PRE-COLUMBIAN AMERICAS IN WORLD

HISTORY

THE FORGOTTEN WORLDS OF THE

AMERICAS

WHAT’S IN A WORD?

• The Word: “America” or “American”• Ask your students what it means

• Have students brainstorm some responses• Have students offer definitions

• Accept all answers• Do this about five minutes

• Narrow the definition down• Try to come up with a broad, useful definition• Guide definition to include all Americans• Try to avoid anything that equates USA = America

THE PROBLEM

• American Historiography and Classrooms• Frequently not taught by instructors• Frequently not researched well• Frequently not well presented in textbooks• Content fragmented in textbooks• Lack of written records prior to 1492• Reasons: Perhaps “The Black Legend”

• The College Board• Teach all regions• Essays frequently involve the Region

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

• The Comparative Approach• Teach content sequentially, chronologically• Compare region with other regions around world

• The Regional Approach• Teach Latin America as a Coherent Unit• Create a three to four week unit• Combine separate sections of your text

• Solutions for Both• Reinforce with outside readings• Enrich with Latin American literature• Include a research project on a modern nation

ON-LINE SOURCES

• Timeline of Art History (The MOMA)• http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/splash.htm

• World Civilizations On-Line• http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/

• Latin American Literature• http://www.library.csustan.edu/lboyer/modern_languages/mexican.htm

• Sources/General Resources on Latin America• http://www.oberlin.edu/faculty/svolk/latinam.htm

• Latin American Studies• http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/home.html

• Latin America Pre-History Webpage• http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/latinamerica/index.shtml

BEGIN WITH GEOGRAPHY

• Physical Geography• Two Continents, numerous islands• Diverse landforms, climates

• Historical and Cultural Geography• American history is a product of geography• Regional histories are quite different

• Political Geography• Teach nations and capitals• Teach modern economic alliances

LOST IN SPACE

• Among people in some English-speaking countries, there is a tendency to confuse the linguistic and geographic divisions of the Americas: thus, Mexico, some Central American and Caribbean territories, despite their location in North America, are mistakenly included in South America. The term Latin America is correctly used when referring to those territories whose official or national languages come from Latin (namely Portuguese, Spanish, and French). Conversely, Anglo-America is used to refer to areas whose major languages are Germanic (namely English) such as Guyana, Suriname, Belize, Jamaica, and much of the West Indies. Similarly, areas where English is prominent are considered part of the Anglosphere.

• Did you know: In Latin America, Iberia and some other parts of Europe, the Americas are often considered a single continent. Under such circumstances, North America is considered a subcontinent containing only Canada, U.S. and Mexico.

REGIONS

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

WHERE IN THE WORLD?

CLIMATIC GEOGRAPHY

POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY

TEACHING CONCEPTS:RIMLAND vs. MAINLAND

• Mainland • Mountains, plateaus, uplands of Mesoamerica• Large scale agriculture• Sedentary Indian cultures • Cultural Hearth of Classical Indian Civilizations• Large, dense Indian populations

• Rimland• Caribbean coasts, Hot and humid• Thinly populated by Indians

• Arrival of Europeans• Mainland

• European settlements• European capital cities• Intermixture with Indians (Mestizo)• Only remaining dense Indian populations• Spanish institution • Large personal estates (Haciendas)• Self-sufficient agriculture • Share cropping by Amerindians / landless peasants • Many crops and animals (ranches)

• Rimland• Plantation agriculture with slaves• Population is largely Euro-African descent (Mulatto)• Northern European institution • Foreign ownership • Commercial agriculture • African slave labor • Seasonal labor • Single crop (sugar, bananas) • Efficient - "factory in the field"

TEACHING CONCEPT:VERTICAL ZONATION

• Socio-Economic structures • Based on height above sea level

• Tierra Caliente• Coastal lands, hot, jungles• Thinly populated by Indians• Post-1492

