AMIND Midterm
Be able to compare and contrast the governmental structure based on the Great Law of Peace with that of European monarchies as well as the U.S. Constitution.
--"Taken literally, this assertion seems implausible. With its grant of authority to the federal government to supersede state law, its dependence on rule by the majority rather than consensus, its bicameral legislature (members of one branch being simultaneously elected), and its denial of suffrage to women, slaves, and the unpropertied, the Constitution as originally enacted was sharply different from the Great Law. → "In addition, the Constitution's emphasis on protecting private property runs contrary to Haudenosaunee traditions of communal ownership. → But in a larger sense, the claim is correct. The framers of the Constitution, like most colonists in what would become the United States, were pervaded by Indian ideals and images of liberty." -→ Northeastern Indians were appalled by the European propensity to divide themselves into social classes, with those on the lower rungs of the hierarchy compelled to defer to those on the upper → "he wrote, "noticed among us some men gorged to the full with things of every sort while their other halves were beggars at their doors, emaciated with hunger and poverty. They found it strange that these poverty-stricken halves should suffer [that is, tolerate] such injustice, and that they did not take the others by the throat or set fire to their houses
Be able to explain the recent changes in National Park Service policy regarding the use of fire, and at least two reasons for this change.
--Over the past 100 years, U.S. Forest Service policy was misguided in its insistence on a policy of total fire suppression. 1. Over time ... trees became susceptible to insects and disease. Standing dead and dying trees in conjunction with other brush and downed material began to fill the forest floor. The resulting accumulation of these materials, when dried by extended periods of drought created the fuels that promote the type of wildfires we have seen this year. 2. Decades of aggressive fire suppression have drastically changed the look and fire behavior of Western forests and rangelands. Forests a century ago were less dense and had larger, more fire-resistant trees.... As a result, studies show that today's wildfires typically burn hotter, faster, and higher than those of the past -Today, the USFS manages prescribed burns regularly, and often in collaboration with tribes such as the Salish Kootenai, and several here in California.
Be able to outline the various hypothesized migration routes taken by the first indigenous Americans. (begins week 1, ch 1 mann)
-All scientists agree that the earliest Americans came from Eurasia across the Bering Strait into Alaska → The Bering strait was a frozen land mass between Russia and Alaska -recent views suggest that humans have inhabited North America for at least 100,000 years - no universally agreed on evidence to support this -Mann Presents current research suggesting that humans have been in South America much longer than previously thought -Linguistic evidence suggests the depth of at least 50,000 years bc of how many distinct languages there are
Be able to list at least three ways in which American Indians traditionally used fire to manage their environment. (begin week 6, ch 8)
-American Indians used fire to control their environment in many different ways, including: Hunting Crop management Improving growth of natural grasses and riparian areas Fireproofing Pest management Warfare and Communication Improving visibility and clearing trails Felling trees
Be able to identify the various culture areas of North America and connect them with predominant subsistence strategies.
-Evidence shows that agriculture was not the best method of subsistence in some culture areas. North of the Southwest, in the Great basin area and Eastern California, which are very dry climates, seed gathering and hunting were more profitable. -On the Northeast coast of North America, many people grew corn by planting it along the sides of riverbeds in the spring and returning to harvest it in the fall → this is horticulture → this is very different from intensive, full time agriculture → horticulture typically was practiced together with other subsistence strategies such as hunting or fishing -Intensive agriculture requires a sedentary population and room to store the grain. In North America, it was really only practiced in the Southwest. People in Mesoamerica today still grow corn, beans and squash together in the same plot just as they have for centuries.
Be able to explain the connection between the "Clovis-first model" and the "Overkill hypothesis."
-If time travelers from today were to visit North America in the late Pleistocene, they would see in the forests and plains an impossible bestiary of lumbering mastodon, armored rhinos, great dire wolves, sabertooth cats, and ten foot long glyptodonts like enormous armadillos → About the time of Clovis almost every one of these species vanished. So complete was the disaster that most of today's big American mammals such as caribou, moose, and brown bear, are immigrants from asia → The die-off happened amazingly fast , much of it in the few centuries between 11,500 and 10,900 bc -The extinctions permanently changed American landscapes and American history → had they survived, the consequences would have been huge -Absent the extinctions, the encounter between europe and the Americas may have been equally deadly for both sides--a world in which both hemispheres experienced catastrophic depopulation
Be able to define the MFAC hypothesis. (end of week 5, ch 6)
-In 1975, Michael Mosely, the Florida archaeologist, drew together his own work in Aspero and earlier research by Peruvian and other researchers into what has been called the MFAC hypothesis: the maritime foundations of Andean civilization → he proposed that there was little subsistence agriculture around Aspero because it was a center of fishing, and that the later, highland Peruvian cultures, including the mighty Inka, all had their origins not in the mountains but in the great fishery of the Humboldt Current → Rather than being founded on agriculture, the ancient cities of coastal Peru drew their sustenance from the sea -The MFAC hypothesis--that societies fed by fishing could have founded a civilization--was "radical, unwelcome, and critiqued as an economic impossibility"
Be able to explain what the Kennewick Man controversy was about- who wanted him, and what did they want to do with him?
