1. Pre-Colombian Cultures
The Americas

2. Migration patterns of Native Americans
Bering Land Bridge?
Boats from Asia?
Europe to the eastern coast?

3. Pre-Colombian Societies
Mesoamerica
Teotihuacan
Maya
Toltecs
Aztecs
Northern Peoples
Southwest Desert Cultures
Mound Builders- The
Mississippi Culture
Andean Civilizations
Moche, Paracas, Nazca
Inca

4. Mound Builders NY to IL Ontario to FL 700-1500 C.E. Hunting, gathering
Cultivation
Contacts w/ Mesoamerica?
Chiefdom tradition: hereditary ruler
Cahokia - Largest mound
100 ft x 1037 ft x 790 ft
30 m x 316 m x 241 m

5. Mound Builders-Mississippian Culture
First developed towns in the Mississippi Valley appeared circa 700 C.E.
Cahokia held a population of 20,000 and perhaps 40,000 lived in the region.
Sun worship? Why don’t we know?
A strong central authority existed and stratification of society but no written records remain.

6. Cahokia

7. Mound Builders Canoe-based trade Sea shells, copper Grand tombs
Sacrifice of others
Military defeat?
Deforestation?
European arrival…

8. Major Pre-Columbian Civilizations

9. Origins of Mesoamerican Societies
Migration across Bering land bridge?
Probably 13,000 B.C.E., perhaps earlier
By sea from Asia?
By 9500 B.C.E. reached southernmost part of South America
Hunter/gatherer societies
Evolve into agricultural societies
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10. Olmecs Olmec heads 1200-100 B.C.E. The “rubber people”
Up to 10 ft. tall, 20 tons
Transported by dragging, rolling on logs
1000 workers per head
Staple: maize
Herding: turkeys, barkless dogs
Both food
No draft animals
No development of wheeled vehicles
B.C.E.
The “rubber people”
Ceremonial centers
San Lorenzo, La Venta, Tres Zapotes
Probably authoritarian in nature
Large class of conscripted laborers to construct ceremonial sites
Also tombs for rulers, temples, pyramids, drainage systems
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11. Olmec Technology
Glyph: record keeping that set the stage for Mayan and Aztec
Developed precise astronomical studies & accurate calendar

12. Mysterious Decline of Olmec
Ceremonial centers destroyed
Environmental disaster?
Civil war?
No evidence of warfare
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13. Maya Huge cities discovered in nineteenth century 300 B.C.E.-900 C.E.
Terrace farming
Maize
Cotton
Cacao beans
Chocolate
Currency
Major ceremonial center at Tikal
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14. The Maya Ball Game Ritual game
High-ranking captives, prisoners of war contestants
Execution of losers immediately follows the match
Bloodletting ritual for the gods
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15. Maya Language and Religion
Ideographs and a syllable alphabet
Most writings destroyed by Spanish conquerors
Deciphering work began in 1960s
Popol Vuh: Maya creation myth
Agricultural cycle maintained in exchange for honors and sacrifices
Bloodletting rituals
Human sacrifices follow after removal of fingers, piercing to allow blood flow
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16. Maya Warfare 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
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17. Maya Ritual Calendar 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
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18. The Toltec and Aztec Empires, 950-1520 C.E.
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19. The Toltecs Regional states in central Mexican valley
Religious and cultural influence of collapsed Teotihuacan
Intense warfare
Toltecs migrate from northwest Mexico, settle at Tula (near modern Mexico city)
High point of civilization: C.E.
Urban population of 60,000; another 60,000 in surrounding area
Subjugation of surrounding peoples
Civilization destroyed by internal strife, nomadic incursions, 1175 C.E.
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20. City of Teotihuacan Highlands of Mexico
Lakes in area of high elevation
Village of Teotihuacan, 500 B.C.E., expands to large agricultural city
Important ceremonial center
Extensive trade network, influenced surrounding areas
Begins to decline ca. 650 C.E., sacked in middle of eighth century, burned city
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21. The Mexica/Aztec
One of several groups of migrants, mid-thirteenth century C.E.
Tradition of kidnapping women, seizing cultivated lands
Settled ca C.E. in Tenochtitlan (later becomes Mexico City)
Dredged soil from lake bottom to create fertile plots of land
Chinampas, up to seven crops per year
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22. The Aztec Empire Mexica develop tributary empire by fifteenth century
Key leaders: Itzcóatl ( ), Motecuzoma I (Montezuma, )
Joined with Texcoco and Tlacopan to create Aztec empire
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23. Aztec Society Hierarchical social structure High stature for soldiers
Mainly drawn from aristocratic class
Land grants, food privileges
Sumptuary privileges, personal adornment

