Global 1 Honors Final- Oceania + the Americas

jaguar

jaguar was very important to Mesoamerican societies jaguar was worshipped There was a jaguar cult in 800 BC that altered the course of the Chavin civilization. The Olmec worshipped the Jaguar. Mayan city of Tikal built the Temple of the Giant Jaguar.

terra preta

man-made top-soil (= compost) very fertile and rich soil that covers a vast area of the Amazon (almost the size of France) the quality of such compost has yet to be duplicated and is evidence of a sophisticated understanding of the nutritional needs of plants and effective soil management

Global timing of the societies of the Americas

middle bronze age to early middle ages

Nan Madol

ninety-three artificial islets protected by seawalls and breakwaters on three sides "Venice of the Pacific"

tribute

payment made periodically by one state/ruler to another, especially as a sign of dependence

Maya

replaced or coexisted with the Olmec in the rain forests of Guatemala and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula covering an area that included parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador - earliest settlements in the Yucatan date to 2000 BC - last independent Mayan kingdom collapsed in 1697 AD - Spanish Conquisdors found mostly abandoned Mayan cities and isolated communities recent archaeological evidence and modern scholarship have pushed back the height of civilization to between 100 AD and 900 AD in different parts of the Maya world - known as the Classic Maya - built at least 80 independent cities with pyramid structures for ritual and rule not to house common people - each city was governed by a powerful warlord and an aristocracy of priests and nobles - ex Palenque, El Mirador Chichen Itza, Tikal - each city was an independent center of trade and often went to war with other cities - relationships bore some resemblance to the rivalry between the city-states of ancient Greece, the Sumerian city-states, the provinces of pre-Qin China, city-states of the Indus River Valley, states of the Niger River Valley, Hausaland, the Swahili city-states of East Africa where no clear evidence of the unity of empire or central authority existed • performed ritual human sacrifice like the Aztecs as well as ceremonial bloodletting by rulers - tied to the belief that giving up that which was most precious (blood, children, virgins, large number of captives, etc) was essential to gaining the favor of the gods and the continuation Mayan existence • played a ritual ball game that combined elements of soccer and basketball with severe consequences for the loser • did not have a uniform currency as a medium of exchange - used the cacao bean (chocolate) • largest city was Tikal where the Temple of the Giant Jaguar was built - possessed five giant pyramids built for religious purposes • believed in numerous gods - each day was represented by a living god whose behavior could be predicted with an intricate system of calendars - the most accurate celestial calendar of the ancient world - since its creation it is only off by .0002 days or 33 seconds - used together to decide when to plant, make war, or choose new rulers - based on constant and careful observation of the movement of the heavens - calendar calculations recorded celestial events ½ billion years in the past - combined a solar calendar of 365 days with ritual calendar of 260 days, a 20 "month" calendar of 13 days each, and a 52 year "long count" calendar originated by the Olmec - believed the precise timing of rituals with celestial events was the key to acquiring the favor of the gods - • expert mathematicians whose precision in building was near perfect - independently developed the symbol for zero in the 4th century AD, 800 years before it appeared in Europe • engaged in fashionable practices such as drilling holes for jewels in the front teeth of women and placing the heads of children in vices for long periods of time to elongate the skull - practices exhibited among Olmec societies previously • developed the most enduring written language of the Americas - used for historical records - consisted of signs and glyphs in syllabic, pictographic, and ideographic forms • masters at soil retention and conservation through silt capture and terrace farming as well as being well versed in water management to control flood conditions through the construction of underground aqueducts • Mayan society was organized around a royal family and priests, and a hereditary nobility that owned most of the land that housed architects, artisans, and scribes; • peasants and slaves provided most of the labor in the absence of the wheel (made little sense given the terrain) and draft animals (largest domesticable animal in the Americas was the llama) • merchants had a high status in Mayan society because they came from the ruling or noble class, and besides traders in luxury goods they served as ambassadors and information gathers for political purposes • civilization mysteriously ended around the late 800's AD due to abandonment - perhaps caused by warfare, climate change, or environmental degradation • traded with the people of the Teotihuacan

ball games

ritual ball games were important to central american societies combined of soccer and basketball the loser would have great consequances (even death) and the winner would receive great rewards

Inca "socialism"

state system of care for orphans, widows, or the infirmed if they were unable to care for themselves also included gov. control over production and distribution of agricultural + artisanal goods, as well as employing a state religion to provide unity over a population that was linguistically and culturally diverse

quipu

the Inca system of counting scholars are arguing that it could be a form of brail (writing system) Different lengths and colors starting at different points and knots in the string, and unevenly spaced

alternative archaeology

the interpretations of the past from outside the archaeological science community, which reject the accepted datagathering and analytical methods of the discipline