• European commercial plantations• Slaves work one-crop export industries

• Tierra Templada, Intermediate Zones• Cool uplands• Home to classical Indian civilizations• Post-1492

• European capital cities located here• Appropriated by European haciendas• Ranching, Grains• Europeans, Mestizo populations

• Tierra Fria• Cold, damp mountainous areas; potatoes• Thinly settled by historic Indians• Post-1492 refugee of Indians from Europeans• Largest source of pure Indian populations

• Paramos• Glaciers, permanent ice cap

TEACHING CONCEPT:MOVEMENT

• Overland Migration Theory – The migration to the Americas took place via the Beringia Land Bridge. Tribes or bands of Paleo-Indians slowly pushed east and south from Asia to the Americas, hunting as they came. These migrations would have taken generations.

• Coastal Migration Theory - Some Paleo-Indians migrated to the Americas in small boats via a coastal route, since the immediate coast would not have been covered by the Cordillian Ice Sheet.

• Trans-Pacific Migration Theory - Though there is some evidence of a trans-Pacific migration, it is also unlikely that large numbers arrived in the Americas via that route. The existence of Old World tropical parasites in Andean mummies is evidence that at least some trans-Pacific migrations did take place via a tropical ocean corridor.

THEMES:PALEO-INDIANS

• Compare and Contrast• Hunter-Gatherers

• Teach with Paleolithic History

• Movement• Teach with world-wide spread of humans

• Comparative to other popular movements

• Indo-Europeans, Aryans, Polynesians

• Germans, Bantu

• Human-Environment Interaction• Humans follow game animals• Adapting to environment as needed• Mass Extinction of large animals

• Technology• Folsom Point spears led to mass extinction

• Cause and Effects• Extinction of large game animals

• Led to Sedentary Life• Led to the beginnings of agriculture

THEME:1st FARMERS

• Gatherers, Hunters, Gardeners• Large game became limited

• Needed secure food supply

• Valley of Mexico• Tehuacan area

• Compare with Jericho

• Cultivation of Corn, beans

• Pottery, tools

NORTHERN PERIPHERIES SOUTHERN PERIPHERIES

• Many Advanced Indian cultures in Americas• North America

• Anaszi• Mississippian• Iroquois

• South America• Moche• Chimu• Tihuanaco

• Problem 1• Many had similar characteristics as more famous civilizations• Most not called civilizations

• Problem 2• They are not on the AP test generally• But students might be interested in discussing them

WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A CIVILIZATION?

• Pair students off• Put question on the board

• Have students brainstorm ideas• Settle on five definitions

• Have students go to board one at time• Have them add definitions• Look at definitions and refine• Have students settle on characteristics

• Discussion Questions• Ask students what would happen if a civilization did not have any

of the characteristics? • Ask students what minimum characteristics would a culture have

to have to be considered a civilization?

• Ask why would American historians not consider some Amer-Indian cultures as civilizations?

THE ANASAZI

• The Anasazi• Indian civilization in the 4-states area• Compare with Ghana, Sumer

• Technology • Irrigation, canals, dams• Sun Dial and Calendar

• Agriculture• Irrigation• Beans, Squash, Corns

• Trade, trade routes• Roads

• Architecture• Pueblo cities

MISSISSIPPIAN MOUNDBUILDERS

• Mississippian Civilization• Compare with Egypt• Compare with Shang

• Complex culture• Social Hierarchy• Elaborate kingship• Priesthood• Cities for elite, religion, trade

• Agriculture• Villages• Grow corn, beans, squash

• Trade network• Extends to Athapaska• Extends to Gulf Coast

• Priesthood• Corn, calendar• Astronomy

CAHOKIA

• Height of Mississippian• Extremely large city

• Compare with Indus Cities

• Solar calendar, math• Mound temples• Trade with Mexico

IROQUOIS

• Late Mississippian• Compare with Assyrians

• Tribes or nations

• Diplomacy, treaties• Compare with Hammurabi

• Expert warriors

• Matrilineal

• Farmers

CHAVIN

• Earliest urban culture in South America• Chavín culture• Named after Chavín de Huantar