24. Priests Masters of complex agricultural/ritual calendars
Ritual functions
Read omens, advised rulers
Occasionally became rulers as well
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25. Cultivators and Slaves
Communal groups: calpulli
Originally kin-based
Management of communal lands
Work obligation on aristocratic lands
Slave class:
Debtors
Children sold into slavery

26. Aztec Women Patriarchal structure Emphasis on child-bearing
Especially future soldiers
Mothers of warriors especially valued
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27. Aztec Religion
Influenced by indigenous traditions from the Olmec period
Ritual ball game
Solar calendar (365 days) and ritual calendar (260 days)
Not as elaborate as Maya calendar

28. Aztec Human Sacrifice
More emphasis on human sacrifice than predecessor cultures
Sacrificial victims had tips of fingers torn off before death, ritual wounds
Victims: Mexica criminals, captured enemy soldiers
Personal rituals: piercing of penis, earlobes
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29. Aztec Gods Tezcatlipoca (“the Smoking Mirror”)
Powerful god of life and death
Patron god of warriors
Quetzalcóatl (“the Feathered Serpent”)
Arts, crafts, agriculture
Huitzilopochtli
Fourteenth-century popularity, patron of Mexica
Emphasis on blood sacrifices

30. States and Empires in South America
No writing before arrival of Spaniards, sixteenth century C.E.
Unlike Mesoamerican cultures, writing from fifth century C.E.
Archaeological evidence reveals Andean society from first millennium B.C.E.
Development of cities C.E.
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31. Andean Societies Migration into South America ca. 12,000 B.C.E.
Climate improves ca B.C.E.
Largely independent from Mesoamerica
Highly individualized due to geography
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32. Chavín Cult New religion in central Andes, 900-300 B.C.E.
Little known about particulars of religion
Intricate stone carvings
Cult may have arisen when maize became an important crop
During this era Andean society became increasingly complex
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33. The Mochica State Valley of the Moche River
Dominated northern Peru, C.E.
Painting & sculpture survive
One of many states in region, none able to consolidate into empire

34. Before the Coming of the Incas
After displacement of Chavín, Moche societies
Development of autonomous regional states in Andean South America
Kingdom of Chucuito
Lake Titicaca (border of Peru and Bolivia)
Potato cultivation, herding of llamas, alpacas
Kingdom of Chimu (Chimor)
Peruvian coast
Capital Chanchan
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35. The Inca Empire: 1471-1532 From valley of Cuzco
Refers to people who spoke Quechua language
Settlement around Lake Titicaca mid-thirteenth century
Ruler Pachacuti (r ) expands territory
Modern Peru, parts of Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina
Population 11.5 million
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36. Inca Administration and Quipu
Incas ruled by holding hostages, colonization
No writing; used system of cords and knots called quipu
Mnemonic aid
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37. Cuzco Capital of Inca empire
Residents high nobility, priests, hostages
Gold facades on buildings
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38. Inca Roads Massive road-building system
Two north-south roads, approximately 10,000 miles
Mountain route
Coastal route
Paved, shaded, wide roads
Courier and messenger services
Limited long-distance trade, held by government monopoly

39. Inca Religion Polytheistic Inti: sun god Viracocha: creator god
Sapa Inca: emperor & demigod
Temples as pilgrimage sites
Peasant sacrifices usually produce and animals (not humans)
Sin understood as disruption of divine order
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40. Aristocrats, Priests, and Peasants
Aristocrats receive special privileges
Earlobe spools as adornment
Priestly class ascetic, celibate
Peasants organized into community groups called ayllu
Land, tools held communally
Mandatory work details on land of aristocrats
Public works
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41. Inca Society and Religion
Social elites dominated by infallible king
Claimed descent from the sun
Worship of ancestors
Remains preserved in mummified form
Regularly consulted
Sacrifices offered
Paraded on festive occasions
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42. Early Societies of Oceania, 1500 B.C.E.-700 C.E.
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43. Oceania Prehistoric land bridges, lower seas permit migration
Outrigger canoes for open-sea travel
Early hunter-gatherer societies in Australia
Early agriculture in New Guinea
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44. Aborigine of the Naomi Tribe
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45. Lapita Peoples Found throughout Pacific islands
Agriculture, animal herding
Political organization based on chiefdoms
Trade over open ocean declines 500 B.C.E.
Greater independence of settlements
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