AP World History POD #10 - Mesoamerica

1. AP World HistoryPOD #10 - Mesoamerica North American Civilizations

2. Class Discussion Notes Bulliet et. al. – “Northern Peoples”, pp. 317-321

3. North Amerindian Society • “By the end of the classic period in Mesoamerica, around 900 C.E., important cultural centers had appeared in the southwestern desert region and along the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys of what is now the United States. In both regions improved agricultural productivity and population growth led to increased urbanization and more complex social and political structures. In the Ohio Valley Amerindian peoples who depended on locally domesticated seed crops as well as traditional hunting and gathering developed large villages with monumental earthworks. The introduction of maize, beans, and squash into this region from Mesoamerica after 1000 B.C.E. played an important role in the development of complex societies.” (Bulliet et. al. – pp. 317-318)

4. Anasazi • Anasazi is a Navajo word meaning “ancient times”, and is used to identify a number of dispersed, though similar, desert cultures located in what is now the southwestern desert region of the current United States (Four Corners) • Around 300 B.C.E. these people came into contact with Mexico and were introduced to agriculture based on irrigation • Developed an economy based on maize, beans and squash • Irrigation allowed the planting of two crops per year – population began to grow and settled village life started • Underground buildings called kivas and began to construct large multistory residential and ritual centers • Produced pottery and learned to weave cotton cloth

5. Chaco Canyon • One of the largest Anasazi communities – consisted of 8 canyon towns and 4 towns on the surrounding hills • Hunting, trade, irrigation maintenance often took the men away from the town • Women shared in the agricultural tasks, were craft specialists, and responsible for food production • Houses and furnishings may have belonged to the women, who formed extended families with their mothers and sisters

6. Decline & Dispersal of the Anasazi • Abandonment of major settlement sites such as Chaco Canyon most likely occurred as a result of drought • New settlements appeared in large natural caves high above canyon floors • These hard-to-reach locations suggest increased levels of warfare probably provoked by population pressure on limited arable land

7. Hopwell • Started to spread around 100 C.E. through the Ohio River Valley west to Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, east to New York and Ontario, and south to Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi • Constructed large villages and monumental earthworks • early example of North American chiefdom in which populations as large as 10,000 were ruled by a chief who was a hereditary leader with both religious and secular responsibilities • Chiefs organized periodic rituals of feasting and gift giving to link diverse kinship groups and guarantee access to specialized crops and craft goods. They also managed long-distance trade for luxury goods and additional food supplies

8. Mississippian Culture • “The development of urbanized Mississippian chiefdoms resulted from the accumulated effects of in agricultural productivity, the adoption of the bow and arrow and the expansion of trade networks. An improved economy led to population growth, the building of cities, and social stratification. The largest towns shared a common urban plan based on a central plaza surrounded by large platform mounds. Major towns were trade centers where people bartered essential commodities, such as the flint used for weapons and tools.” (Bulliet et. al. pp. 320-321)

9. Cahokia • Site of the most powerful Mississippian town (near modern day East St. Louis, Illinois) • Controlled the surrounding agricultural lands and a number of secondary towns ruled by subchiefs • Its political and economic influence developed as a result of its’ location on the Missouri River – permitting commercial trade as far away as the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico • No evidence linking the decline and abandonment circa 1250 C.E. with either civil war or military defeat • Evidence suggests that the decline and abandonment was more likely the result of population pressure, environmental degradation caused by deforestation and more intensive farming practices