-In 1996, a 9,000 year old skeleton was discovered on the bank of the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington. "Kennewick man" was the subject of an ongoing legal dispute between the federal government and a group of scholars. The dispute centered around the question "Who was Kennewick man?" Local tribes consider him their ancestor and wanted the remains returned for burial; scholars wanted to study them to learn more about early migrations into the Americas
Be able to explain what events occurred prior to the Pilgrim's landing at Plymouth which allowed them to settle there despite local tribes' reluctance to interact with Europeans.
-In a gamble, Massasoit intended to abandon, even reverse, a long-standing policy → Europeans would exchange valuable items like copper kettles, steel knives, and hatchets for cheap furs that the Indians used as blankets -Over time, the Wampanoag, like other native societies in coastal New England, had learned how to manage the European presence → they encouraged the exchange of goods, but would only allow their visitors to stay ashore for brief, carefully controlled excursions. Those who overstayed were forcefully reminded of the limited duration of Indian hospitality → At the same time, the Wampanoag fended off Indians from the interior, preventing them from trading directly with foreigners, they were in the position of the classic middlemen → Now Massasoit was visiting a group of British with the intent of changing the rules, he would permit the newcomers to stay for an unlimited period of time--provided they formally allied with the Wampanoag against the Narragansett
Be able to describe the effect of the introduction of European diseases on American Indian populations in very general terms.
-La salle passed through the area where De Soto had found cities cheek by jowl → it was deserted--the French didn't see an Indian village for 200 miles -About 50 settlements existed in this strip of the Mississippi when De Soto showed up, by La Salle's time, the number had shrunk to perhaps 10 --"The societies of the Caddo, on the Texas-Arkansas border, and the Coosa, in western Georgia, both disintegrated soon after. The Caddo had a taste for monumental architecture: public plazas, ceremonial platforms, mausoleums. After De Soto's army left the Caddo stopped erecting community centers and began digging community cemeteries" → between the visits of De Soto and La Salle the Caddoan population fell from about 200,000 to about 8,500, a drop of nearly 96%
Be able to explain how the geography of the region where Norte Chico is located impacted their economic strategies.
-Norte Chico people built the typical type of "pyramid" structure seen in Meso- and North America, that is, platform mounds. This picture depicts ancient Peruvians using shicra net bags filled with rock for pyramid construction. Armies of workers would gather and weave grass into loosely meshed bags, fill them with boulders, and then pack the trenches behind each successive step of the pyramid mounds with the stone-filled bags. -Yet [we] found indications of a multifaceted economy based on inland irrigation of cotton and food plants, diverse marine --The Norte Chico consists of 4 narrow river valleys: from south to north, the Huaura, Supe, Pativilca, and Fortaleza → they converge on a slice of coastline less than 30 miles long → luckily for them the area is geographically suited for irrigation -The peril of irrigation for farmers is evaporation → just as water evaporating in a glass leaves behind a film of salts and minerals, water evaporating from irrigation channels leaves deposits in the soil → in a short time, the salty deposits can build up to toxic levels, making the land unstable -Because the Cordillera Negra bulges especially close to the coast in the Norte Chico, the valleys are short and steeply walled; almost hurled from the heights, the rivers shoot toward the sea at a high velocity → even after diversion, the water gushes through irrigation channels so quickly that it can't evaporate and build up salts in the soil -To this day, one can only reach many archaeological sites in Norte Chico by navigating around surging irrigation ditches
Be able to identify the three proposed mechanisms leading to the extinction of megafauna in the America
-Other scientists who study the extinction disagree with this earlier thinking. They have identified three major mechanisms that may have caused the extinction, either alone or in some combination. 1. Environmental Causes 2. Climate Change 3. Hyperdisease, or new diseases which entered the New World with the humans who were able to populate areas where the ice receded.
