American civilizations
Legacy of the Olmecs The earliest American civilization emerged in the tropical forests along the Mexican Gulf Coast. The Olmec civilization lasted from about 1400 B.C. to 500 B.C. Archaeologists know very little about the Olmecs. However, rich tombs and temples suggest that a powerful class of priests and aristocrats stood at the top of Olmec society. The Olmecs did not build true cities. Rather, they built ceremonial centers made up of pyramid-shaped temples and other buildings. People came from nearby farming villages to work on the temples or attend religious ceremonies. The most dramatic remains of the Olmec civilization are the giant carved stone heads found in the ruins of a religious center at La Venta. No one knows how the Olmecs moved these colossal 40-ton stones from distant quarries without wheeled vehicles or draft animals. Through trade, Olmec influence spread over a wide area. The grinning jaguars and serpents that decorate many Olmec carvings appear in the arts of later peoples. The Olmecs also invented a calendar and used carved inscriptions as a form of writing. But their most important legacy may have been the tradition of priestly leadership and religious devotion that became a basic part of later Middle American civilizations. American Civilizations
Climate and geography contributed to the rise of several powerful civilizations in Middle America: Mayan Aztec Incan Migration Small groups of Paleolithic hunters and gatherers reached North America from Asia (through the Bering Strait). This great migration took place during the last ice age. Geography of the Americas Perhaps as early as 30,000 years ago, according to some scholars, small family groups of Paleolithic hunters and food gatherers reached North America from Asia. This great migration took place during the last ice age. At that time, so much water froze into thick ice sheets that the sea level dropped, exposing a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska, in the area now known as the Bering Strait. Many historians believe that hunters followed herds of bison and mammoths across this land bridge. Other migrating people may have paddled small boats and fished along the coasts. Global Warming: About 10,000 B.C., the Earth's climate grew warmer. As the ice melted, water levels rose, covering the land bridge under the Bering Strait. The global warmingor worldwide temperature increasealong with the hunting skills of the first Americans, may have killed off large game animals like the mammoth. People adapted by hunting smaller animals, fishing, and gathering fruit, roots, and shellfish. These nomadic hunter-gatherers slowly migrated eastward and southward across the Americas. Geography These nomadic hunter-gatherers slowly migrated eastward and southward across Americas. The first Americans adapted to a variety of climates and resources. Regions: What lands did the first Americans explore and settle? The Americas are made up of the two continents of North America and South America. Within these two geographic regions is a cultural region that historians call Middle America. Middle America includes Mexico and Central America and was home to several early civilizations. Great mountain chains form a spiny backbone down the western Americas. In North America, the Rocky Mountains split into the East and West Sierra Madre of Mexico. The towering Andes run down the length of South America. The continents are drained by two of the world's three longest rivers, the Amazon of South America and the Mississippi of North America. The first Americans adapted to a variety of climates and resources. Far to the north and the south, people learned to survive in icy, treeless lands. Closer to the Equator, people settled in the hot, wet climate and thick vegetation of the Amazon rain forests. Elsewhere, hunters adapted to deserts like the Atacama of Chile, woodlands like those in eastern North America, and the fertile plains, or rolling flatlands, of both continents. Agricultural Revolution
In Americas, as elsewhere, the greatest change occurred when people learned to cultivate plants and domesticate animals. Farming people settled into villages. Populations expanded. Villages grew into larger religious centers and then into the great cities of the first American civilizations. The Agricultural Revolution: In the Americas, as elsewhere, the greatest adaptation occurred when some people learned to cultivate plants and domesticate animals. Archaeologists think that farming was partly a response to the disappearance of the large mammals. With fewer animals to hunt, people came to depend more on other food sources. In Mexico, or perhaps farther south, Neolithic people began cultivating a range of crops, from corn and beans to sweet potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, and squash. These changes took place slowly between about 8500 B.C. and 2000 B.C. Early American farmers learned to domesticate animals. In South America, domesticated animals include the llama and other creatures valued for their wool. However, the Americas had no large animals such as oxen or horses that were capable of bearing heavy loads or pulling wagons. This lack of draft animals would limit development in some areas. In the Americas, as in Africa and Eurasia, the agricultural revolution helped to cause other changes. Farming people settled into villages. Populations expanded. Some villages grew into large religious centers and then into the great cities of the first American civilizations. Mayan Civilization Located in the Mexican and Central American rain forest. Between 300 and 900 A.D., Mayan city-states flourished. Mayan farming methods allowed them to thrive in the tropical environment. The World of the Mayas: Among the peoples influenced by the Olmecs were the Mayas. Between A.D. 300 and 900, Mayan city-states flourished from the Yucatn in southern Mexico through much of Central America. Economy of the mayas Mayan economy was based on agriculture and trade.
