Peoples and Civilizations of the Americas

Name John Kindley Class GH AP Y (Even) Date November 3rd, 2012 Chapter 12, Peoples and Civilizations of the Americas, 200 1500 Pages 306 331 Classic-Era Culture and Society in Mesoamerica, 200 900 * Remarkable civilization puddled * divergent language + politics, but unified by material culture, religious beliefs + practices, and social expression Classic Period * Classic period (built upon Olmec and other civilizations) * Social classes with evident roles * Hereditary politics + religious elites controlled towns + villages Teotihuacan * Powerful city-state in central Mexico (100 B. C. E. 750 C. E. ) Religion * Religion = worshipped many gods + lesser spirits, Sun + Moon * Human free = viewed as sacred duty to the gods and essential to the well-being of society Farming * Chinampas = raised fields along lakeshores to increase agriculture Politics * No demonstrate for single ruler alliances between elite families The MayaLocation * Maya = civilization concentrated in the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, and Honduras, but never unified * Contributed mainly in math, astronomy, and the calendar * racy pyramids + palaces = meant to awe the masses that came Decoration * Maya = loved decoration * Infused warfare with religious meaning * Society = patrilineal Contributions * Devised elaborate calendar system, concept of 0, and writing revoke of Classic Era * Maya cities declined due to struggle for resources, which lead to class conflict and warfare * Connection with the Mesoamerican societies due to learning close to the Aztecs in shape 8 * Have visited Mayan cities in Mexico, and have seen temples in real life * Question didnt the Arabs develop the concept of 0? The Postclassic Period in Mesoamerica, 900 1500 * No single explanation for fall of Teotihuacan and Mayan centers The Toltecs * Powerful postclassic empire in central Mexico (900 1175 C. E. ) Origins * Origins = unknown (either satellite or migrant populations) * utilize array supremacy to create powerful empireReason for decline * Fell by internal power struggles and military threat from the north The Aztecs * Altepetl = ethnic state in antiquated Mesoamerica that was the common political building block of that region Society + Politics * Calpolli = conference of up to hundred families that served as a building block of an altepetl (controlled record allocation + taxes + local religious life) * Tenochtitlan = capital of Aztec Empire in an island in lake Texcoco Mexico City created on ruins of Tenochtitlan * Aztecs = AKA Mexica, created empire (1325 1521 C. E. ) * Aztecs forced defeated peoples to provide goods + labor as tax Aztec Women * Women = held lots of power held in high esteem held positions like teachers and priestesses seen as founders of lineages, including the royal line * Merchants become rich, but cannot become high aristocracy Economic systems * Tribute system = system in which defeated peoples were forced t o pay tax in forms of goods and labor help development of large ities * Did not use money used barter instead * Aztec religion = demanded increasing numbers of human sacrifice * Connection to Aztecs as I learned ab pop out them in grade 8 * Noted the familiarities between the Mesoamerican societies, which also had distinct differences as well Northern Peoples * Classic period ends around 900 C. E. * conveyance of irrigation and corn agriculture -> stimulated development in Hohokam and Anasazi society Southwestern Desert Cultures * Anasazi = important culture in southwest US (700 1300 C.E. ) * Anasazi built multistorey residences, and worshipped in subterranean buildings (called kivas) Anasazi women * Women = shared agricultural tasks, specialists in many crafts, responsible for food preparation and childcare Anasazi region * Anasazi = concentrate in quaternion Corners region Mound Builders The Hopewell and Mississippian Cultures Political structure * Chiefdom = form of political organization ruled by hereditary leader (Chiefdom) who had control over collection of villages + towns establish on gift giving and commercial links * Political organization + trade + mound building continued by the Mississippian culture (largest city = Cahokia) Ansazi + * environmental changes caused destruction of Anasazi + Mississippian Mississippian cultures Decline Andean Civilizations, 200 1500 * Environment = sucks for creating civilization * Amerindian peoples of Andean = produced some of the most socially complex + politically advanced societies in western Hemisphere Cultural Response to Environmental ChallengeHow they adapted * Domestication of llamas and alpacas * Farmed at different altitudes to reduce risks from frosts Social + political * Ayllu = Andean lineage group or kin-based community groups * Ayllu = foundation for Andean achievement members = obligated to help fellow members (thought as brothers and sisters) * Mita = Andean labor system based on shared obligations to help kinsmen and work on behalf of the ruler and religious organizations Gender distinction * Men = hunting, military service, government * Women = textile production, agriculture, home Harsh climates of Andean civilizations = similar to harsh environment of North American settlers * Anasazi + Mississippian culture = one of few civilizations that did not fall due to outside pressures Moche * Moche = civilization of north shore of Peru (200 700 C. E. ) * Built extensive irrigation networks + impressive urban centers dominated by brick temples Political + social * Did not establish formal empire nor unified political structure structure * Moche society = theocratic + stratified priests + military leaders had concentrated wealth + powerDecline of Moche * Moche centers declined due to long-term climate changes * Wari = new military power, culturally linked to Tiwanaku * Wari contributed to the disappearance of the Moche Tiwana ku and Wari * Tiwanaku = name of capital city and empire centered on the region near Lake Titicaca in modern Bolivia (375 1000 C. E. ) * Llamas = critical for maintenance of long-distance trade relations * High quality of stone masonry * Stratified society ruled by a hereditary elite * Used military to extend their power over large religions The Inca * Largest and most powerful Andean empire (Cuzco = capital) * Initially a chiefdom -> turned in to military expanding upon in 1430s * Inca prosperity depended on vast herds of llamas + alpacas * Hereditary chiefs of ayllus included women * Had hostage taking system for politics * Each new ruler began his reign with conquest (legitimize authority) * Khipus = system of knotted colored cords used by preliterate Andean peoples to transmit information * Did not produce new technologies increased frugal output * Civil war weakened the Inca on the eve of European arrival * Noticed that primary gods for many so cieties were Sun gods and agricultural gods * Pressures from inside took out the Inca society similar to other societies * Khipus = similar to the one that Aztecs used