Pacific Rim

the regions, countries, etc, that lie on the shores of the Pacific Ocean

Moche

(100 - 700 AD) Peruvian coast Not an empire or state Peaked around 500 AD Built a massive temple pyramid called Huaca del Sol or Pyramid of the Sun by the Spanish which contained 130 million bricks and was the largest adobe structure in the Americas -smaller Pyramid of the Moon Used the rivers fed by rainfall in the Andes to irrigate the desert into farmland -corn, avocado, peanuts very wealthy -abundant gold, silver, and jewels Dominated by a warrior-priest class of rulers that lived and worshiped in pyramid temples -Temple of the Sun; 140 million adobe bricks; largest pyramid in the Andean region villagers lived in one room houses -never developed a written language -know about them through pottery -powerful army using copper weapons obscure and uncertain religious beliefs -practiced human sacrifice advanced medicine, cloth making, and the use of music from pipes mysteriously declined around 700 AD by 700 AD the Huari absorbed the Moche

Zapotecs

(1400 BC - 900 AD) A complex society that developed in the Oaxaca Valley and centered in their capital of Monte Alban Practiced terrace farming and built an efficient irrigation system Possessed the earliest complete hieroglyphic script in the Americas by 800 BC -similar to the Cascajal Block Influenced the Toltecs

City of Teotihuacan

(200 AD - 750 AD) Valley of Mexico, 30 miles NE of Mexico City Oval shaped basin fed by mountain stream, 7500 feet above sea level 500 AD, one of a half dozen of the most populous cities in the world with more than 200,000 people at its peak and at 8 sq. mi. it was larger than ancient Rome with a diverse population reminiscent of Constantinople of the Byzantine period Believed to be literate -only stone carved writings survived -based on glyphs on friezes -exposed to Olmec and Maya graphic symbols but no non-ideographic writing system has been found Played the Olmec "ball game" Coexisted and traded with the Maya Some evidence of human sacrifice has been found May have been ruled as a theocracy due to its emphasis on religious art and the depiction of priests Traded obsidian and pottery over a wide area possessed a class structure that included priests, artisans, merchants, cultivators no evidence of defensive walls nor the depiction in artwork of central authority, war, or empire of a military nature settled by an unknown group of people perhaps as early as 100 BC, peaking around 200 AD, and abruptly disappearing by about 750 AD They may have experienced invasion after 650 AD as evidenced by some degree of destruction at isolated temples sites and civic centers, perhaps self-inflicted, but with no widespread evidence of being conquered, more of abandonment rather than destructions Avenue of the Dead a pair of enormous temple pyramids on opposite ends of a majors thoroughfare -Pyramid of the Moon -Pyramid of the Sun -largest single structure in the Americas -as large as but not as tall as the Great Pyramid at the Giza Plateau in Egypy -650' in length X 213' in height and was over 1 million cubic yards of bricks

Hopwell

(400 AD) -People of present day southern Ohio valley -skilled craftspeople and clever traders -buried their dead with fine products in mounds -created extremely large mounds of earth by basket for ritual and dwelling purposes -influenced the entire eastern North America -reached its peak about 1600 years ago then disappeared for unknown reasons

Chimu

(600 - 1470 AD) -built a sophisticated civilization and empire along the Peruvian coast with a capital at Chan-Chan in the Moche Valley that was based on many Moche precedents -known for fine gold works, precise record keeping, and elaborate aqueducts -conquered by the Incas

Toltecs

(900 - 1170 AD) -built a warrior based society centered in their capital at Tula northeast of modern Mexico City with a population of perhaps 60,000 -expanded their empire to include the Yucatan by 1000 AD and had extensive contact with the Mayan city of Chichen Itza some 932 miles to the east -heavily influenced their successors the Aztecs in their reverence for Quetzalcoatl the feathered serpent god was embodied in the Toltec ruler Topiltzin -Quetzalcoatl who was driven from power by the god Tezcatlipoca and vowed to return to claim his throne (Cortes was mistakenly believed to be Quetzalcoatl - legend described him as fair skinned and bearded on white winged vessels after a sign of bird of prey perched on a reed in Lake Texcoco) -practiced human sacrifice -collapsed due to civil strife and nomadic incursions

Aztecs (Mexica)