Mayan farmers cleared the dense forests and then built raised fields that caught and held rainwater. They also built channels that could be opened to drain excess water. Scientists have recently determined how Mayan farming methods allowed them to thrive in the tropical environment. Mayan farmers cleared the dense rain forests and then built raised fields that caught and held rainwater. They also built channels that could be opened to drain excess water. This complex system produced enough native corn, called maize, and other crops to support rapidly growing cities. Government Mayan civilization consisted of a group of city-states ruled by a king. Ruling kings, or chiefs, were surrounded by nobles who served as military leaders, and officials who collected taxes and enforced laws. Rulers were usually men, but Mayan records show that women occasionally ruled on their own. Most Mayas were farmers. Social Classes: Each Mayan city had its own ruling chief. He was surrounded by nobles who served as military leaders and officials who managed public works, collected taxes, and enforced laws. Rulers were usually men, but Mayan records and carvings show that women occasionally governed on their own or in the name of young sons. Priests held great power because only they could conduct the elaborate ceremonies needed to ensure good harvests and success in war. Most Mayas were farmers. They grew corn, beans, and squashthe basic food crops of Middle Americaas well as fruit trees, cotton, and brilliant tropical flowers. Men usually cultivated the crops, while women turned them into food. To support the cities, farmers paid taxes in food and helped build the temples. Religion Polytheism Priests held great power
Towering pyramid temples dominated the largest Mayan city of Tikal (present-day Guatemala). The Mayan pyramids remained the tallest structures in the Americas until 1903 (Flariton Building was built). Temples and Palaces: Towering pyramid temples dominated the largest Mayan city of Tikal (tee kahl), in present-day Guatemala. Priests climbed steep temple stairs to perform sacrifices on high platforms, while ordinary people watched from the plazas far below. Some temples also served as burial places for nobles and priests. The Mayan pyramids remained the tallest structures in the Americas until 1903, when the Flatiron Building, a skyscraper, was built in New York City. Tikal also boasted large palaces and huge stone pillars covered with elaborate carvings. The carvings, which usually record events in Mayan history, preserve striking images of haughty aristocrats, warriors in plumed headdresses, and captives about to be sacrificed to the gods. Much of the wealth of Tikal and the other Mayan cities came from trade. Along roads made of packed earth, traders carried valuable cargoes of honey, cocoa, cotton cloth, and feathers to exchange with other people across Middle America. Chichen Itza represents Mayan civilization The Mayas Long-thought to have been peaceful worshippers of the gods, it is now known that the elaborate Mayan rituals included blood-letting. Their celebrations involved dance and sacrificial offering to win the favor of their gods. Also, they were almost constantly in a state of war with one or another of their neighbors. Decline: About A.D. 900, the Mayas abandoned their cities, leaving their great stone palaces and temples to be swallowed up by the jungle. Not until modern times were these lost cities rediscovered. No one knows for sure why Mayan civilization declined. Possibly, frequent warfare forced the Mayas to abandon their traditional agricultural methods. Or overpopulation may have led to overfarming, which in turn exhausted the soil. Heavy taxes to finance wars and temple building may have sparked peasant revolts. Still, remnants of Mayan culture have survived. Today, millions of people in Guatemala and southern Mexico speak Mayan languages and are descended from the builders of this early American civilization. Mayan Achievements The Maya's knowledge of astronomy and mathematics was immense. Some of their calculations have proved not only to be well in advance of heir time, but more accurate than those that we use today. They include a calendar and the calculation of lunar cycles and the accurate prediction of eclipses. Advances in Learning: Along with their magnificent buildings and carvings, the Mayas made impressive advances in learning. They developed a hieroglyphic writing system, which has only recently been deciphered. Mayan scribes kept their sacred knowledge in books made of bark. Though Spanish conquerors later burned most of these books, a handful were taken to Europe and survive in European museums. Mayan priests needed to measure time accurately in order to hold ceremonies at the correct moment. As a result, many priests became expert mathematicians and astronomers. They developed an accurate 365-day solar calendar, as well as a 260-day calendar based on the orbit of the planet Venus. Mayan priests also invented a numbering system and understood the concept of zero. Aztec Civilization Located in arid valley in central Mexico.
