 BC (Gregorian) Assuming one of the first two equivalences, the Long Count will again reach 13.0.0.0.0 on 21 or 23 December AD 2012 13.0.0.0.0 may have been the Mayas' idea of the date of the creation of the world.

Mayan Corn God, Yum

Mayan Corn god & Rain god - From ancient Mayan religious texts

Maya / Aztec Calendar

Palenque

Mayan Temples

Toltec Transmitted Teotihuacan & Mayan culture to the Aztecs Conquest state; military power Violent culture Rivalries Tula art ----- Decline & invasion by the Aztecs

Capital: Tula Aztecs plundered site for building materials

Toltec art The Toltec Empire and leaders created an unmatched mystique in the minds of the Central American people. The Toltec leaders were thought of as being alongside deities. Later cultures often revered them and copied their legends, art, buildings and religion. Many future rulers of other cultures, including Mayan leaders and Aztec emperors, claimed to be descended from the Toltecs. The Toltecs sported the familiar ball game played by many central American cultures and may have sacrificed of the losers. Toltecs are known for their somewhat rougher form of architecture, a form that would later inspire the Aztec builders. Toltec art is characterized by walls covered with snakes and skulls, images of a reclining Chak-mool (red jaguar), and the colossal statues of the Atlantes, men carved

The Aztecs

AZTECS Nomads; settled on islands in Lake Texcoco Adopted agriculture; gradually grew into an independent power, then empire Capital city - Tenochtitlan Ruler chosen by nobility War religious significance (of course) legitimized the ruler War also increased holdings of nobles War to get captives for human sacrifice

Society - hierarchy with Aztec ruler & nobility at top & slaves/criminals/debtors at bottom; women had rights Tremendous inequalities - nobility vs commoners Elaborate ritual; Huitzilopochtli; war/sun Human sacrifice Political tribute system; pd in food; goods Economic: chinampas; barter Dike in lake: salt/fresh water

Pyramids of Tenochtitlán

Huitzilopochtli god of war & sun needed human hearts

Tlaloc God of Rain

Tenochtitlan

Quetzalcoatl god of wind & knowledge

Canoe moving about the chinampas

Aztec Society in Transition Increasingly hierarchical Conflict between nobles and growing middle Violence Discontent tribute tribes; sacrifice! Empire under Montezuma II conquered by Spaniards (Cortes)

Moche Andean Societies environmental challenges

Andean Cultures Background: Early small coastal & foothills villages by 2600 BCE cf - Old Kingdom Egypt Chavin (900-250 BCE) Trade routes; controlled; linked regions Maize <----> quinoa, potatoes, llamas Adobe & stone; 1 st metals; jaguar-man Social stratification: priests, elite, etc.

Technologies to meet the needs Environmental challenges: Altitude Frosts Arid / drought Only llamas! Compensations: Calendar New varieties potatoes & grains Terraced farming Freeze-dried vegetables & meat Llama & alpaca wool

Andean culture Khipus Ayllu Hereditary aristocracy & kings Mit a Coca (not cacao) Colonists

khipus

Moche Ca. 600 CE Maize, quinoa, beans, manioc, sweet potatoes Irrigation, canals, aqueducts Alpacas & llamas Textiles Stratified society; theocratic Women weavers

Moche ceramic sculpture

The Inca

INCA huge empire & strong central gov t extending length of South America Large professional military Built paved roads & suspension bridges - used running messengers; quipus Pastoralists; men and women Capital Cuzco; sun god; royal family Local rulers/chiefdoms; control by hostage taking

Inca terraces; Machu Picchu

Machu Pichu

suspension bridge

Northern Peoples Southwestern desert Aztec influence incl. maize, squash, beans Hohokam irrigation canals Anasazi kivas; cliff dwellings & canyon appts, pottery, weaving Chaco canyon; Mesa Verde

Anasazi cliff dwellings

Mississippian culture Oldest mounds 3000 s BCE mound-builders Chiefdoms Towns central plaza surrounded by mounds; burial mounds, temple mounds Social stratification; trade (not accepted as product of the Native Americans until late 1800 s!)

How Mississippian towns might have looked

Cahokia mounds city; Illinois Had more inhabitants than Paris at that time (1150)

Etowah Indian Mound- in your very own North Georgia