(900 - 1521 CE) built the capital city of Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco this city was part of a Triple Alliance with the cities of Texcoco and Tlacopan in 1434 that controlled the Valley of Mexico and forced the surrounding region into tributary status to provide sacrificial victims and gold and other desired products Tenochtitlan expanded to small nearby islands through a series of canals and connected to the main island by causeways - considered the "Venice of the Americas" - built aqueduct and a sewer system to bring fresh water to the city from the mainland and remove waste - home to about 200,000 people with another 300,000 living in suburbs - more populous than any city in Europe at the time - farmed on floating man-made islands called chinampas that utilized soil from the lake bed to produce several harvests in a year - demonstrated that the Aztecs, like other people of the Americas before them, had developed a complex and sophisticated level of agricultural technology and had adapted effectively to their environment in order to support large populations - Spanish conquistadors considered it comparable to Constantinople in grandeur and wealth - especially well known for its extensive markets with goods available from a thousand miles away depended upon kin groups called caluplli • social structure placed a militaristic aristocratic noble class at the top followed by priests with artisans and merchants enjoying prestige as well; peasants and slaves represented the lower classes of Aztec society by 1500 CE they ruled an empire of 11 million people and received payment in the form of tribute - created discontent from different peoples subject to Aztec rule that the Spanish eventually exploited to their advantage when Cortes arrived believed that the gods had set the world in motion through acts of individual self sacrifice and that it would take acts of ritual bloodletting and human sacrifice to ensure that the world would continue - in sheer numbers of victims they took human sacrifice to a level previously unseen adopted the same calendar and ball game as had been used by their Olmec and Maya predecessors spoken language was called Nahuatl which is the indigenous Mexica language claimed descent from the Toltecs who proceeded them in the region valued jewelry as a show of wealth and status Aztec women were trained for duties of the household and child bearing especially producing sons Aztecs women possessed no political influence and did not inherit property or aspire to public positions. They could produce textiles for sale but only out of their own homes. Aztec women were subject to strong patriarchal authority Aztec priests received a specific education in calendrical and ritual traditions and headed devotional cults and presided over public ceremonies marketplace open to all but the palaces were only available to nobles the king was a political as well as religious leader - performed with priests the ritual sacrifice of captives - believed the sun god needed human blood to keep shining - was done at the top of the Great Temple last king was Montezuma (former Aztec priest) - feared a fair skinned bearded god named Quetzalcoatl who would return on white winged ships to rule - the legend began when Toltec ruler Topiltzin (b.935 0r 947 AD) came to be associated with the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl. His opposition to human sacrifice offended the god Tezcatlipoca who overthrew him. Topiltzin fled east and vowed to return one day to reclaim his kingdom - described Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortes who arrived in 1519 and conquered the Aztecs - the victory was not decisive without the aid of the Tolaxcallans who were a local people that were the main source of sacrificial victims for the Aztecs and European diseases that weakened the Aztec ability to resist the Spanish

Chavin

(900-100 BC) in the coastal areas west of the Andes in Peru The first major urban civilization in South America (900-250 B.C.E.). Its capital was located high in the Andes Mountains of Peru. Chavin became politically and economically dominant in a densely populated region. Influenced the Inca

ayllu

(Inca) units of people organized by common birth who were exempt from taxes or tribute by working state lands administered by aristocrats

Anasazi

(c. 600 - 1200 AD) The Ancient Ones -includes the ancestors of the Hopi -lived in the American southwest in about 800 AD -Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico -built villages called pueblos which were up to five stories high and contained 800+ rooms -Pueblo Bonito -no used of horse, mule, or the wheel -suffered the effects of a long drought and subsequent warfare and abandoned their villages for cliff dwellings -depended on maize -good example of a people who managed their environment effectively in a precarious existence, but prolonged climate change and population growth exceeded its resources led to a societal breakdown

Mississippian

(c. 600 AD - 1500 AD) -agricultural based people of the Mississippi valley that built mounds from southern Canada and the Great Plains to the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico but especially concentrated in the Ohio Valley -earliest settlements date back 5400 years in northeastern Louisiana -center of civilization = city of Cahokia (in its peak from 950 to 1250 AD) -joining point of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers -biggest concentration of people north of the Rio Grande until the 18th century -covering 5 square miles it was 5 or more times bigger than any other Mississippian chiefdom -population of at least 15,000 was comparable in size to London at the time - constructed a four level earthen mound bigger than the Great Pyramid in Egypt around the year 1100 AD - urban in nature but not a city by modern standards of specialized labor -rulers were expected to dictate planting and harvesting -very likely had knowledge of or even traded with Mesoamerican people as evidenced by jade jaguar figurines discovered around Mississippian mound structures -used mounds as burial, dwelling, and temple sites much like the Hopwell people before them in the Ohio valley -contained valuable treasures -Hopwell people were probably the ancestors of the Cahokia people -flourished from about 100 BC to about 400 AD across two thirds of the US -declined due to wars, disease, and overpopulation around 1250 AD

Huari

(c. 650 - 800 AD) (also spelled Wari) -empire that emerged north of Lake Titicaca that was heavily influenced by the Nazca, the Moche, and the Tiwanaku

Common Characteristics amongst ancient people of the Americas

-Built pyramids -All observed a celestial calendar -Worshipping the Jaguar -Traded in Cacao beans and obsidian -Jade carving -Played a ball game like soccer -Based economics on market exchange -Intensive agricultural technology (maize, beans, chili peppers, and squash) -Practiced human sacrifices -devised a hieroglyphic writing -interacted frequently among themselves and on a regional scale including with the societies of North American Mississippi Valley Area -lacked draft animals or the wheel

