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Peoples and civilizations of the
Americas, 600-1500
Classic-Era Culture andSociety in Mesoamerica,
600-900
The Postclassic Period in
Mesoamerica, 900-1500
Northern Peoples
Andean Civilizations,
600-1500
Classic-Era Culture and Society
in Mesoamerica, 600-900
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Several centuries ofgrowth involvingseveral peoples
speaking differentlanguages
Mesoamericans wereunified by
similarities in
material culture,religious beliefs andpractices, and social
structures
Political andcultural innovationsdid not depend on
new technologies
Increasinglypowerful elites to
organize andcommand growingnumbers of laborers
and soldiers
Teotihuacan
*Teotihuacan was at theheight of its power in
600 CE and verging ondecline
Religious architecturerose above a city center
aligned with nearbysacred mountains and
reflecting themovement of the stars
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Quetzalcoatl, thefeathered serpent, was aculture-god believed to
be the originator of
agriculture and the arts
human sacrifice
The rapid growth inurban population
initially resulted from aseries of volcanic
eruptions that disputedagriculture
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The use of *Chinampas, sometimes called floatinggardens, were narrow artificial islands constructed
along lake shores or in marshes
heaped lake muck and waste material on beds of reedsthat were then anchored to the shore by trees
The productivity of thecitys agriculture made
possible itsaccomplishments in
art, architecture, andtrade
Apartment compounds
Divine approval of anda material basis for theelites increased wealth
and status
Their prestige and wealthwere reflected in their style
of dress and diet
The Teotihuacan did notconcentrate power in the
hands of a single ruler
They enjoyed a relativepeace during its early
development
Used their military toexpand trade relations
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The final decades wereviolent
The city wasoverwhelmed militarily
by a nearby rival city orby nomadic warriors
from the northernfrontier
Conflict within the rulingelite
The Maya The *Maya developed animpressive civilization in the
region that today includesGuatemala, Honduras,
Belize, and southern Mexico
tropical climate and fragilesoils
Rival kingdoms led byhereditary rulers struggled
with each other from regionaldominance
Swidden agriculture produceda high yield
The high population levels ofthe Maya classic period, which
ended about 900 CE
Terraced hillsides and drainingswamps
Impressive religious templesand by creating rituals that
linked the power of the kings tothe gods
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Everything was constructedwithout the aid of wheelsno
pulleys, wheelbarrows, orcarts
The pyramids were sacredmountains reaching to the
heavens. The doorways of thepyramids were portals to the
underworld
Religious Ritualbloodletting, hallucinogenic
trances, piercing
Warfare in particularwas infused withreligious meaning
Fought to securecaptives rather than
territory
Development of theconcept of zero,
hieroglyphicinscriptions
Between 800 and900 CE, thepopulation
expansion led toenvironmental
degradation anddeclining
agriculturalproductivity which
provoked socialconflict and warfare
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The Postclassic Period in
Mesoamerica, 900-1500
Culturalcharacteristics of theclassical period were
carried over to thepostclassic period
The two periods arelinked by similarities
in religious belief,architecture, urban
planning, and socialorganization
The Toltecs and theAztecs are the major
postclassic states
They increased the sizeof their armies anddeveloped political
institutions
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The Toltecs
Little is known about the*Toltecs prior to their arrival
in central Mexico
Originally a satellitepopulation that Teotihuacanhad placed on the northern
frontier
The most important Toltecinnovations were in politics
and military
The Toltecs created the firstconquest state based largely
on military power
Established about 968 CE,the Toltec capital of Tulawas constructed in a grand
style
Sometime after 1000 CE astruggle between elite
groups identified with rivalreligious cults undermined
the Toltec state
Around 1175 CEnorthern invaders
overcame Tula itself
The Aztecs of theValley of Mexico
became the mostimportant of these
late postclassic
peoples
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The Aztecs
The Mexica, morecommonly known as
the *Aztecs, pushed intocentral Mexico in the
wake of the collapse ofTula
They began the
construction of theirtwin capitals
*Tenochtitlan andTlatelolco
Military successes allowedthe Aztecs to seize control ofadditional agricultural land
along the lakeshore
Aztec rulers did not haveabsolute power, and royal
succession was not based onprimogeniture
War was infused withreligious meaning, proving
the ruler with legitimacy
Territorial conquestallowed the warrior elite ofAztec society to seize landand peasant labor as spoils
of war
Clan members also foughttogether as military units
Aztec kings and aristocrats
legitimated theirascendancy by creating
elaborate rituals andceremonies
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Commoners livedin small dwellingsand ate a limited
diet and ledmonogamous lives
The nobility livedin large two-story
houses and ate
expensive foodsand led
polygamous lives
Aztec chinampas contributedmaize, fruits, and vegetables