In the late 1200s, bands of nomadic people (ancestors of Aztecs) migrated into the Valley of Mexico from the north. They built the city of Tenochtitln (on the site of Mexico City). Once settled, the shifted from hunting to farming. To create more farmlands, the Aztecs built chinampas, artificial islands made of earth piled on reed mats that were anchored to the shallow lake bed. On these floating gardens, they grew corn, beans, and squash. Roots of Aztec Culture Long before Mayan cities rose to the south, the city of Teotihuacn (tay oh tee wah kahn) had emerged in the Valley of Mexico. The Valley of Mexico is a huge oval basin ringed by snowcapped volcanoes, located in the high plateau of central Mexico. From A.D. 100 to A.D. 750, Teotihuacn dominated a large area. Teotihuacn: The city of Teotihuacn was well planned, with wide roads, massive temples, and large apartment buildings. Along the main avenue, the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon rose majestically toward the sky. Citizens of Teotihuacn worshiped a powerful nature goddess and rain god, whose images often appear on public buildings and on everyday objects. Teotihuacn eventually fell to invaders, but its culture influenced later peoples, especially the Aztecs. An Example of Chinampas
Arrival of the Aztecs: In the late 1200s, bands of nomadic people, the ancestors of the Aztecs, migrated into the Valley of Mexico from the north. According to Aztec legend, the gods had told them to search for an eagle perched atop a cactus holding a snake in its beak. They finally saw the sign on a swampy island in Lake Texcoco. Once settled, the Aztecs shifted from hunting to farming. Slowly, they built the city of Tenochtitln (tay nawch tee tlahn), on the site of present-day Mexico City. As their population grew, the Aztecs found ingenious ways to create more farmland. They built chinampas, artificial islands made of earth piled on reed mats that were anchored to the shallow lake bed. On these floating gardens, they raised corn, squash, and beans. They gradually filled in parts of the lake and created canals for transportation. Wide stone causeways linked Tenochtitln to the mainland. Aztec economy was based on agriculture. Government and Society
The Highest Status Emperor Nobles (served as officials, judges, governors) Warriors Commoners (farmers) Slaves (criminals and POWs) Unlike the Mayan city-states, each of which had its own king, the Aztecs had a single ruler. The emperor was chosen by a council of nobles and priests to lead in war. Aztecs had the most advanced civilization in the Western Hemisphere. Government and Society: Unlike the Mayan city-states, each of which had its own king, the Aztecs had a single ruler. The emperor was chosen by a council of nobles and priests to lead in war. Below him, nobles served as officials, judges, and governors of conquered provinces. They enjoyed special privileges such as wearing luxurious feathered cloaks and gold jewelry. Next came the warriors, who could rise to noble status by killing or capturing enemy soldiers. The majority of people were commoners who farmed the land. At the bottom of society were the slaves, mostly criminals or prisoners of war. Despite their low status, slaves' rights were clearly spelled out by law. For example, slaves could own land and buy their freedom. Protected by Aztec power, a class of long-distance traders ferried goods across the empire and beyond. From the highlands, they took goods such as weapons, tools, and rope to barter for tropical products such as jaguar skins and cocoa beans. They also served as spies, finding new areas for trade and conquest. Montezuma 1410 AD - 1469 AD The Great Aztec Emperor
Montezuma I, became the Aztec Emperor in 1440 AD.He won fame as a military leader who expanded the boundaries of the Aztec Empire to the Gulf of Mexico. His military campaigns forced several tribes in Mexico into a united state. He built an aqueduct to bring fresh water to his capital Tenochtitlan. Spaniards took over Mexico on 1521. Conquering an Empire: In the 1400s, the Aztecs greatly expanded their territory. Through a combination of fierce conquests and shrewd alliances, they spread their rule across most of Mexico, from the Gulf of Mexico on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west. By 1500, the Aztec empire numbered an estimated 30 million people. War brought immense wealth as well as power. Tribute, or payment from conquered peoples, helped the Aztecs turn their capital into a magnificent city. Religion Polytheism based on warfare.