Easter Island = Rapa Nui

-Easter Island (Rapa Nui) -Dutch sighted the island in 1722 on Easter Island -Rapa Nui culture -Barely hanging on to life -Captain Cook (English) shows up a few years later -Causes of decline -overpopulation Fragile environment Volcanic island Have what you have -deforestation No trees larger than m 10ft Soil levels drop Used rafts, which caused the loss of trees Can't fish in any significant way Can't go for supplies Death sentence 1300 miles from the nearest neighbor One of most remote places in the world

moai

-large statues on Easter island -set on ahu -397 are found -20-30 were still standing -1-2 had on headdresses -Made out of volcanic rock quarried several miles from the shore -theory 1: Rope and movement -Theory 2: Wood rails that stretched the length it needed to go -Bark ropes -Every family wanted to represent the ancestors -Competitiveness drove them to the point of deforestation -Rats -Climate change

Reliable forms of historical evidence for the movement of people

-pottery -DNA -common language/writing system

Big J's reasons for collapse

1. Hostile neighbors 2. Lack of trading partners 3. Climate Change 4. Environmental degradation 5. A Society's response to its problems - most important regarding these societies

Matching Portion

11 questions

Olmecs

1500-1200 BC - 100 BC) "Rubber people" Supposedly the most ancient people of the Americas and could be the "mother culture" Possibly coexisted with the Mayans or could have become the Mayans We know they existed becuase of the Colossal Heads (20 tons) -meant they had a large population and specialized labor The moisture level is so high that virtually everything rots, so we do not find paper Limited to what is in stone Carcajal Block- writing symbol written in lines (62 symbols) Thought to influence the Mayans They built pyramids- truncated means no top Point of origin is in the innermost curve of Mexico They were people of the rainforest of Mexico's Gulf Coast of modern Veracruz, south of Teotihuacan and north of the Maya homeland with capitals -San Lorenzo (1200-800 BC) -La Venta (800- 400 BC) -Tres Zapotes (400-100 BC)

Thor Heyerdahl and his theories

A Norwegian archaeologist, biologist, scientist He became notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000 km (5,000 mi) across the Pacific Ocean in a hand-built raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands. The expedition was designed to demonstrate that ancient people could have made long sea voyages, creating contacts between separate cultures Heyerdahl proposed that Tiki's neolithic people colonized the then-uninhabited Polynesian islands as far north as Hawaii, as far south as New Zealand, as far east as Easter Island, and as far west as Samoa and Tonga around 500 AD. They supposedly sailed from Peru to the Polynesian islands on pae-paes—large rafts built from balsa logs, complete with sails and each with a small cottage. They built enormous stone statues carved in the image of human beings on Pitcairn, the Marquesas, and Easter Island that resembled those in Peru.

Rongorongo

A system of glyphs discovered on Easter Island -a type of writing or proto-writing -may be one of the few independent inventions of writings in human history

Location and geography of each of the societies that we have studied in the Americas

Andean Societies Chavian- Peruvian Coast deserts, focused on fishing Tiahuanco- Lake Titicaca region between Peru and Bolivia 12,600 ft Nazca- coastal desert of southern Peru ten Andean rivers descend Huari- Emerged north of Lake Titicaca Moche- Peruvian coast, not an empire or state used rivers Chimu- Peruvian coast with a capital at Chan-Chan in the Moche Valley Inca- Lake Titicaca and the surrounding areas Borrowed heavily from past societies Late 1400's- 2500 miles along the western coast of South America cities in remote locations Central American Olmec- Rain forest of Mexico's Gulf Coast of modern Veracruz Zapotecs- Oaxaca Valley Toltecs- northeast of modern Mexico City Maya- Rainforests of Guatemala and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula covering an area that included parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Belieze, Honduras, and El Salvador City of Teotihucan- Valley of Mexico, 30 mi. northeast of Mexico City Oval shaped basin fed by mountain streams, 7500 ft above sea level Aztecs (Mexica) Valley of Mexico Built Tenochtitilan on an island in Lake Texcoco North American Socities Anasazi- American Southwest deserts and canyons Hopwell- present day Ohio valley eastern North America Mississippians- Mississippi valley, southern Canada and the Great Plaints to the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico, but especially concentrated in the Ohio Valley

capitals and important cities for each society that we have studied in the Americas

