Amerindian Civilizations

1. Amerindian Civilizations

2. For use with GSPRITE Chart

3. Background • Human populations migrated over the Bering Land Bridge anywhere from 40,000 to 15,000 years ago • Evidence: archaeology, physical anthropology, DNA analysis, & linguistics • Debated: timing, place of origin, & people • Roughly uniform techno-complex pattern – Clovis – appears in North & Central American sites from 13,500 years ago onwards • Established civilizations in North America, Central America, and South America • Olmec (Mexico) • Chavin (Andes) • Moche (Andes) • Wari (Andes

4. Mayan Civilization • Located in southern Mexico & northern Central America • Evolved from the Olmec • Flourishing civilization by 250CE • Classic Period 250-900 • Built cities [Tikal, Copán, Palenque, Chichén Itza] • Independent city-states ruled by god-kings • Centers for religious ceremonies & trade • Pyramids, temples, & carvings dedicated to gods and rulers • City-states linked by trade & alliances • Social Hierarchy: King > Nobles, Priests, & Warriors > Merchants & Artisans > Peasants & Slaves • Grew maize, beans, and squash, possibly with slash-and-burn agriculture • Also had hillside terraces • Raised beds above swamps • Polytheistic religion • Gods represented nature • Prayer, offerings, piercing, body-cutting, & human sacrifice • Intellectual achievements • Beliefs led to calendar, mathematics, and astronomy • Most advanced written language of ancient Americas • PopulVuh – creation story of the Maya • Decline – cities abandoned in late 800s • Warfare? • Famine & disease?

5. Aztec Civilization • Mexica arrived c.1200CE • Poor, nomadic people from the deserts • Adapted to local ways in small cities in the valley • Worked as mercenary soldiers • Founded Tenochtitlan in 1325CE • Joined with Texcoco and Tlacopan in 1428 to become leading power in Valley of Mexico • Divided into 38 provinces • 5-15M population • Power based on military conquest & tribute from subjects • Let local rulers govern regions • Demanded tribute – gold, maize, cotton, jade, etc. • Destroy village if failed to pay tribute • Social hierarchy: Emperor > Nobles, Military Rulers, Priests > Merchants, soldiers, artisans, landowners > Slaves • Polytheistic religion – offerings, rituals, songs, dances, & festivals for gods • Sacrificed slaves, criminals, prisoners of war, and tribute • Problems in the empire + Spanish = decline • 1502 – Moctezuma II emperor • Greater population called for greater tribute & sacrifice, but spawned unrest & rebellion • Spanish arrived 1519 • Defeated 1521

6. Incan Empire • Built upon older empires • Settled fertile Valley of Cuzco with a firm kingdom by 1200s • Traditions & beliefs to unify empire • Only men from 11 noble lineages with ties to the Sun God Inti could be rulers • Pachacuti (r.1438) conquered all of modern Peru  Land of the Four Quarters w/80 provinces • Used combination of diplomacy and military force for conquest • Used military sparingly • Offer honorable surrender to enemy before attack • Keep customs & rulers in exchange for loyalty to Incan state • Territory divided into manageable units governed by central bureaucracy • Demanded tribute, usually mit’a (labor) • Achievements • Efficient economic system • Extensive road network • Single official language (Quechua) • Schools founded • Public works projects • Religion • Fewer gods than Aztecs • Focused on nature spirits • Priests led services, assisted by “virgins of the sun” • Discord & Decline • Empire split between sons of Huayna Capac - Atahualpa & Huascar • Atahualpa won civil war, but tore empire apart • Spanish arrived & took advantage of weakness • Executed Atahualpa in 1532

7. North American Civilizations • Less developed than South & Mesoamerican groups • No great empires • Few ruins • Engaged in long-distance trade • Economic & Cultural connections between tribes • Traded along rivers • Nearly all believed in natural spirits • Some polytheistic • Others had supreme being • Respected the land & nature • Family was basis for social organization • Extended family • Organized into clans • Totem – natural object with which an individual, clan, or group identifies itself • Symbol of unit • Helps define behaviors & social relationships

8. North American Civilizations • Western Cultures – Pacific Northwest • Rich in resources = large population • Wealth created social classes • Accomplished builders • Southwestern Cultures – Anasazi • Four Corners region • Cliff dwellings & pueblos • Pueblos abandoned around 1200CE • Continued by Hopi and Zuni • Mound Builders • Hopewell culture built large, plentiful burial mounds around 200BCE • Mississippian built thriving villages on farming & trade from 800CE-1500s along Mississippi & Ohio Rivers • Northeastern Alliance – Iroquois Confederacy • Variety of cultures in eastern woodlands clashed over lands • 5 tribes of upper New York formed alliance in late 1500s (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, & Seneca)

9. Challenge: How many North American Native groups can you name?

10. Remember: • Amerindian groups shared similar social patterns and religious beliefs, and they interacted with each other in trade • It is believed Amerindians had no contact with European, Asian, or African groups until the Age of Exploration • These peoples had their own customs, beliefs, traditions, diets, virtues, and ways of life that were different from Europeans • The Age of Exploration will spark a “clash of civilizations”

11. National Geographic Articles • Choose one: • “Climate Change Killed off the Maya Civilization” • “Why the Maya Fell” • “Researchers Divided Over Whether Anasazi Were Cannibals” • “Textile Fragments Provide Details of Ancient Lives” • Answer questions on separate paper in complete sentences • Finish for homework