Be able to explain what is meant by the "overkill hypothesis" as well as the two alternative explanations for the disappearance of American megafauna
-Other scientists who study the extinction disagree with this earlier thinking. They have identified three major mechanisms that may have caused the extinction, either alone or in some combination. Environmental Causes Climate Change Hyperdisease, or new diseases which entered the New World with the humans who were able to populate areas where the ice receded.
Be able to explain broadly how tribal sovereignty differs in the U.S. and Canada, and how this difference is related to the development of tribal gaming (casinos).
-Sovereignty is legally configured very differently in Canada and the United States -In Canada, the Canadian government has a legal mechanism for acknowledging tribal government but very little entrenched support for sovereignty in the courts -In the United States, Indians are mentioned in the Constitution in only 2 places, but from those mentions, a huge body of legal precedent has been built, giving state governments no authority on Indian land without an act of the federal Congress → that is why tribes have been so successful at developing gaming operations in the United States, but less so in Canada
Be able to identify the location and time period of the Aztec civilization.
-The Aztecs arrived in Mexico around 500-1,000 AD, from Aztlan, a semi-mythical homeland probably located in what is today California, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico, as the map below suggests. 1300 The Aztec capital Tenochtitlan is founded (today's Mexico City.)
Be able to identify who the Haudenosaunee were and where they traditionally were located. Are they still there today? (end week 2, ch 1 IN)
-The Haudosaunee, often referred to as the Iroquois, are made up of 6 tribes - Around 1450, they organized a sophisticated ceremonial and cultural institution, called the Iroquois League, in which the 5 member tribes held essential positions and were represented by 50 chiefs in joint council → The Mohawk were guardians of the eastern door and represented by 9 chiefs → The Seneca guarded the western door and were represented by 8 chiefs → The Onondaga kept the central fire and sent 14 chiefs to the council → The Cayuga, with 10 chiefs, and the Oneida with 9 were located centrally on either side of the Onondaga → A 6th tribe, the Tuscarora (originally from NC), joined in the 18th century -overlapping the ceremonial and cultural functions of the Iroquois League was the Iroquois Confederacy, which was a formidable political and military body → it is now defunct, but for centuries it enabled the iroquois to dominate a massive territory -by the year 1000, the Iroquois had exclusive control over the Finger Lakes in what is now upstate NY, and by 1200, they had pushed other tribes out of most of the ohio valley --Today the Iroquois Confederacy no longer functions but the Iroquois League and longhouse culture still thrive → there are communities in Oklahoma, Wisconsin, New York, and Canada -the Iroquois population is now more than 80,000 in the US and 45,000 in Canada -All tribes are taking serious initiatives with their languages, the Mohawk have been the most successful
Be able to define the Iroquois League (also known as the Haudenosaunee) and their role in the trade between Europeans and other Native nations during the 17th and 18th centuries.
-The Iroquois League, or the Haudenosaunee, consisted of several tribes who spoke related languages: the Mohawk, Oneida Onandaga, Seneca, and the Cayuga, and a few others -The European desire for furs, especially beaver, began to dominate Iroquois affairs in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. -In exchange for furs, Iroquois men brought home a wealth of useful trade goods, especially metal items such as guns, axes, knives, hoes, cooking pots, needles, scissors, and nails. -By 1800 the Iroquois had exhausted their own supply of beaver. -Through alliances, first with the Dutch and then with the English, the Iroquois established themselves as the middlemen in the fur trade. They regulated the flow of furs coming from the western tribes to the traders in the east.
Be able to describe gender roles in Northeastern societies, especially among the Iroquois. (begin week 7, ch 11)
-The Iroquois practiced a gender-linked division of labor. Women were responsible for planting and harvesting corn, beans and squash. -Iroquoian societies were (and still are today) matrilineal, with women playing a large role in the political process. -A committee of clan mothers had to be consulted by the men on every major decision, for their approval. -The clan mothers also selected the male chiefs. This difference in gender roles was just one of many things which worked very differently in Iroquoian cultures from early European settlers' cultures. The founding fathers were probably horrified at the degree of liberty Iroquian women had. -Hunting was the major contribution Iroquois men made to their families' subsistence. -In addition to deer, hunters also stalked the black bear. Fish were also an integral part of the Iroquois diet. -Hunting often took Iroquois men away from the village. However, they could always depend upon distant clan relatives for food and lodging. -Iroquois men spent much of their time and energy protecting their village and territory, trading for goods, and hunting and fishing. -Their most important quarry was the deer, and they needed to shoot one a week to provide sufficient meat for their families.