Andean Societies Name- Capital Important Cities Chavin- Peruvian coast Tiwanaku- Lake Titcaca Nazca- Cahuachi Huari- Lake Titicaca area Moche- not an empire or state Chimu- Chan-Chan Inca- Cuzco Central American Societies Olmec- San Lorenzo (1200-800BC) La Venta (800-400 BC) Tres Zapotes (400-100 BC) Zapotecs- Monte Alban Toltecs- Tula Maya- City-states Palenque, Chichen Itza, Tikal City of Teotihuacan- teotihucan Aztecs- capital city- tenpchtitan Important cities- Texcoc, Tlacopan North American Anasazi- Chaco Canyon Hopwell- Ohio valley Mississipians- Cahokia

the similarity between the Bible and the Popol Vuh

Animals come first then man yet man has a position of dominion over the animals At the end of each story, the once perfect creation (humans) became cursed, whether it was with sin, or ignorance Flood myth presented here, in which the gods become angered by their creation and destroy it, in order to be able to start again. And interestingly enough the Maya particularly mention the way in which the wooden people spend too much time copulating instead of worshiping the gods, as within the Biblical flood story, God destroys man because of their wickedness and corruption.

My Class Notes

Assn 1- Seems like everyday something new is coming out Revisionism Revisions of the people of the Americas and how they got there Whole bunch of Asians crossed the land bridge in Siberia/Alaska during the last ice age Poured through and populated somewhere around 10,000-8,000 BCNot so certain anymore about why -following game Is that the most logical way you would go Logical way- boat Can cover more ground with fewer obstacles Native American DNA is similar to Asian DNA Sites on the East Coast, Oregon, Texas, and Chile Perhaps the most recent population of the Americas came from Asians Starting to think that the large animals were hunting to existence by a large population Two most important articles you need to read- Nat geo and archaeological magazine Assn 2- Olmec people "rubber people" We do not know what they called themselves Supposedly the most ancient people of the Americas Maybe they coexisted with the Mayans or are the Mayans We know they existed because of the Colossal Heads (20 tons) Meant they had a large population and specialized labor The moisture level is so high that virtually everything rots, so we do not find paper Limited to what is in stone Carcajal Block- writing symbol written in lines (62 symbols) Thought to influence the Mayans They built pyramids- truncated means no top Point of origin is in the innermost curve of Mexico Common Characteristics amongst ancient people of the Americas Built pyramids All observed a celestial calendar Worshipping the Jaguar Traded in Cacao beans and obsidian Jade carving Played a ball game like soccer Assn 3- Mayans Performed human sacrifices, most valuable things Kill or punish the losers of the ball game, not sure if anyone was sacrificed Drill out the women's front teeth and put a stone in there Elongated the skulls Extreme practices Extremes climates Extreme mathematics =extreme behaviors Built underground aqueducts Experts at diverting and controlling water Lived in a crowded world Master terrace farmers (prevents runoff and soil erosion) Only do that if you are desperate for agricultural space and if you are desperate Made aa lot out of a place that was not too easy to live in Developed the number zero as a place holder Allowed for larger numbers Calculations must be very precise Used the cacao beans as a way of exchange Represented the authority behind the bean Assn 4-When the Spanish arrive, they find the ruins of the cities The best we know is that Mayan writing was independently discovered Built all this without draft animals Popol Vuh is the Mayan creation story- -god of maize get tricked into going to a pit of water -believed these holes are ways to the underworld -captured and beheaded -two sons try to rescue a part of him to plant -humanity gets created from this Corn was very important Starch- high calorie food, lots of energy, productive More calories means more people Wherever there are high caloric crops, there must be larger populations Need to provide for more people meant that they were living on the edge and a drought could be catastrophic If there is a race going on to provide for an ever-growing population, the crops have the ability to provide for those When you have desperate situations, you have desperate practices In the period of decline, they built their largest pyramid to try and please the gods, a more benevolent god The belief system of the Americas was similar to the belief system in old kingdom Egypt The pharaoh was considered a god In the Americas the same was true; the Mayan kings were believed to be connected to the gods It is fragile because if they had a bad drought, they will rely on him to fix it, unraveling the whole thing Mayan experience was a prolonged drought and the kings kept getting toppled In the European world kings were not special The office was what special The Mayan world were living on the edge Scholarship is now leading toward environmental decline, and that pulled in city-states Assn 5 Assn 6- Zapotecs and Toltec's Zapotecs provide us with a complete script, which dates back to around the time of the Carasal Block The Toltec's provide the Aztec's with religion, and a story about their main god, Quetzalcoatl Montezuma must have thought he was meeting Quetzalcoatl, when Cortez