• Arose in highlands of northern Peru • Around 1000 BC—500 BC• About same time as the Olmecs

• We know very little about them• They had urban centers, farmed• Fishing was important in their lives• They worshipped a jaguar-man god• Strong metallurgists, cloth makers

• For 500 years, the Chavín culture dominated Peru

MOCHE

• Northern Peru, 100 – 800 CE• Group of autonomous polities• Broke off from Chavin• Centralized theocratic government system• Shared common elite culture• Elaborate culture and ritual

• Farmers• Extensive canals• Raised fields growing potatoes and corn

• Sophisticated artifacts but no written language• Art very detailed, especially pottery• Famous for their gold works• Temples with elaborate tombs• Art works often signed with artistic symbol: individuality?

• Religion• Chief deity was the decapitator• Probably practiced ritual human sacrifice

HAURI-TIHUANACOCHIMU

• Huari-Tiahuanaco • Dominated Andes (600-1000 AD)• Enforced cultural conformity• Centered around Lake Titicaca • Built massive architectural works

• Giant stones cut with extreme precision.• Influenced the Incas

• Northern area of Peru • Dominated by the Chimu empire from 1000-1400 AD

• Built on conquest, expansion• Chan-Chan (capital) had 70,000 inhabitants• Chimmu produced many innovations in urban life

• Irrgation systems, canals, and highways• All adopted by the Incas

THE FIRST CIVILIZATION

• The Olmecs• Compare with Sumer• The First in Americas

• Location• Coastal jungles, river valleys• Irrigation needed to drain water• Raised platforms for agriculture

• Towns and Villages• La Venta was a ceremonial city• Surrounding farming villages

• Trade, Commerce• Jade, feathers, rubber

• Political Institutions• Royal Absolutism• Priesthood, nobles assist king, rule peasants

• Intellectual Accomplishments• Olmec heads, jade figurines• Ball courts, Calendars• Rudimentary written language

ON-LINE RESEARCH PROJECT:COMPARE, CONTRAST

OLMECS MAYAS AZTECS INCAS

INTERACTIONS: WAR,

ECONOMICS

TYPE OF STATE STRUCTURE,

RULING ELITE

RELIGIOUS, INTELLECTUAL,

CULTURAL

SOCIAL, GENDER

STRUCTURES

IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON CULTURE

IMPACT OF DEMOGRAPHY, ENVIRONMENT

CHANGE, CONTINUITY

COMPARE WITH NEOLITHIC

COMPARE WITH OLMEC

COMPARE WITH OLMEC

COMPARE WITH CHIMU, HAURI

REINFORCE WITHLITERATURE, SOAPPS-TONE

• In the Language of the Kings • Editor, Miguel Leon-Portilla • Mesoamericans left literature

• Church often preserved some literature• Many tribes kept materials alive, continued chronicles • Many temples had histories, stories written in stone

• Popul Vuh is easy enough to find• Mayan Codices often on line

• Chronicles of the Incas, 1540• Pedro de Cieza de Léon • Conquistador married an Inca princess• Proceeded to write down Incan history• Only resource we have and its wonderful!

PROJECTS

• Art Slide Show• Many galleries on line

• Research history

• Present the art as the people of the time saw it

• Movie Maker• Select a people

• Identify a piece of music you wish to use

• Locate art, images to use in the maker

• Create a movie-like presentation

• Use a minimum of language, tell a people’s story!

ASSESSMENT

• TWEDYADWTS• Do this daily to check understanding• Use it as an introduction to the day

• Free Response Essays• Tell the students the general prompt up front• Encourage them to use the preparation grids• Write the essays

• Compare and Contrast• Change over Time• Document Based Questions