Be able to define the common usage of the term "Neolithic revolution." (begins week 2
-The Neolithic Revolution is the invention of farming, an event whose significance can hardly be overstated → "the human career," wrote the historian Ronald Wright, "divides in two: everything before the Neolithic Revolution and everything after it." → it began in the Middle East about 11,000 years ago, in the next few millennia, the wheel and metal tool sprang up in the same area → the SUmerians put these inventions together, added writing, and in the 3rd millennium b.c. created the first great civilization → the Native Americans missed out on this information -Researchers have long known that a second, independent Neolithic Revolution occurred in Mesoamerica → the timing is uncertain but it is now thought to have occurred about 10,000 yrs ago, not long after the Middle East's Neolithic Revolution → in 2003, though, archaeologists discovered ancient seeds from cultivated squashes in Ecuador, which may be older than any agricultural remains in Mesoamerica-- a third Neolithic Revolution -This Neolithic Revolution probably led, among many other things, to the cultures in the Beni
Be able to identify why most linguists who study American Indian languages disagree with the Clovis Consensus and the idea that most American Indian languages descended from one language family called "Amerind." (end week 4, ch 4&5)
-The article provoked vigorous reaction, not all of the sort that its authors wished -To the authors' critics, the lack of confirmation from molecular biology had an obvious cause: the whole three-migrations theory was wrong -Neither their linguistic classification nor their dental/genetic correlation is supported, complained Lyle Campbell -Greenberg's three-family division, Campbell thought, "should be shouted down in order not to confuse nonspecialists." The Amerind-language family was so enormous, Berkeley linguist Johanna Nichols complained, that the likelihood of being able to prove it actually existed was "somewhere between zero and hopeless"
Be able to explain what King Philip's War was, and the impact it had on the Wampanoag.
-The bloodiest conflict in New England between settlers and Native people was "King Philip's War," named after Massasoit's son, Metacom (or "King Philip" as the English called him) who became the Wampanoag Sachem after his father's death in 1662. In 1675 the war was sparked by the hanging of three Wampanoag at Plymouth. Metacom and his warriors retaliated and destroyed dozens of settler and Native towns, in a war that lasted over a year. In the end, however, the English won, and hundreds of Wampanoag and their allies were sold into slavery in the West Indies. → this conflict, called King Philip's War, was brutal. The Indians burned 52 of the 90 English settlements in the area. 5% of the white population was killed at a cost of 40% of the Indian population → the Wampanoag were reduced to only 400 -the settlers paraded King Philip's head as a warning to other Indian Nations
Be able to describe at least one type of symbolism used by the Aztecs in their religion and art.
-The process of syncretism, or combining of cultural symbols is a natural process which happens everywhere, but is especially interesting in art from Mexico today and historically that blends ancient indigenous religious symbolism with European Catholic symbolism. - For example, the Aztec goddess Coatlique mother of many important deities, like the Christian Virgin Mary, was impregnated by a deity. -Perhaps this association of the ancient virgin goddess with the newer Virgin Mary explains why the latter is such an important symbol of identity for Mexican people today.
Be able to identify at least three examples of criteria for what constitutes a "civilization." (week 2 ch 1 Indian Nation)
-The term civilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in many ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Civilizations are generally "urbanized," and "civilized" peoples are often contrasted with "primitive" peoples." -10 criteria for identifying a "civilization": 1. Large, dense settlements → -Basically, this is what the term "urbanized" refers to. Some examples from the Americas include: -The Toltec city of Teotihuacan is conservatively estimated at 200,000 people. -The Mayan city of Tikal's population is conservatively estimated at 400,000. -It takes a large, sedentary ("urban") population to build giant architectural works, roads, dams, reservoirs, and other public works. 2. Territorially based-state (vs. kinship-based) → -In Mesoamerican pre-Columbian societies, people identified with their local territory or region. In North America this was not often the case. Some indigenous nations were very large but nomadic, and as discussed in the last lecture on culture areas, nomadism was often linked to the environment. Some culture areas are just better suited for agriculture; many (like the Great Basin and much of California) are not. Nomadic peoples are not "urban." Their social structure and identity as a people are not so much tied to a particular territory as they are defined by kinship. The kinship and clan systems of nomadic peoples are what tie them together. Nomadic societies are pretty much the opposite of "civilizations"- they are much smaller-scale and they lack many (but not all) of the cultural aspects discussed in this model. 3. Capital wealth (taxes/tribute) → -According to Mann, what were some of the forms of wealth in early Mesoamerican cultures? The picture below is of coffee beans (where were these used as currency?) In other societies discussed by Mann, cotton was the basis of wealth. Other societies valued precious metals, or minerals, or types of shells (wampum is shells carved into beads and strung, for example.) Whatever the currency is, in a civilization, someone collects it and uses it to develop many of the aspects of a civilization, such as art, public works, and building up a military presence to enforce the control of the elite.