arrived Toltec- Tula Zapotecs- Monte Alban Aztecs build a city in the middle of Lake Texcoco called Tenochitilan (Current day Mexico City) Spanish describe the city as beautiful as Constantinople He wrote in that fashion to impress Charles V Most accounts say it was a technological sophisticated, wealth, and populous as Constantinople Writes about Canals in place of Rome Chinampas- wicker place mat, artificial floating island (a self-watering farm) They had a large population, which meant they had to create farm land Pushing the environment to the limits Calpulli- kin groups Families entrusted with ruling over provinces You rely on these kin groups to provide order for a large population and geography Through these nobles families they could administer their empires Decentralized power Perhaps human sacrifice was an act of terror It would be to the Spanish's benefit to say that many were killed in human sacrifice Assn 8- The ability of the people and the Inca's to live in the Andes Vertical empire Massive stone work, very impressive Moved enormous blocks in a mountainous areaFit together without any binding agent Does not come apart in an earthquake Interlocking Takes a large amount of skill Stone on stone Scale factors A complex civilization Amazons- Pristine Jungle Cutting down the trees and they are finding geoglyphs Terra preta- black earth Finest compost in the world Richest soil we have been able to make Retains its national value for the largest period of time Lots of people lived, farmed, and needed it for a large period of time Quipu- Incan system of counting Scholars are arguing that it could be a form of brail (writing system) Different lengths and colors starting at different points and knots in the string, unevenly spaced, Humans had to vision and cross-hybridize teosinte to become corn Genetically engineered Ancient humans have been messing with crops that we assume are only in modern times] Assn 11-Divinity of the Ruler Better than the people A representation of their sun god Old Kingdom Egypt and the Americas People might rely on him too much -drought -food sources -disease -invasion In the America's drought became a problem they could not fix (Maya) Conquistadors for Inca and Aztec Unreliable because they rely on one person and when they cannot do their job, the belief and society crumble They avoided this in ancient Egypt because they could not get the flood to happen The Americas faced drought, but there was no way to fix things if it couldn't leave Egypt revives itself with a priestly class and takes away the god-like aspect of the pharaoh Capitalism and Democracy are our unshakeable beliefs until something happens We believe capitalism is the way to go Our divinity of the ruler During the Great Depression, people questioned whether capitalism was the way to go Jared Diamond says that the reason the Spanish could take down the America's with Guns, Germs, and steel The Spanish guns had a psychological impact on the people Intimidation factor Steel weapons and armor Spanish are immune to their diseases that they brought, they were able to kill the Inca and Aztec with disease No match for the Spanish Horses- a formidable weapon Aztec and Inca contact -vertical -changes climate -geographical altitude -various altitude Limited contact, which explains why they are different Living in isolation No on a biological level No trading partners Self-sufficientResources Americas were an isolated hemisphere When the rest of the world shows up, the end becomes nearer Assn 12- Oceania Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Southeast Asia Austronesian Migration is thought to have started from Taiwan Lapita people Had to do with climate change Earlier part- climate change Later part- farming and agriculture Creation story is the Voyage of Ru Gender -reproduction -owners of the island -matrilineal -overpopulation -social tensions Double outrigger canoe Finding the islands in the Pacific was a great navigational feat Feeding yourself by agriculture, and you are living off the abundance of the sea -easy to overpopulate Last island they populated was New Zealand In societies that do not write, oral tradition is especially reliable Nan Madol A city with canals, built off the coast of an island Sandeleur Dynasty Social hierarchy Resources limit the people of those regions Assn 14/15 -Easter Island (Rapa Nui) -Dutch sighted the island in 1722 on Easter Island -Rapa Nui culture -Barely hanging on to life -Captain Cook (English) shows up a few years later -Causes of decline -overpopulation Fragile environment Volcanic island Have what you have -deforestation No trees larger than 10ft Soil levels drop Used rafts, which caused the loss of trees Can't fish in any significant way Can't go for supplies Death sentence Moai- large statues set on ahu 397 20-30 were still standing 1-2 had on headdresses 20-30ft 15-30 tons Made out of volcanic rock quarried several miles from the shore Theory 1: Rope and movement Theory 2: Wood rails that stretched the length it needed to go Bark ropes Every family wanted to represent the ancestors Competitiveness drove them to the point of deforestation Rats Climate change 1300 miles from the nearest neighbor One of most remote places in the world Looks similar to the statues at Lake Titicaca Thor Heyerdahl says If words, plants, stonework, maybe Polynesian had been settled by Native Americans DNA does not support that theory Cultural Diffusion

