Elements of Civilization? Topic 3 Elements of Civilization? To what extent can Native Americans be considered civilized or uncivilized when Columbus arrived?

Define Civilized / Civilization: what qualities / characteristics would a people have to have in the 15th Century for you to consider them civilized? Individually, make a list, then Pair Share.

Columbus He considered Native Americans uncivilized and barbaric because of their sparse clothing, different language, and their nomadic habits He also complained that they engaged in cannibalism, practiced human sacrifice, the men had multiple wives, they showed an “awed reverence for nature, a desire to share, did not have class stratification, took a daily bath, and wiped their hands on dogs as they ambled along”

Native Americans were not as advanced in many ways as Europeans, but does this means they were uncivilized? Were they just different, which Columbus could not comprehend / appreciate? Did they chose to live this way while knowing alternatives (nomadic, temporary shelters)? Europeans had different views of the relationship of humans to nature: Europeans believed humans had dominion over the earth: Native Americans believed humans must live in harmony with nature To some extent Columbus’s characterization of them as uncivilized made it easier to justify killing, torturing, and enslaving them…so he may have deliberately exaggerated

Elements of Civilization (Consensus of Historians) 1. Organized Government Makes and enforces laws to keep order Exercises authority over an organized state Plans, organizes, and directs large projects

Elements of Civilization 2. Organized Religion Formalizes religious belief and offers guidance in questions of life, death, nature and spirit Selects clergy Establishes rituals and symbols, shrines and sacred places

Elements of Civilization 3. Division of Labor Provides goods and services Enables people to develop specialized skills Encourages trade and development of new technology Promotes a system of social classes

Elements of Civilization 4. Class structure Defines a person’s place in society Reflects the distribution of wealth

Elements of Civilization 5. System of Writing Provides a way to keep accurate records Serves as a way to pass on knowledge

Your Views? Of these 5, which ones do you most agree with? Agree with least? 1. Organized Government 2. Organized Religion 3. Division of Labor 4. Class Structure 5. System of Writing

The Early Americans in Central and South America Early American societies may have shared a common racial background, but there was much variety among their civilizations. Societies in Central and South America (Inca, Mayans, Aztecs) were more developed than in other parts

The Inca in Peru Complex political system…voting, representation Network of paved roads that welded together many tribes under a single ruler (no wheeled vehicles / horses) Advanced agricultural system, esp. for growing maize/corn to feed huge pop. Elaborate cities Trade and commerce with each other and with other tribes They did not however have a system of writing

The Mayans of Central America and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico Written language Numerical system similar to the Arabic system Accurate calendar Advanced agricultural system Elaborate cities Internal and external trade and commerce

The Aztecs in Central America Elaborate administrative, educational, medical, agricultural systems comparable to the most advanced in Europe at the time An organized system of religion – though often harsh: involved human sacrifice Elaborate cities with stone buildings (Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital) - a great achievement without the technology of Europeans… Trade and commerce with each other and with other tribes Studied math and astronomy

North America: Northwest Indian life in North America was less sophisticated (less “civilized’) In the Northwest region emerged societies that subsisted on hunting, gathering, fishing, or some combination of the three

North America: Southwest In the Southwest were tribes relying primarily on agriculture. Built irrigation systems to bring water to dry land Constructed substantial towns that became centers of trade, crafts, and religion and civic ritual: built stone and adobe terraced structures (pueblos).

North America: Great Plains, East In the Great Plains regions, most tribes were engaged in sedentary (fixed: non-nomadic) farming In the East, the Woodland Indians engaged in farming, hunting, gathering and fishing simultaneously. They had permanent substantial settlements, large trading networks based on corn; also cultivated beans, squash, and pumpkins. Sometimes they moved on after exhausting the land.

North America Most of those who were Nomadic, were Nomadic by Choice, not necessity – knew how to construct permanent settlements, how to irrigate, but did not have to live in one place because of the availability of land And because of the low small population – unlike in Europe - Population of only 10m in North America in 1492. also the individual ownership of land was foreign to them – land was communally owned, which meant there was no barrier / inhibition to movement.

North America Some groups did reach high levels of development. Some noteworthy groups and their achievements: The Mound Builders of the lower Mississippi Valley built large permanent settlements around rectangular plazas, used iron tools, wove woolen fabrics, buried their dead in collective graves covered by mounds

North America The Pueblos in the Rio Grande Valley built elaborate irrigation systems and lived in villages of multi-storied, terraced buildings when the Spanish made contact with them in the late 16th Century The Creeks in the Southeast practiced a democratic style of government

North America The Iroquois in the Northeast had a sophisticated political and military confederacy to defend against other native tribes and Europeans (see handout) The League of the Iroquois consisted of five tribes: Mohawk, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas……. But this kind of organization was the exception…

North America In general most native peoples in North America lived in small, scattered, and impermanent settlements – hunters , gatherers (women tended crops) Alliances among them were fragile since they did not think of themselves as members of a single civilization. When Europeans arrived and began to threaten their way of life, Indians generally viewed the threat in terms of how it affected their own community and tribe, not how it affected any larger Indian nation. Only rarely did tribes unite in opposition to white encroachments

North America Yet, in general the tribes of North America were, like other areas of the world, developing and becoming: More and more sedentary / settled Developing new sources of food, clothing, and shelter Were experiencing significant population growth Were developing the sorts of social customs and organized rituals that only relatively stationary societies can produce

May have been more advanced than Europe in terms of their respect for women - assigning them responsibility over social and economic organization, including political power, and property rights, unlike in Europe Iroquois, and others, developed matrilineal cultures, in which power and possessions passed down the female side of the family Native Americans reject the term “discovery” – didn’t need discovering, prefer the term “encounter”