Which language family do most Northeastern tribes belong to?
-There are two predominant language families in the Northeast: Algonquian and Iroquoian. These two different linguistic groups also have different cultures and political organization. The Iroquois were united as a political entity at contact (and for a long time before contact). Although they were smaller than all their Algonquian neighbors, they were a formidable force to be reckoned with.
Be able to identify which part of North America DeSoto's expedition impacted
-They traveled from Florida, across the Mississippi, and as far as Texas, where DeSoto died, but not before he killed, enslaved and tortured thousands of Native Americans in his quest for riches (that did not exist.) -Southeastern region of what is now the U.S.
Be able to explain the term "gender-linked division of labor" and how it applied to early Southeastern cultures. (end week 6 ch 8)
-They were matrilineal, like most farming cultures in North America. This means people traced their line of descent through their mother's families. -Women farmed and men hunted. -This is called a "gender-linked division of labor." In many matrilineal societies, women typically have more political and social control over families and economic resources.
Be able to describe the contemporary status of Wampanoag people in the Northeast: do they still reside in their traditional lands? Are they federally-recognized tribes? Have they managed to retain aspects of their traditional culture?
-Today there are 5 distinct organized groups of Wampanoag → only 2 presently have federal status-- the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Martha's Vineyard) and the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe -The Wampanoag language was completely stamped out but is trying to be revived -elements of ancient tribal culture, food, and custom exist. -→ the Aquinnah community was the only one able to maintain control over its lands and demand recognition as a sovereign nation -the Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head was established in 1972 to fight for the recognition of tribal status, the preservation of Wampanoag culture and history, and the restoration of tribal lands -in 1987, the Wampanoag Tribe received federal recognition
Be able to explain how wampum was used by both Native peoples and European settlers in the Northeast.
-Wampum was an ancient material used by Northeastern tribes to record important events. -Wampum was connected to the spoken word. A piece of wampum testified to the truth and importance of a message which was "read into" the object itself. -A very important message, such as a treaty, required a large amount of wampum often in the form of a belt. -The importance of the subjects recorded in this belt was emphasized through color and design. -The predominance of dark wampum suggests sorrow or a solemn political affair of state. -It was adopted by European settlers as a form of currency. Wampum consists of beads made from mussel shells found along the coast of New England.
Be able to identify the time period during which the Americas were impacted by glaciers, as well as global warming, and connect these with various theories of migration and human presence in different parts of the Americas.
-during the early Pleistocene period, most of america was covered with thick forests and glaciers, but people could still have entered Beringia and gone south down the coast → The coastline has been covered with ocean since then, making this theory hard to prove → however, the early coastal migration theory is supported by finds in Chile of wooden tool and house remains -Charles Mann discusses many other remains that are so recent they have yet to become established in the archaeological literature, most of which are on the West Coast of South America -In the late Pleistocene tundra extended along the West coast all the way down to south america → Caribou, musk oxen, camels, antelopes, and mammoths lived on the grassy plains which extended across the American Southwest -People probably lived in small nomadic groups, in tents which they could carry themselves -Global warming, otherwise known as the Holocene period (the present geological era) started about 8,000 BC. And Ended approximately 3,000 BC.) There were 3 effects of this global warming: 1. Sea level rises, the Bering strait is covered with water, Making further land travel from Europe impossible. This rise in sea levels also covered any evidence of coastal migrations. 2. migrations Northward begin into most of North America, which becomes habitable for plants and animals as well as people (as the glaciers covering most of the continent melt.) 3. Large game (including mastodons, sabre tooth tigers, camels, horses, etc.) become extinct, as forests or deserts replace grasslands- and human populations increase greatly.
Be able to define "the Great Law of Peace" and how it was employed among Northeastern tribes.