key island communities of Oceania and their characteristics and limitations

Australia and New Guinea and the Pacific Island Societies practiced nomadic foraging societies trade occurred in the small scale exchange of specialty items between aboriginal communities over great spans of distance and time from their points of origin not a great deal of contact except seasonal migrations resulting in little cultural diffusion and long distance trade Australia and New Guinea were first inhabited by Austronesian migrants departing from Southeast Asia, perhaps using Taiwan as a jumping off point about 60,000 years ago while sea levels were much lower and sea borne travel did not include large stretches on the open ocean when sea levels rose around 10,000 years ago New Guinea turned to agriculture in a number of place temple structure were built called marare or heiau as places of worship and ritual activities. On Pohnpei in the Caroline Islands, the Sandeleur dynasty built a powerful state and a massive stone palace and administrative center at Nan Madol during the period 1200 to 1600 AD - ninety-three artificial islets protected by seawalls and breakwaters on three sides - involved the movement of multi-ton massive stone blocks by boat to the sites - food and water had to be obtained inland from Temwen Island of Micronesia island federation - the palace community possessed a population of perhaps 1-2 thousand while the Pohnpei community was about 25,000 people - evidence exists that Pacific societies, although more limited in their resources than continental societies, were capable of building complex and elaborate societies

Lapita people and their characteristics

Austronesian migrants who populated the Pacific Islands -capable of traveling the open ocean in twin hulled outrigger canoes joined by a deck on which they carried supplies -maintained a communication and exchange network across a large region extending 2800 miles from New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago to Samoa and Tonga -expert seafarers who maintained self-sufficient agricultural communities that traded in pottery, obsidian, stone tools and shell jewelry throughout Oceania

chinampas

Aztec floating man-made islands that utilized soil from the lake bed to produce several harvests in a year (very effective)

Mesoamerican Societies

Continuities human sacrifice role of a celestial calendar pantheon of gods - ex. Quetzalcoatal dependence on maize ritual ball game pyramid building divinity of the ruler ancestor veneration Discontinuities -shift from regional kingdoms to empire -shift in dominant group- Yucatan to Valley of Mexico -income from tribute grew -scope of trade and contact expanded -degree of human sacrifice -ruling people (Aztecs) originally outsiders to the region

creation stories and their historical significance

Creation stories help see a society's worldview and their values

divinity of the ruler

Divinity of the Ruler Better than the people A representation of their sun god Old Kingdom Egypt and the Americas People might rely on him too much -drought -food sources -disease -invasion In the America's drought became a problem they could not fix (Maya) and Conquistadors for Inca and Aztec Unreliable because they rely on one person and when they cannot do their job, the belief and society crumble They avoided this in ancient Egypt because they could not get the flood to happen The Americas faced drought, but there was no way to fix things if it couldn't leave Egypt revives itself with a priestly class and takes away the god-like aspect of the pharaoh Capitalism and Democracy are our unshakeable beliefs until something happens We believe capitalism is the way to go Our divinity of the ruler During the Great Depression, people questioned whether capitalism was the way to go

Traditional mainstream archaeology

Dominant policy narratives/approaches and the epidemic mathematical modelling are closely related and co-constructed mutual

Micronesia

Gilbert, Palau, Bonin, Marshall, Mariana, Caroline island groups, including Guam

Polynesia

Hawaiian in the north to Aotearoa of the Maori or "New Zealand" in the south to Easter Island in the east including Samoa and Tonga

POV Analysis

Identify the bias=emphasis=tone and tell why A. Biography B. Environment- political/economic C. Audience- who is he writing for Explain why this bias is present

Machu Picchu

Inca

quipu

Inca

Why the Spanish were able to conquer

Jared Diamond says that the reason the Spanish could take down the America's with Guns, Germs, and steel The Spanish guns had a psychological impact on the people Intimidation factor Steel weapons and armor Spanish are immune to their diseases that they brought, they were able to kill the Inca and Aztec with disease No match for the Spanish Horses- a formidable weapon

Modern-day counties that cover the pre-Columbian societies that we have studied

Maya: Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador Aztec: southern Mexico Inca: Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina and slightly into Brazil and Columbia

Tikal

Mayan

cyclical celestial calendar

Mayan

glyphs

Mayan

celestial calendar

Mayan calendar which is the most accurate celestial calendar of the ancienct world used together to decide when to plant, make war, or choose new rulers based on constant and careful observation of the movement of the heavens

The Popol Vuh

Mayan creation story -god of maize get tricked into going to a pit of water -believed these holes are ways to the underworld -captured and beheaded -two sons try to rescue a part of him to plant -humanity gets created from this

least common features between Mesomaerican and Andean people

Mesoamerican Obsidian Worshipping of the jaguar relying on maize pyramid building Andean Ancestor veneration potato as a staple crops isolation

Melanesia

New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon, New Britain, New Ireland island groups

Tiwanku (Tihuancao)

Occupied since at least 800 BC -heart was a precint of temples, platforms, tombs and palaces around which was large residental housing for between 20-40,000 people -ceremonial center contained finished drystone walls and monolithic structures, which involved the shaping of massive stone blocks with great precisions, which included a seven tiered pyramid called the Akapana and a large walled enclosure called the Kalasasaya or Gateway of the Sun -stretched from the southern Andes to the Peruvian Pacific coastline -focused on the control of lowland and coastal products -not a centrally administered military power -society based on not trade and exchange between diverse and unrelated groups of people as in other societies of the ancient world, but instead it was based on self-sufficiency and barter when necessary

basalt statue

Olmec

Oral traditions as a form of history

Oral tradition is, in fact, VERY reliable and can be used for history

palm frond map

Pacific Islands

The Voyages of Ru

Polynesian creation story Gender -reproduction -owners of the island -matrilineal -overpopulation -social tensions