to the markets ofTenochtitlan
The imposition of a *tributesystem on conquered peoples
also helped relieve thepressure of a growing
population
Commerce was dominatedby lightweight and valuable
products
Aztec commerce wascarried on withoutmoney and credit
Barter was facilitated bythe use of cacao, quillsfilled with gold, and
cotton cloth as standardunits
The island capital wasdesigned in a complex
grid
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The Aztecs worshiped a largenumber of godsmost ofwhich had a dual nature
both male and female
Most gods were associatedwith war
Huitzilopochtli required a dietof human hearts to sustain the
Suns warmth to the world
War captives were thepreferred sacrificial victims
Northern Peoples
Southwestern Desert Cultures
The Hohokam of the Saltand Gila river valleys of
southern Arizona
Strong Mexican influence
By 1000 CE the Hohokamhad constructed an elaborate
irrigation system
The Anasazi to the north leftthe most vivid legacy of
these desert cultures
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*Anasazia Navajo wordmeaning ancient ones to
identify a number ofdispersed desert cultures
located in what is now NewMexico and Colorado
Economy based on maize,beans, and squash
Large villages inunderground buildings
called kivas
Population of c. 15,000
Women shared inagricultural tasks and
were specialist in manycrafts
Chaco Canyon culture,the largest Anasazi
community, originatedas a colonial appendage
of Mesoamerica
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There is no clearevidence of clear class
distinction
The abandonment of themajor sites in ChacoCanyon in the 12thcentury most likelyresulted from a long
drought thatundermined thecultures fragile
agricultural economy
Mound Builders: The
Mississippian Culture
A north American
chiefdom traditionemerged in the
Mississippi river basin
Population of c. 10,000
The hereditary leader wasboth the religious andsecular responsibilities
Urbanized Mississippiansites developed from the
accumulated effects ofsmall increases in
agricultural productivity,bow and arrow, trade
networks
Population growth andsocial stratification
No evidence for the declineand abandonment of major
urban centers
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Andean Civilizations,
600-1500
Much of the regionsmountainous zone is ataltitude that seem too
high for agriculture and
human habitation
Yet the Amerindianpeoples of the Andeanarea produced some of
the most sociallycomplex and politically
advanced societies of theWestern Hemisphere
Cultural Response to
Environmental Challenge
From the time of Chavinall of the great Andeancivilizations succeeded
in connecting thedistinctive resources of
the coastal region
The regions fields wereperiodicallyoverwhelmed by
droughts
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The mountainousinterior presented
some of the greatestenvironmental
challenges
They also discoveredhow to use cold/dryclimate to produce
freeze-driedvegetable and meat
products
Domestication of thellama and alpaca
Record-keeping system
more limited than theone found inMesoamerica
A system of knottedcolored cords, *khipus
was used to aidadministration and
record population counts
The clan, or *ayllu,provided the foundationfor Andean achievement
Members of an ayllu heldland communallynot
related
The *mita was arotational labor draft that
organized members ofayllus to work the fields
and care for the llamaand alpaca herds
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The mita system was an essential
part of the Andean world for more
than a thousand years
Coastal regions produced maize,
fish, and cotton
Mountain valleys contributed
quinoa as well as potatoes
Wool and meat of llama and
alpaca
Amazonian regioncoca and
fruits
Moche
The Moche and the Chimuwho followed them
cultivated maize, quinoa,beans, manioc and sweet
potatoes with the aid ofmassive irrigation works
Coca is high elevations
Complex networks of canalsand aqueducts connectedfields with water sources
Highly stratified andtheocratic
Rich clothing and jewelryconfirmed their divine status
and set them farther apartfrom commoners
headdresses of the elite
gold plates suspended fromtheir noses and large gold
plugs
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The rapid decline of themajor centers coincided
with a succession ofnatural disasters in the
sixth century
Earthquake altered thecourse of the Moche
The political leaders basedtheir authority throughcontrol of the naturalforces through rituals
Tiwanaku and Wari
In the Andean highlands theTiwanaku and Wari culturesparalleled that of Moche of
the coastal regions
*Tiwanaku vast drainageprojects
Intensive cultivation similarto that achieved by the use
of chinampas inMesoamerica
Large stones and quarriedblocks were moved manymiles to construct a largeterraced pyramid, walled
enclosures, and a reservoir
large structures of finely cutstone that required littlemorter to fit the blocks
It is clear that the elitecontrolled a large, disciplinedlabor force in the surrounding
region
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Population of 30,000
It was not a metropolislike the largest
Mesoamerican cities
It was a ceremonial andpolitical center for a large
regional population
*Wari, northwest ofTiwanaku
Shared culture andtechnology of
Tiwanaku
Perhaps as aconsequence of militaryconflict, both Tiwanaku
and Wari declined toinsignificance by about
1000 CE
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