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Peoples and Civilizations of the Americas, 200 – 1500 C.E. Classic-Era Culture and Society in Mesoamerica, 200 – 900 A. Teotihuacan 1. Located about 30 miles northeast of modern day Mexico City, Teotihuacan was one of Mesoamerica’s most important classic-period civilizations.
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Peoples and Civilizations of the Americas, 200 – 1500 C.E. Classic-Era Culture and Society in Mesoamerica, 200 – 900 A. Teotihuacan 1. Located about 30 miles northeast of modern day Mexico City, Teotihuacan was one of Mesoamerica’s most important classic-period civilizations. 2. The height of its power was between 450 to 600 C.E. and had a population of about 125,000 to 200,000 people.
3. The classic period civilizations like that of Teotihuacan were built on the political foundations of the Olmecs. 4. The people of the Teotihuacan recognized and worshiped many gods and lesser spirits such as the Sun, Moon, and a storm-god. 5. One such god was Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent.
6. The people of Teotihuacan did not concentrate power in the hands of a single ruler. 7. This is evident by the fact that there are no representations of rulers within their public art like other Mesoamerican societies. 8. Some scholars suggest that the city was ruled by alliances of elite families suggesting an oligarchy.
B. The Maya 1. South of Teotihuacan, the Maya developed an impressive civilization in the region that today includes Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, and southern Mexico. 2. The Maya were never unified politically but instead struggled for regional dominance like that of the early Greeks.
3. Rulers of Mayan city-states served both religious and political functions. 4. Based on surviving frescoes and painted pottery, kings communicated directly with the supernatural through bloodletting rituals and hallucinogenic drugs. 5. During warfare, elites from the opposing side were captured and used for human sacrifice.
6. Mayan society was patrilineal but there is some evidence that some rulers also used female lines to legitimate their rule. 7. Only two women are known to have ruled Maya kingdoms. 8. Less is known about the lower classes, but scholars believe that women played a central role in the household economy, maintaining garden plots, weaving, and the managing of family life.
The Postclassic Period in Mesoamerica, 900 – 1500 A. The Toltecs 1. Toltecs borrowed from the cultural legacy of Teotihuacan in what scholars refer to as the post-classical period of Mesoamerica. 2. They created the first conquest state based largely on military power. 3. Tula was the capital of the Toltecs and it dominated central Mexico.
4. Two kings ruled the Toltec state together and evidence suggests this was the reason for its decline. 5. According to tradition, a ruler named Topiltzin and a priest of Quetzalcoatl were exiled east beyond the sea. 6. After this, the Toltec state began to decline around 1156 C.E.
B. The Aztecs 1. After the collapse of Tula northern peoples migrated into central Mexico. 2. One such group was the Mexica, who are commonly known as the Aztecs. 3. They built their twin capitals of Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco near the shore of Lake Texcoco.
4. Rulers were selected among male members of the ruling lineage. 5. War was essential in establishing the legitimacy of the new ruler as well as increasing the prestige of successful warriors. 6. Incessant warfare allowed for the warrior elites to seize land and peasants as spoils of war.
7. Like other Mesoamerican cultures, the Aztecs were polytheistic. 8. The major contribution of the Aztecs to Mesoamerica was the cult of Huitzilopochtli, or southern hummingbird. 9. The Aztecs believed that Huitzilopochtli required a diet of human hearts to sustain him in his daily struggle to bring the Sun’s warmth to the world.
Northern Peoples A. Southwestern Desert Cultures 1. It is estimated that around 300 B.C.E. agriculture based on irrigation arrived in present-day Arizona. 2. The most vivid example of these desert peoples are the Anasazi – Navajo for “ancient ones” that occupied the four corners of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah.
3. The Anasazi had developed an economy based on maize, beans, and squash. 4. Cultural life centered in underground dwellings called kivas, which were used for pottery and weaving. 5. Men hunted, traded, and maintained irrigation works; women shared in agricultural tasks, were specialists in crafts, and were responsible for food preparation and childcare.
B. Mound Builders: The Adena, Hopewell, and Mississippian Cultures 1. Moving east along modern day USA, one of the first and oldest civilizations to emerge are the Adena people of the Ohio River Valley. 1000 B.C.E. – 200 B.C.E. 2. The Adena were known for their elaborate mounds which were sometimes used as burial sites. 3. These grave sites indicate a hierarchical society with elites at the tope who had access to mica and copper.
4. Around 100 C.E. the Adena culture blended into a successor culture now called the Hopewell. 5. They were dependent on hunting and gathering with a limited use of agriculture inherited from the Adena. 6. Hopewell is the earliest example of a North American chiefdom – territory that had a population of as much as 10,000 and was ruled by a chief, a hereditary leader with both religious and secular responsibilities.
7. The Mississippian cultures were the direct results of increases in agricultural production, the adoption of the bow and arrow, and the expansion of trade networks. (700 – 1500 C.E.) 8. This lead to the building of cities and a more complex social stratification. 9. The greatest of the these urban centers was Cahokia, located near the modern city of East St. Louis.
Andean Civilization 200 – 1500 C.E. A. Cultural Response to Environmental Challenge 1. Human labor was the essential element that allowed Amerindian peoples of eastern South America to overcome many challenges. 2. Their system of record keeping was called khipus – system of knotting colored cords to keep information. 3. The basis of Andean life centered on undertaking tasks collectively.
4. This collective nature of the Andean people can be demonstrated with the basis of Andean life, the ayllu – or clan. 5. Members of the same ayllu held land communally and thought of each other as brothers and sisters. 6. By 1000 B.C.E., a system called mit’a arose which required members of the ayllu to provide labor for specific tasks.