They made sacrifices to the war god. Pyramids centers of worship. Religious Beliefs: The priests were a class apart. They performed rituals they believed pleased the Aztec gods and prevented droughts or other disasters. The chief Aztec god was Huitzilopochtli (wee tsee loh pohkt lee), the sun god. His pyramid-temple towered above central Tenochtitln. Huitzilopochtli, the Aztecs believed, battled the forces of darkness each night and was reborn each morning. As the Legend of the Suns shows, there was no guarantee that the sun would always win. To give the sun strength to rise each day, the Aztecs offered human sacrifices. Priests offered the hearts of tens of thousands of victims to Huitzilopochtli and other Aztec gods. Most of the victims were prisoners of war, but sometimes a noble family gave up one of its own members to appease the gods. Other cultures, such as the Olmecs and the Mayas, had practiced human sacrifice, but not on the massive scale of the Aztecs. The Aztecs carried on almost continuous warfare, using the captured enemy soldiers for a regular source of sacrificial victims. Among the conquered peoples, discontent festered and rebellion often flared up. When the armies from Spain later arrived, they found ready allies among peoples who were ruled by the Aztec empire. Incan Civilization Located in the Andes Mountains of South America modern day Peru. The capital city of the Incas was Cuzco. Pachacuti, a warrior and leader, was the founder of the Incan empire. Early Peoples of Peru: Western South America includes a wide variety of climates and terrains. The narrow coastal plain is a dry, lifeless desert crossed by occasional river valleys. Further inland, the snow-capped Andes Mountains rise steeply, leveling off into high plateaus that bake by day and freeze at night. East of the Andes lie dense jungles that stretch from Peru into Brazil. Native American peoples developed many different styles of life across South America. Hunters and gatherers thrived in some regions, while farmers grew root crops in the Amazon rain forests. Thousands of years ago, people settled in fishing villages along the desert coast of Peru. Gradually they expanded inland, farming the river valleys that run up into the highland plateaus. Using careful irrigation, they grew corn, cotton, squash, and beans. On mountain slopes, they cultivated potatoes, eventually producing 700 varieties. In high plateaus, they domesticated the llama and the alpaca. Like the Mayas, they built large ceremonial centers and developed skills in pottery and weaving. Chavn: Through painstaking work at many sites, archaeologists have pieced together a chronology of various cultures that left their mark on the region. The earliest of these was the Chavn (chah veen) culture, named for ruins at Chavn de Huantar in the Andes. There, about 850 B.C., people built a huge temple complex. Stone carvings and pottery show that the Chavn people worshiped a ferocious-looking god, part jaguar and part human with grinning catlike features. The arts and religion of the Chavn culture influenced later peoples of Peru. Mochica: Between about A.D. 100 and 700, the Mochica people forged an empire along the arid north coast of Peru. The Mochicas were skilled farmers, developing methods of terracing, irrigation, and fertilization of the soil. Their leaders built roads and organized networks of relay runners to carry messages, ideas that the Incas would later adopt. Remains of Mochica cities and temples dot the land. To build one temple, workers had to produce 130 million sun-dried adobe bricks. The people perfected skills in textile production, goldwork, and woodcarving. They produced remarkable pots decorated with realistic scenes of daily life. On these painted vases, helmeted warriors go into battle, musicians play pipes and drums, and women weave textiles on small portable looms. Nazca: Many other cultures left tantalizing clues to their lives and beliefs. In southern Peru, the Nazca people etched glyphs in the desert. A glyph is a pictograph or other symbol carved into a surface. Nazca glyphs include straight lines that run for miles, as well as giant figures of birds, whales, and other creatures. These figures may have been family symbols or part of an ancient calendar. For more than 2,000 