-founding constitution of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and is the underlying basis for Haudenosaunee society. Originally it outlined the path to harmony and unity among the warring nations and set out a proper form of government which allowed for the ideas of peace , power and righteousness. --when issues came up before the alliance, the Tododaho would summon the 50 sachems who represented the clans of the Five Nations --Its jurisdiction was strictly limited to relations among the nations and outside groups; internal affairs were the province of the individual Indian nations -Although the council negotiated peace treaties, it could not declare war—that was left to the initiative of the leaders of each of Haudenosaunee's constituent nations. -According to the Great Law, when the council of sachems was deciding upon "an especially important matter or a great emergency," its members had to "submit the matter to the decision of their people" in a kind of referendum
Be able to identify at least three forms of technology used by Eastern tribes which gave them an edge over Europeans' possession of guns and steel. (end week 3 and ch 2)
-it is true that European technology dazzled Native Americans on first encounter -Contemporary research suggests that indigenous peoples in New England were not technologically inferior to the British--or, rather, that terms like "superior" and "inferior" do not readily apply to the relationship between Indian and European technology -Guns are an example → New England Indians were indeed disconcerted by their first experiences with European guns: the explosion and smoke, the lack of a visible projectile → but the Natives soon learned that most of the British were terrible shots, from lack of practice--their guns were little more than noisemakers → Even for a crack shot, a 17th century gun had fewer advantages over a longbow than may be supposed -At the same time, Europeans were impressed by American technology → the foreigners, coming from a land plagued by famine, were awed by maize, which yields more grain per acre than any other cereal → Indian moccasins were so much more comfortable and waterproof than stiff, modlering English boots that when colonists had to walk for long distances their Indian companions pitted their discomfort and gave then new footwear → Indian birch bark canoes were faster and more maneuverable than small European boat -Indians' greater numbers, entrenched positions, knowledge of the terrain, and superb archery made them formidable adversaries
Be able to explain why there were no epidemics based on zoonotic diseases in the Americas prior to De Soto's expedition
-not widely known by them
Be able to describe the climatic changes of 1,000-1200 AD occurring in the Americas and their impact on early Mesoamerican civilizations.
-the capital city--called War-- was in the heights, near the modern city of Ayacucho -in 1000 A.D., both societies were reeling from a succession of terrible droughts → perhaps 80 years earlier, dust storms had engulfed the high plains, blackening the glaciers in the peaks above -Then came a run of punishing dry spells, more than a decade in duration, interrupted by gigantic floods -The disaster's cause is still in dispute, but some climatologists believe that the Pacific is subject to "mega-Nino events," murderously strong versions of the well-known El Nino patterns that play havoc with American weather today -Mega-Ninos occurred every few centuries between 200 and 1600 AD -in 1925 and 1926, a strong El Nino blasted Amazonia with so much dry heat that sudden fires killed hundreds in the forest -whatever the cause of the climatic upheaval, it severely tested Wari and Tiwanaku society -Mega Ninos were but one of many stresses on Adean civilizations at the time, stresses that in their totality neither Wari nor Tiwanaku had the political resources to survive → soon after 1000 AD, Tiwanaku split into flinders that would not be united for another 4 centuries, when the Inka swept them up → Wari also fell. It was succeeded and perhaps taken over by a state called Chimor, which oversaw an empire that sprawled over central Peru until it, too, was absorbed by the Inka -About a century before our imaginary surveillance tour, though, the Maya heartland entered a kind of Dark Ages → Many of the greatest cities emptied, as did much of the countryside around them → incredibly, some of the last inscriptions are gibberish, as if scribes had lost the knowledge of writing → by the time of our overflight, half or more of what once had been the flourishing land of the Maya was abandoned -Some natural scientists attribute this collapse, close in time to that of Wari and Tiwanaku, to a massive drought → The Maya, packed by the millions into land poorly suited to intensive farming, were dangerously close to surpassing the capacity of their ecosystems
Be able to define the term "culture area."
-the term "culture area" is an anthropological concept which is useful for classifying the various indigenous cultures of the Americas according to the specific ecology they lived in and subsistence strategy or economic activity that favored in that local ecology → In the Pacific Northwest culture area, people largely depended on fish. On the Plains, people came to depend on bison, especially after they got horses. In the Southeast, Southwest and South and Mesoamerica, intensive agriculture of corn, beans and squash were the most important strategies. → Culture areas are also defined by other aspects of the culture of the people living in them, such as their clothing, housing, religious practices, oral traditions, etc. Often many of these aspects of culture are similar within a single culture area. -Similarity across cultures within a culture area is due to a couple of things: 1. people tend to borrow ideas from each other- culture is not hereditary. The people within a single culture area often share similar religions and forms of political and social organization, but not always. 2) The ecology of a culture area often influences people's culture- for example, people living on the Plains all depended on buffalo to provide the basic material for their homes, clothing, and many other things. People who depended on agriculture depended on successful crops, and developed religious systems and oral traditions which reflect this important concern.
