Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. Early Societies in the Americas and Oceania 1

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  Compare and contrast the development of early Mesoamerican societies.  Identify key features of early American society and religious beliefs.  Outline the development and regional importance of Teotihuacan.  Discuss the emergence and development of early Andean societies.  Compare and contrast the development of early Oceanic societies. 2

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 Migration across Bering land bridge?  Probably 13,000 BCE, perhaps earlier (Beringia)  By sea from Asia?  By 9500 BCE reached southernmost part of South America  Hunter/gatherer societies developed  Evolved into agricultural societies 4

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  BCE  The “Rubber People”  Ceremonial centers  San Lorenzo, La Venta, Tres Zapotes  Olmec Heads  Up to 10 ft tall, 20 tons  Transported by dragging, rolling on logs  1000/workers per head 5

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  Staple: maize  Herding: turkeys, “barkless” dogs  Both food (yum-yum…)  No draft animals  No development of wheeled vehicles 6

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  Probably authoritarian in nature  Large class of conscripted laborers (slave labor) to construct ceremonial sites  Also tombs for rulers, temples, pyramids, drainage systems 7

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  Ceremonial centers destroyed  No evidence of warfare  Revolution?  Civil war? 8

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  Huge cities discovered in 19th century  300 BCE-900 CE  Terrace farming  Maize  Cotton  Cacao beans  Development of hot chocolate  Used as currency  Major ceremonial center at Tikal 9

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Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  Warfare for purposes of capturing enemy soldiers  Ritual sacrifice of enemies  Enslavement  Small kingdoms engage in constant conflict until Chichén Itzá begins to absorb captives ▪ Some nevertheless choose death ▪ Center of empire develops 11

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  Complex math  Invention of “Zero”  Calendar of days (17 seconds off)  Solar calendar of 365 days  Ritual calendar of 260 days  Management of calendar lends authority to priesthood  Timing of auspicious moments for agriculture 12

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  Ideographs and a syllable-alphabet  Most writings destroyed by Spanish conquerors  Deciphering work begins in 1960s  Popol Vuh: Mayan creation myth  Importance of bloodletting rituals  Human sacrifices follow after removal of fingers, piercing to allow blood flow  Self-mutilation of penises, earlobes 13

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  Ritual form of ball game  High-ranking captives, prisoners of war contestants  Execution of losers immediately follows the match  Bloodletting ritual for the gods

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  Highlands of Mexico  Lakes in area of high elevation  Village of Teotihuacan, 500 BCE, expands to become massive agricultural city  Important ceremonial center 15

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  Extensive trade network, influenced surrounding areas  Begins to decline c. 650 CE, sacked by middle of 8 th century  City burned  Massive library destroyed 16

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  Migration into South America, c BCE  Climate improves, c BCE  Largely independent from Mesoamerica  Highly individualized due to geography 17

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  New religion in central Andes, BCE  Little known about particulars of religion  Intricate stone carvings 18

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  Cult may have arisen when maize became an important crop  During this era Andean society became increasingly complex 19

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  Valley of the Moche River  Dominated northern Peru, CE  Painting survives  One of many states in region, none able to consolidate into empire 20

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Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  Prehistoric land bridges, lower seas permit migration  Outrigger canoes for open-sea travel  Early hunter-gatherer societies in Australia  Early agriculture in New Guinea 22

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Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  Found throughout Pacific Islands  Agriculture, animal herding 24

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  Political organization based on chiefdoms 25

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.  Trade over open ocean declines by 500 BCE  Greater independence of settlements 26