years, diverse civilizations rose and fell in Peru. Then, in the mid-1400s, the Incas emerged from high in the Andes. Incan armies rapidly conquered an empire that stretched 2,500 miles down the Andes and along the Pacific coast. Like the Romans, who also ruled a diverse empire, the Incas drew heavily on the ideas and skills of the peoples they conquered. Government People of the Incan empire lived in one of the most highly ordered societies in history. The Incan empire was ruled by an emperor, who exercised absolute power. Emperor was also the chief religious leader like the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, the Incan god-kings owned all the land, herds, mines, and people. The Incan Empire Pachacuti, a skilled warrior and leader, was the founder of the Incan empire. In 1438, he proclaimed himself Sapa Inca, or emperor, and set out on a policy of conquest. From a small kingdom in the high mountain valley of Cuzco, he came to dominate an immense empire. Once he had subdued neighboring peoples, he enlisted them in his armies for future campaigns. In this way, he and his son extended Incan rule from Ecuador in the north to Chile in the south. Government: The Sapa Inca exercised absolute power over the empire. Claiming that he was divine, the son of the sun itself, he was also the chief religious leader. Like the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, the Incan god-king owned all the land, herds, mines, and people. Gold, the sweat of the sun, was his symbol. He lived in splendor, eating from golden plates and dressing in richly embroidered clothes. In fact, the Sapa Inca never wore the same royal garments twice. His queen, the Coya, carried out important religious duties and sometimes governed when the Sapa Inca was absent. From Cuzco, the Incas ran an efficient government with a chain of command reaching into every village. Nobles ruled the provinces along with local chieftains whom the Incas had conquered. Below them, officials carried out the day-to-day business of collecting taxes and enforcing laws. Specially trained officials kept records on a quipu, a collection of knotted, colored strings. Modern scholars think that quipus noted dates and events as well as statistics on population and crops. The carved head of an Inca king juts out over the road to Bolivia.This head is about 8-10 feet high. Economy Incan economy was based on high-altitude agriculture.
On steep hillside, they carved out strips of land to be held in place by stone walls (kept rain from washing away the soil). Daily Life:The Incas strictly regulated the lives of millions of people within their empire. People lived in close-knit communities, called ayllus ( looz). Leaders of each ayllu carried out government orders, assigning jobs to each family and organizing the community to work the land. Government officials arranged marriages to ensure that men and women were settled at a certain age. Farming: Farmers expanded the step terraces built by earlier peoples. On steep hillsides, they carved out strips of land to be held in place by stone walls. These terraces kept rains from washing away the soil and made farming possible in places where flat land was scarce. Farmers had to spend part of each year working land for the emperor and the temples as well as for their own communities. All land belonged to the Inca, but cultivation and crops were allotted to specific groups of people or for particular purposes. The government took possession of each harvest, dividing it among the people and storing part of it in case of famine. Metalworking: The Incas were the best metalworkers in the Americas. They learned to work and alloy, or blend, copper, tin, bronze, silver, and gold. While they employed copper and bronze for useful objects, they used precious metals for statues of gods and goddesses, eating utensils for the aristocracy, and decorations. Medical Advances: The Incas developed some important medical practices, including surgery on the human skull. In such operations, they first cleaned the operating area and then made the patient unconscious with a drugprocedures much closer to the use of modern antiseptics and anesthesia than anything practiced in Europe at that time. Roads Like the Romans, the Incas were inventive road builders.