Be able to explain why more indigenous civilizations have been identified in South and Mesoamerica than in North America.
....
Be able to describe the economic strategies that the Norte Chico civilization depended on in order to develop from a small-scale society to a large civilization.
Agriculture in this area is only possible with irrigation from the many rivers. But the Norte Chico people mainly grew cotton, not grain, which they wove into textiles and traded (for food). They also used it to make fishing nets, which they used to catch fish in the rivers and ocean. Fishing was central to the development of this earliest American civilization.
Be able to describe "Clovis-first model" of American Indian migration to the Americas.
The "Clovis First Model" advanced by C. Vance Haynes since 1964 argues that the artifacts found in Clovis, NM were left by the first and ONLY migration of people over the land bridge and into North America, approx 13,000 to 14,000 years ago. Vance bases his argument on the hypothesis that an "ice-free corridor" opened up through the glaciers covering most of Canada during that time, making it possible for people to walk south from Alaska. So according to Vance's theory, all Native Americans must be descended from people entering the Americas during this relatively brief window in time.
Be able to explain how the term "Neolithic revolution" needs to be modified in order to apply to Norte Chico's development into one of the first American civilizations.
The MFAC hypothesis stands for the Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization. This hypothesis claims that the Andean civilization, instead of relying on agriculture to develop, relied heavily on fishing. Instead of their main form of sustenance being agriculture like the majority of major civilizations, these people relied on the sea. In these ancient Peruvian civilizations, they mainly farmed for cotton to create fishing nets and textiles, not for food directly. The MFAC hypothesis creates a wrench in the term "Neolithic Revolution."
Be able to outline what NAGPRA means and what rights it gives tribes.
The dispute centered around the question "Who was Kennewick man?" Local tribes consider him their ancestor and wanted the remains returned for burial; scholars wanted to study them to learn more about early migrations into the Americas. The dispute also hinged on a federal act known as "NAGPRA." -The return of the Ancient One to the tribes is the right decision and was long overdue. It is consistent with the Burke's commitment to both the legal and the ethical principles of NAGPRA—federal law that allows tribes to reclaim human remains and cultural items from museums and other institutions -Opposing native american tribes, scholars said that there was no evidence that the Kennewick Man was an ancient relative of Native Americans, causing them to win the lawsuits and perform studies on the skeleton -Once it was found that the Kennewick Man was Native American, he was returned to the Native American tribes and the remains were reburied in a private ceremony and location according to the traditions of the tribes
Be able to discuss at least two types of evidence for the existence of contact between early Southeastern and Mesoamerican societies
These are two examples of Mississippian royal crests. The man on the right wears a falcon mask, very similar to some Aztec warriors. Besides similar imagery, archaeologists have also found ball courts and copper bells from Mesoamerica all over the southwest and southeast, and we know these cultures were in contact. Missippians also practiced human sacrifice to their gods, but much less is known about their religion than about Mesoamerican religions (because Mesoamericans had a writing system). -they developed civilizations very similar to those in Mesoamerica, which included social class divisions, and elaborate ceremonial complexes involving human sacrifice.
Be able to outline events leading up the establishment of Plymouth Plantation which led Eastern Seaboard tribes to be generally suspicious of allowing Europeans to land and/or trade with them. (begin week 3, ch 2 mann)
When the pilgrims arrived on the Atlantic coast of what is today the U.S., in approx. 1620, many tribes already inhabited the area, and had been living there since the glaciers started melting about 10,000 years before. Most of these tribes were hostile to Europeans and would allow them to come ashore only briefly, to trade, and not to stay. They had been trading with various European groups for hundreds of years, although not very frequently. -Adding to his problems, the disaster had not touched the Wampanoag's longtime enemies, the Narragansett alliance to the west. Soon, Massasoit feared, they would take advantage of the Wampanoag's weakness and overrun them."
Be able to identify what kind of subsistence strategy was the basis of Southeastern cultures and the relation of this strategy to their environment
stretching all the way up to great lakes, they were "moundbuilders"; early agriculture-based civilizations developing before they even had corn -They all built earthen mounds, which they used for ceremonial purposes. They also developed civilizations very similar to those in Mesoamerica, which included social class divisions, and elaborate ceremonial complexes involving human sacrifice
Be able to explain the role De Soto's expedition played in introducing epidemic diseases to the Americas, and the affect this had on American Indian populations (begins week 4, ch 4&5)
→ The most potent thing the expedition brought with them was microbes. -As discussed by Mann, the pigs which DeSoto brought also brought microbes, more than any of the other animals they brought. And many of these pigs escaped into the forest, to become wild hogs who still live here today. They shared their pig diseases with other forest animals, which Native Americans ate. -Many new diseases entered North America along with the De Soto expedition, as part of the Columbian Exchange. -expedition led to an extreme reduction of Indian populations in the areas he passed through, and beyond (up to 90%, eventually.)
