1. ANCIENT AMERICAS: THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONS

2. THE OLMECS Olmecs: The "rubber people" Olmec society
Earliest center, on the coast of Mexico Gulf, 1200 B.C.E.
The other two later centers: La Venta and Tres Zapotes
Olmec society
Authoritarian in nature
Colossal heads – possibly rulers
Power shown in pyramid construction
Trade in jade and obsidian
Decline and fall of Olmec society
The cause remains a mystery
Olmecs destroyed ceremonial centers
Most likely, civil conflict ruined their society
By 400 B.C.E., other societies eclipsed the Olmecs
Influence of Olmec traditions
Maize, ceremonial centers were common to later societies
Other legacies: Calendar, rituals of human sacrifice, ballgame
Olmecs did not leave written records

3. OLMEC ART

4. ANDEAN GEOGRAPHY 4

5. EARLY ANDEAN SOCIETY Geography Early migration
Impacted north-south movement and communication
Created micro-cultures – small cultures isolated within region
Early migration
By 12,000 B.C.E. hunter-gathers reached South America
By 8000 B.C.E. began to experiment with agriculture
Complex societies appeared in central Andean region 1000 B.C.E.
Andean societies located in modern day Peru and Bolivia
Early agriculture in South America
Main crops: beans, peanuts, sweet potatoes, cotton
Fishing supplemented agricultural harvests
By 1800 B.C.E., produced pottery,
Temples and pyramids appeared 5

6. CHAVIN AND MOCHE The Chavín Cult Complexity of Andean society
Very popular around 900 to 800 B.C.E.
Vanished completely by about 300 B.C.E.
Cult was probably related to introduction of maize
Cult left large temple complexes and elaborate art works
Complexity of Andean society
Techniques of producing cotton textiles and fishing nets
Discovered gold, silver, and copper metallurgy
Cities began to appear shortly after Chavíncult
Early Andeans did not make use of writing
Mochica ( C.E.)
One of several early Andean states, located in northern Peru
Mochica ceramics: lives of different social classes
Mochica did not integrate the whole Andean region 6

7. TEOTIHUACAN The city of Teotihuacan Teotihuacan society
Built in the highlands of Mexico
Colossal pyramids of sun and moon dominated the skyline
Between 400 and 600 C.E., the city had 200,000 inhabitants
Paintings and murals reflect the importance of priests
Teotihuacan society
Rulers and priests dominated society
Two-thirds of inhabitants worked in fields
Famous for obsidian tools, orange pottery
Professional merchants traded widely
No sign of military organization
Cultural traditions
Inherited Olmecs' culture
Honored earth god, rain god
Decline of Teotihuacan
Military pressure from other peoples since 500 C.E.
Began to decline 650 C.E.; Invaders sacked city, mid-8th century

8. TEOTIHUACAN THE CITY

9. Teotihuacan and Tula among the Maya
Mayan Origins
Original home: southern Mexico, Yucatan, Central America
Tikal: CE expanded from Belize into Yucatan, Mexico
Evidence that a group, its ideas (Teotihuacan?) migrated into area to establish states
Toltec Origins
Several lineages such as Cocom, Xiu, Itza were called dzulob or foreigners
Chronicles of Chilam Balam kept by villages indicate this origin
Founders had special knowledge that gave them right to establish a state
Many leaders recorded in Mayan records for 700 years but had Nahua names
Popul Vu and Chronicles of Cakchiquels
Show migration as common in region and in founding of cities in area
Indicate Nahua or Tolan connections
Teotihuacan Influences
Use of aspects of Teotihuacan writing and phraseology suddenly appear in Mayan
In 378 CE in Mayan Long Count, Tikal conquered Uaxacatun
A stella erected to commemorate the event: its iconography is from Teotihuacan
After that the iconography occurs in other Mayan stella
Chichen Itza
Early founders are clearly Toltec
Could have been an indication of Toltec invasion of the area

10. EARLY GEOGRAPHY