The rugged terrain made it necessary for the Incas to develop new bridge-building technology. Roads and Runners: To unite their empire, the Incas imposed their own language, Quechua (kehch wuh), and religion on the people. They also created one of the great road systems of history. It wound more than 12,000 miles through mountains and deserts. Hundreds of bridges spanned rivers and deep gorges. Steps were cut into steep slopes and tunnels dug through hillsides. Even more impressive than the roads that united the Roman empire, the Incan road system was unmatched until modern times. The roads allowed armies and news to move rapidly throughout the empire. At regular stations, runners waited to carry messages. Relays of runners could carry news of a revolt swiftly from a distant province to the capital. The Incas kept soldiers at outposts throughout the empire. Within days of an uprising, they would be on the move to crush the rebels. Ordinary people, though, were restricted from using the roads at all. Cuzco: All roads led through Cuzco. The population was made up of representatives of all the peoples of the empire, each living in a particular part of the city. They wore regional costumes and practiced traditional crafts. In the heart of the city stood the great Temple of the Sun, its interior walls lined with gold. Like Incan palaces and forts, the temple was made of enormous stone blocks, each polished and carved to fit exactly in place. The engineering was so precise that, although no mortar was used to hold the stones together, Incan buildings have survived severe earthquakes. Religion Polytheism: The Inca were a deeply religious people. They feared that evil would befall at any time. Sorcerers held high positions in society as protectors from the spirits. They also believed in reincarnation, saving their nail clippings, hair cuttings and teeth in case the returning spirit needed them. Religion: Like other early peoples, the Incas were polytheistic, worshiping many gods linked to the forces of nature. People offered food, clothing, and drink to the guardian spirits of the home and the village. Religion was tied to the routines of life. Each month had its own festival, from the great ripening and the dance of the young maize to the festival of the water. Festivals were celebrated with ceremonies, sports, and games. A powerful class of priests served the gods, celebrating their special festivals and tending to their needs. Sun In the Andean mythology it was considered that Incas were descendants of the Sun, therefore, they had to worship it annually with a sumptuous celebration. Chief among the gods was Inti, the sun god. His special attendants, the Chosen Women, were selected from each region of the empire. During years of training, they studied the mysteries of the religion, learned to prepare ritual food and drink, and made the elaborate wool garments worn by the Sapa Inca and the Coya. At the end of their training, most of the Chosen Women continued to serve the sun god. Others, however, joined the Inca's court or married nobles. Machu Picchu represents Incan Civilization
At its height, the Incan civilization, like those of Middle America, was a center of learning and political power. Then, in 1525, the emperor Huayna Capac (w nah kah pahk) died suddenly of an unknown plague that swept across the land. As he had not named a successor, civil war broke out between two of his sons. The fighting weakened the empire at a crucial moment. Like the Aztecs to the north, the Incas soon faced an even greater threat from Spanish invaders. Built by the Incas on the summit of "Machu Picchu" (Old Peak) at 7,000 feet above sea level.
Machu Picchu was probably the most amazing urban creation of the Inca Empire at its height, with its giant walls, terraces and ramps, which appear as though they have been cut naturally in the continuous rock escarpments. Achievement of Mayan, Aztec and Incan civilizations
Calendars Mathematics Writing system Education and Learning: Priests were the keepers of Aztec knowledge. They recorded laws and historical events. Some ran schools for the sons of nobles. Others used their knowledge of astronomy and mathematics to foretell the future. The Aztecs, like the Mayas, had an accurate calendar. Like many other ancient peoples, the Aztecs believed that illness was a punishment from the gods. Still, Aztec priests used herbs and other medicines to treat fevers and wounds. Aztec physicians could set broken bones and treat dental cavities. They also prescribed steam baths as cures for various ills, a therapy still in use today. Geography Review The World of the Aztecs
When the Spanish reached Tenochtitln in 1519, they were awestruck at its magnificence. The Spanish conqueror Hernn Corts described the city as it looked then: The city has many squares where markets are held and trading is carried on. There is one square where there are daily more than 60,000 souls, buying and selling, and where are found all the kinds of merchandise produced in these countries, including food products, jewels of gold and silver, lead, brass, copper, zinc, bones, shells, and feathers. Hernn Corts,quoted in Latin American Civilization (Keen) From its temples and royal palaces to its zoos and floating gardens, Tenochtitln was a city of wonders. It was also the center of a complex, well-ordered empire.