Be able to discuss what evidence we have today for the existence of the earliest South American civilizations. (end week 1 Mann ch 1)
→ Upon arrival he discovered that oil-company geologists, the only scientists in the area, believed the Beni was thick with the remains of an unknown civilization -Denevan examined the Beni from above → he observed isolated hillocks of forest; long raised berms; canals; raised agricultural fields; circular, moat-like ditches; and odd zigzagging ridges → Denevan explains that "It's a completely humanized landscape" → it was the most important thing in all of South America and it is practically untouched, there aren't even any detailed maps of the earth-works and canals -Beginning as much as 3000 years ago, this long-ago society--Erickson believes it was probably founded by the ancestors of an Arawak-speaking people now called the Mojo and the Baure--created one of the largest, strangest, and most ecologically rich artificial environments on the planet → These people built up the mounds for homes and farms, constructed the causeways and canals for transportation and communication, created fish weirs to feed themselves, and burned the savannas to keep them clear of invading trees -Flying over eastern Bolivia in the early 1960s, the young geographer William Denevan was amazed to see that the landscape, home to nothing but cattle ranches for generations, still bore evidence that it had once been inhabited by a large, prosperous society, one whose very existence had been forgotten.
Be able to outline at least one alternative contemporary theory of migration proposed by either geneticists or archaeologists
→ in 1994, Neel and Wallace sifted through mitochondrial DNA from 18 widely dispersed Indian groups, looking for mutations that had occurred since their common ancestors left Asia → using their previously calculated rate of genetic change as a standard, they estimated when the original group had migrated to the Americas: 22,414 to 29,545 years ago → Indians had come to the Americas 10,000 years before Clovis -Three years later, Sandro L. Bonatto and Francisco M. Bolzano, two geneticists at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, in the southern Brazilian city of Pôrto Alegre, analyzed Indian mitochondrial DNA again—and painted a different picture -By tallying the accumulated genetic differences in Haplogroup A members, Bonatto and Bolzano calculated that Indians had left Asia thirty-three thousand to forty-three thousand years ago, even earlier than estimated by Wallace and Neel. → Not only that, the measurements by Bonatto and Bolzano suggested that soon after the migrants arrived in Beringia they split in two. → One half set off for Canada and the United States → Meanwhile, the other half remained in Beringia, which was then comparatively hospitable
Be able to define the two types of susceptibility to European epidemic diseases among American Indian populations discussed by Mann.
→ the first is the lack of acquired immunity--immunity gained from a previous exposure to a pathogen -The second type of vulnerability stems from a quirk of history → many dispute the timing and manner of Indians' arrival in the Americas, but almost all researchers believe that the initial number of newcomers must have been small → their gene pool was correspondingly restricted, which meant that Indian biochemistry was and is usually homogeneous → normally, every person's individual immune system responds robustly to the vaccine, but the Native population as a whole had a very limited spectrum of response and that could be a real problem in the right circumstances
Be able to outline events occurring after the establishment of Plymouth plantation and over the rest of the 1600s which affected relations between the English and local tribes.
→ without consulting Smith, Hunt decided to visit Patuxet → Taking advantage of the Indians' recent good experience with English visitors, he invited people to come aboard → several dozen villagers, Tisquantum among them, canoed to the ship → without warning or pretext, the sailors tried to shove them in the hold → The Indains fought back, Hunt's men swept the deck with small-arms fire, creating a "great slaughter" → at gunpoint, Hunt forced the survivors belowdecks, with Tisquantum and 19 others, he sailed to Europe, stopping only once, at Cape Cod, where he kidnapped 7 Nauset -In Hunt's wake the Patuxet community raged, as did the rest of the Wampanoag confederacy and the Nauset → the sachems vowed not to let foreigners rest on their shores again -By the 1630s, political relations among tribal groups and European colonies were falling apart, as tribes like the Pequot and Narragansett contended with the Wampanoag confederacy for control of European trade. A series of epidemics over the previous three decades had severely reduced Indian populations, further destabilizing the situation. Meanwhile, more and more English puritans arrived, intent on expanding their territory inland. As tribal populations continued to shrink, they were soon forced to convert to Christianity and to live in "praying towns" where they had to obey English laws.
