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Civilizations

Civilizations. “‘No other field in American history has grown as fast,’ marveled Joyce Chapman, a Harvard historian, in 2003.” Charles C. Mann, 1491 [p. 35]. The Americas before Columbus. The Traditional View. American history began in 1492

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Civilizations

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  1. Civilizations

  2. “‘No other field in American history has grown as fast,’ marveled Joyce Chapman, a Harvard historian, in 2003.” Charles C. Mann, 1491 [p. 35] The Americas before Columbus

  3. The Traditional View American history began in 1492 The New World was sparsely populated by small bands of nomadic, Stone Age hunter-gatherers America was a pristine wilderness before European settlement

  4. Stereotypes and other Nonsense

  5. Featured Reference Mann, Charles C. 2005. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus

  6. “Terminological Quicksand” • “Native Americans?” • … or “Indians?”

  7. “Terminological Quicksand” “Anyone born in the western hemisphere is a Native American.” “I abhor the term Native American.” Russell Means

  8. “Terminological Quicksand” • Likely to call themselves Dine, Lakota, Ojibwe,Haudenosaunee, etc. • The Point: The indigenous peoples of the Americas were a diverse mix of societies, cultures, languages, and customs

  9. The Anasazi

  10. Mesa Verde, Colorado

  11. Canyon de Chelly, Arizona

  12. Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

  13. Chacoan irrigation system

  14. Chacoan road system A network of 26-40 foot wide, straight roads led from Chaco to outlier sites. Why? – no wheel; no draft animals

  15. Solar Calendar on Fajada Butte

  16. Two corner windows in Pueblo Bonito show the winter solstice when the light forms a rectangle on the north wall beginning at the room’s corner

  17. Who built the ruins at Chaco, Mesa Verde & Canyon de Chelly? Why did they abandon them? Where did they go? And a key question: When were they built?

  18. First Archeological ExpeditionRichard Wetherill, 1895

  19. The Judd Expedition 1920 Led by Neil M. Judd Archeologist with the Smithsonian Institution Sponsored by the National Geographic Society

  20. Andrew Ellicott Douglass 1867-1962 Astronomer Steward Observatory, University of Arizona Studying sunspot activity and climate

  21. Douglass was thinking about Photosynthesis Specifically, solar energy which would be greater during periods of greater sunspot activity Wouldn’t this be reflected in more growth in plants?

  22. Wood cells are long, slender tubes Growth Rings Large, thin-walled earlywood cells formed in spring Smaller, thick-walled latewood cells formed in summer Cellular Structure of Wood

  23. The Cambium

  24. Douglass’ results? • Tree ring patterns in the region were remarkably consistent over a given period of time • He found no correlation between tree growth and known periods of sunspot activity. • Rainfall and other factors have greater influence on growth.

  25. “None of this was as easy as it sounds in the quick telling. It’s a little like uniquely identifying one piece in a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle in which each one is only slightly different from the rest. Many successions of patterns looked very similar to other successions. It is necessary to be extremely careful not to be fooled. Douglass was a careful man, and the technique proved successful. Its application to archeology was inevitable.” Kendrick Frazier, People of Chaco (p. 75)

  26. In 1922, Neil Judd sought Douglass’ help

  27. Douglass discovered that construction of Pueblo Bonito began in 919 A.D. and the structure was still occupied in 1127 A.D. Pueblo del Arroyo was under construction from 1053-1103 A.D.

  28. Balcony House at Mesa Verde was built from 1190-1206 A.D. The Cliff Palace was built in 1073 A.D.

  29. Other Anasazi ruins in Canyon de Chelly and elsewhere were occupied in the same era

  30. The Medieval Warming Period

  31. The Mound Builders Mound builder cultures developed along the Mississippi. The oldest known was at Watson Brake on the Ouachita River in Louisiana, which is about 5,400 years ago – older than the pyramids. [Bonnicksen, p. 122] Adena (Illinois), Hopewell (Ohio Valley), Mississippian (later, widespread culture).

  32. Cahokia • Located in Illinois across from St. Louis • On the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers – ideally suited for trade • Covered 13 square miles and was populated by about 20,000 people

  33. 120 mounds dot the landscape, the largest - Monks Mound -was 10 stories high, and held the house of Cahokia’s ruler Surrounded by a 15 ft. high wooden palisade 2 miles long and with guard towers spaced every 70 feet. Circular solar calendar composed of 48 perfectly spaced redcedar posts that archeologist have dubbed “Woodhenge” The Cahokia people cleared bottomland forests for their fields. Elm pollen dropped abruptly in the region in 1,000 AD. Chestnut and other mast-producers spread around that time.

  34. What happened to the Anasazi?

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