moai

Rapa Nui

rongorongo

Rapa Nui

Theories for the populating of the Americas

Revisions of the people of the Americas and how they got there Whole bunch of Asians crossed the land bridge in Siberia/Alaska during the last ice age Poured through and populated somewhere around 10,000-8,000 BC Not so certain anymore about why -following game (animals) Is that the most logical way you would go Logical way- boat Can cover more ground with fewer obstacles Native American DNA is similar to Asian DNA Sites on the East Coast, Oregon, Texas, and Chile Perhaps the most recent population of the Americas came from Asians Starting to think that the large animals were hunting to existence by a large population Two most important articles you need to read- Nat geo and archaeological magazine

Nan Midol

Saundeleur of Pohnpei

Comparing the Aztecs and the Incas

Similarities: Both empires arose at about the same time. Both empires fused together elements of previous cultures of their respective regions (Aztecs - Toltec and Teotihuacan; Incas - Tihuanaco and Huari). Both empires arose out of the rivalry and wars that existed between local chiefdoms and kingdoms. Both considered the sun the highest deity and the supreme ruler his representation on earth. Both practiced human sacrifice although not on the same levels. Differences: The Inca extracted land and labor from subject populations while the Aztecs demanded tribute in its purest form as payment to maintain some local autonomy. Inca controlled the activities of artisans and merchants so they did not operate differently from everyone else whie the Aztecs let them operate with freedom as separated classes in society. Aztecs emphasized long distance trade while the Inca focused on self-sufficiency, state regulation of production, and surplus limited trade.

sun worship

Sun worship was important to all in the Americas pyramids, temples were built for the Sun Sun god was considered the highest deity and the supreme ruler his representation on earth

route taken by Austronesian settlers

Taiwan- New Guinea to: Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia Vanuatu- Fiji -> Samoa and Tonga Samoa to Marquesas Marquesas to Tahiti, Hawaii, Easter Island, and New Zealand Indonesia to Madagascar

Avenue of the Dead

Teotihuacan

Mesoamerican or Andean people

The characteristics that belong with Mesoamerican people and those of Andean People Common Sun worship Divinity of the ruler Absence of the wheel Encountering the Europeans Human sacrifice Mesoamerican Obsidian Worshipping the jaguarRelying on maize Pyramid building Andean Ancestor veneration Potato as a staple crop

the key island group that became the jumping off point for the final settlement of Oceania

The key island group was the Marquesas islands in Polynesia which settled New Zealand

pyramids building and temples of note in the Americas

Throughout the quizlet

Gateway of the Sun

Tiwanku

jade

Used by the Olmecs a hard, typically green stone used for ornaments and implements and consisting of the minerals jadeite or nephrite.

teosinte

ancestor of maize mountain grass that couldn't have evolved iwithout a conscious plan of breeding by Native Americans, because maize cannot self propagate due to its tough husk -conscious biological manipulation which began in southern Mexico more than 6 thousand years ago -genetic engineering

Nazca

c. 200 BC -600 AD Decentralized society in the coastal desert of southern Peru where ten Andean rivers descend to form a region of fertility in a very high risk enthronement Remembered from the Paracas cultivated beans, maize, cotton, tubers, lucuma (fruit) renowned for their fine pottery ceremonial center was an underground spring called Cahuachi Nazca Lines -thousands of designs adorn some 1500 miles of desert in southern Peru created over a millennium -dozens of naturalistic and geometric figures -likely a crucial part in rituals for prayers for rain to fall in the eastern Andes and flow to their field -most recent scholarship believes that the images were not to be seen, but be processed on by large numbers of people -earliest images predate the Nazca to around 2,400 years -many images were written over other ones and were done for a variety of purposes over a long period of time supplanted by the Huari Empire

calpulli

clans or families that claimed descent from common ancestors (expanded to mean dwellers in a neighborhood) and whose task it was to allocate land to members of the community and arrange local responsibilities and settle differences -created a local autonomy that made community prosper and order the responsibility of local authorities

blood letting

cutting someone sacred in a ritual

North American societies and their characteristics

ex. Mississippian, Hopwell, Anasazi (mound building, pueblos)

cacao bean

form of currency in the Mayan world

reasons for the success of Spanish Conquistadors

guns, steel weapons, horses, and armor; infectious diseases; maritime technology; centralized political organization of European states; writing

historical revisionism

how each generation forms its own new questions or ideas on history; sort of "changes" the view on the past

human sacrifice

human sacrifice was practiced in Andean and Mesoamerican societies was about pleasing the gods Inca- did not do it too much Aztec- was very important to them and practiced often

presentism

values from the present projected onto the past

obsidian

volcanic glass used as a tool A green or black volcanic rock found in the Valley of Mexico which was used to make weapons and other things.