Chapter 6:

1. Chapter 6: Early Societies in the Americas & Oceania

2. Early Human Migrations By 700 CE, humans had established communities in almost every habitable part of the world.

3. Major Pre-Columbian Civilizations

4. Early Mesoamerican societies 1200 BCE – 1100 CE

5. Origins of Mesoamerican Societies • Melting glaciers 18,000 years ago began a rise in ocean waters. • Migration across Bering land bridge? • Probably 13,000 BCE, perhaps earlier • By sea from Asia? • By 9500 BCE reached southernmost part of South America • Hunter/Gatherer societies • evolve into agricultural societies

6. Olmecs • 1200-100 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

7. The Olmec heartland where the Olmecs reigned from 1400 - 500 BCE

8. It is now generally accepted that these heads are portraits of rulers, perhaps dressed as ballplayers. 17 heads have been unearthed so far!

9. Agriculture and Herding • Abundant rainfall, so no need for irrigation • Drainage systems to divert waters • Staple: maize • Herding: turkeys, barkless dogs • Both food • No draft animals • No development of wheeled vehicles

10. Olmec Society • Probably authoritarian in nature • Large class of conscripted laborers to construct ceremonial sites • Also tombs for rulers, temples, pyramids, drainage systems

11. The Olmecs • The first major American civilization who built ceremonial centers around pyramids. • Had an elaborate calendar, writing system and widespread trading network. • There is evidence that the Olmec practiced ritual bloodletting and played the Mesoamerican ballgame, hallmarks of nearly all subsequent Mesoamerican societies.

12. The Olmecs • The first major American civilization who built ceremonial centers around pyramids. • Had an elaborate calendar, writing system and widespread trading network. • There is evidence that the Olmec practiced ritual bloodletting and played the Mesoamerican ballgame, hallmarks of nearly all subsequent Mesoamerican societies.

13. Mysterious Decline of Olmecs • Ceremonial centers destroyed • No evidence of warfare • Revolution? • Civil war?

14. The Maya

15. Lands of the Maya The Yucatan Peninsula

16. Maya • Huge cities discovered in 19th c. • 300 BCE-900 CE • Terrace Farming • Maize • Cotton • Cacao beans • chocolate • currency • Major ceremonial center at Tikal (500,000) • Chichen Itza & Palenque b/w 10-30,000 people

17. Temple I (also known as the Temple of the Great Jaguar) in the Plaza Mayor

18. Chichen-Itza - Pyramid

19. 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

20. Mayan Ritual Calendar • Complex math • Invention of “Zero” • Calendar of 365.242 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 • Devise written language • Compile astronomical knowledge

21. Mayan Language and Religion • Ideographs and a syllable-alphabet • Most writings destroyed by Spanish conquerors • Deciphering work began in 1960s • Popol Vuh: Mayan creation myth • Humans created from maize & water > flesh & blood • Agricultural cycle maintained in exchange for honors and sacrifices • Bloodletting rituals • Human sacrifices follow after removal of fingers, piercing to allow blood flow

22. 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 • Most Maya ceremonial centers, towns and cities had courts

23. Chichen-Itza - Ball Court

24. A Goal in the Ball Court at Chichén Itzá, Mexico

25. Social Hierarchy • Most Maya were farmers who supplied resources for an elaborate trading network. • Each city had a ruling chief, followed by nobles, who served as city officials and military leaders.

26. City of Teotihuacan • Highlands of Mexico • Lakes in area of high elevation • Village of Teotihuacan, 500 BCE, expands to become massive city • Important ceremonial center • Extensive trade network, influenced surrounding areas • Begins to decline c. 650 CE, sacked in middle of 8th century, massive library destroyed

27. Pirámide del Sol, Teotihuacan

28. The End of the Maya • Around 900, the Maya abandoned their cities. Historians speculate that war or overpopulation made have led to famine or class warfare. • Today, millions in Guatemala and Southern Mexico speak 28 Mayan dialects.

29. Andean Societies Early Societies of Andean South America 1000 BCE – 700 CE • Migration into South America c. 12,000 BCE • Climate improves c. 8000 BCE • Largely independent from Mesoamerica • Highly individualized due to geography

30. Food Supply • Those who migrated into the Andes Mountains hunted deer, llama, alpaca and other large animals not found in Central America. • Cultivation of maize and squashes spread from Mesoamerica, while gold, silver and copper metallurgy spread from the Andes north. • By 2500 BCE, the earliest Andean cultivators relied on peanuts, beans, and sweet potatoes.

31. Chavin Cult • New religion in central Andes, 900-300 BCE • Little known about particulars of religion • Intricate stone carvings • Cult may have arose when maize became an important crop > cult for fertility and abundant harvests. • During the era Andean society became increasingly complex • Elaborate woven clothing, cotton fishnets, metallurgy for jewelry

32. The Mochica State • Valley of the Moche River • Dominated northern Peru, 300-700 CE • Artistic evidence of armed warriors maintaining stability throughout region • Painting survives, mostly on pottery/ceramics • No writing, but complex society with vast job specialization • One of many states in region, none able to consolidate into empire • 6th-7th centuries CE saw climactic shifts with droughts that led to a decline of early Andean civilizations

33. Early Societies of Oceania, 1500 BCE – 700 CE

34. Oceania • Prehistoric land bridges, lower seas permit migration • Outrigger canoes for open-sea travel • Humans in Oceania at least by 58,000 BCE • By 8,000 BCE trade between islands ceased due to the rising seas. • Early hunter-gatherer societies in Australia • Early agriculture in New Guinea by 3000 BCE • Yams, taro & raising pigs & chickens

35. Aborigine of the Naomi Tribe

36. Early 19th Century Aboriginal Tribe

37. 21st century Aboriginal People

38. Lapita Peoples • Earliest Austronesian (language group of Oceania) migrants to sail into the Pacific Ocean and establish settlements in pacific islands. • Found throughout Pacific Islands • Agriculture, animal herding • Political organization based on chiefdoms • Relatives formed aristocracy • Trade over open ocean declines 500 BCE • Greater independence of settlements