Pre-contactAmericasOverview

• Duringtheclassicalperiod,statesinMesoamericaandtheAndeswerecomposedofavarietyofkingdomsthattradedandoftencameintoconflictwithoneanother.

• Somestates,suchasTeotihuacánnearmodern-dayMexicoCity,heldmorepowerthanothers.• InwhatistodayPeruandBolivia,Andeanstatesusedthemountains,rivers,andcoastlineto

theiradvantagewhenfarmingandcreatingafoodsupplyfortheirsocieties.CityofthegodsNortheastofMexicoCity,surroundedbylakes,theruinsofaonce-massivecitystillinspireawe.Afour-mile-longavenuerunsthroughtheremainsofacomplexgridpatternofapartments,colorfulmurals,apyramidthat’sover700feettalland700feetwide,andanotherpyramidthatoncehousedtheremainsof200people,possiblyastributestoaccompanyawealthyleaderintotheafterlife.

AphotographofthePyramidoftheMoonintheruinsofTeotihuacán,Mexico.Thepyramidiscomposedofaboutthreesteppedlevelsplusamulti-tieredmini-pyramidattheentrance.Thesurroundingcountrysideisgreen,coveredwithtrees,withsomebighillsinthebackground.

PyramidoftheMoon,Teotihuacán.Imagecredit:WikmediaCommonsThecitywasnamedTeotihuacánbytheAztecswhodiscovereditafteritscollapse.Thenametranslatesroughlyto“cityofthegods.”Unfortunately,nowrittenrecordsorartdepictingspecificrulerssurvivefromTeotihuacánitself.Wedoknow,throughotherarcheologicalmethods,thatthecitycenterwieldedenormouspowerbetween300and600CE.Teotihuacán

likelyhoused200,000peopleinthecityitself,governedthesurrounding10,000squaremilesdirectly,anduseditsarmiestocolonizeotherregionsasfaras600milesaway.WhatmadeTeotihuacánsopowerful?Despitemanyunansweredquestionsaboutthiscity,weknowthatitsgrowthandfeatsofurbanplanningwouldn’thavebeenpossiblewithoutapowerfulcentralizedgovernment.Theintricateurbangridandthemassivetemplesmusthaverequiredacoordinatedeffortandsignificantfunds.WealsoknowthattherewastradebetweenTeotihuacánandothersocieties.Forexample,toolsmadeofobsidian—ablack,shinymaterialmadeofvolcanicglass—werefoundinMayanterritory.Similarly,Teotihuacán-stylepotteryhasbeenfoundthroughoutMesoamerica.ThisservesasevidenceofTeotihuacán’sreachandexpansionintheregion.Thecity’sreachisalsoevidentindocumentsfromtheMayancityofTikalrecordingthearrivaloftheTeotihuacánmilitaryin378CE.ThesewritingsalsosuggestthatTeotihuacánbecameinvolvedinthelocalgovernment.ThispatternechoesotherexamplesintheearlyAmericaswhereleaderssoughttobuildstatesinordertocontrolresourcesandcreatecohesivesocieties.TheMaya:independentcity-statesTheMaya,agroupofpeoplewhoinhabitedMesoamericaaftertheOlmec,livedinwhatistodaysouthernMexico,Guatemala,Honduras,Belize,andElSalvador.ComplexMayasocieties—includingcity-states—arosethroughoutthesedifferentareas,andlocallordsstruggledwithoneanotherforpowerandaccesstotraderoutesandgoods.Survivingartworkfromthetimesuggeststhattheserulersheldconsiderablepowerintheirownkingdomsandwerepossiblyseenasdivine.StartinginthethirdcenturyBCE,MayanpeoplesettledinthefertilehighlandsofcurrentdayGuatemala.Onemajorcity,Kaminaljuyú,waslocatednearwhatisnowGuatemalaCity;itboastedimpressivetemplesandaccesstotraderoutesintocentralMexico.InthefourthcenturyCE,however,TeotihuacáncolonizedtheKaminaljuyú.ThelackofacohesiveempireacrossMesoamericawasprobablydueinparttothelargenumberofrulersjostlingforpoweranddifficultgeography.Mayancitieswerelocatedindiverseenvironmentsrangingfromrainforesttohighlands,whichmadegoverningovermultiplecitiesdifficult.

Azoomed-inmapofmodern-daysouthernMexico,Guatemala,Honduras,Belize,andEl

Salvador—theformerareaofMayancivilizations.ThemapshowstheGuatemalanhighlandsonthewestcoast,theGulfofHondurastothesouth,andtheGulfofMexicotothenorth.

Modern-daymapofMayancivilizations.Imagecredit:WikimediaCommonsTheAndes:innovationsinagricultureEarlysocietiesintheAndes,inwhatistodayPeruandBolivia,facedgeographicalhurdlesjustastheMayadid.ThetoweringAndesmountainsandcoastaldesertsmadeunificationdifficult,butsnowrunofffromthemountainstrickledintoanetworkofrivers,facilitatingagriculture.TheMochecivilizationonthenortherncoastofPerudevelopedasuccessfulirrigationsystemandharvestedmaize,cotton,beans,andsquash.Farthereast,theWariinthenorthernhighlandsusedthemountainsthemselvesasameansoftieredagriculture;theyirrigatedthehillsidesusingthemeltedsnowthatfloweddownfromthemountains.EvidencealsoshowstheWarikingdomdevelopedcityplanningandroadwaysthatconnecteditsmajorcitytotraderoutes.

Apictureofterracedfarmlandsinmodern-dayPerushows13tieredrowsoffarmlandthatlook

likegrassysteps.Amountainrangeisinthebackground.Terracedfarmlandsinmodern-dayPeru.Imagecredit:WikimediaCommonsAndeankingdomssoughttocontroltradeandimportssuchasseafoodfromthecoastandpotatoesandquinoafromthehighplains.Kingdomssituatedtheirlargecitiesatlowerelevationsinordertogainaccesstotraderoutesandimportsmoreeasily.Althoughtheywerenotsuccessfulincreatingexpansiveempires,earlystatesinMesoamericaandtheAndesdidbuildstateswithcentralizedgovernments;areaswithirrigationforcrops;roadwaysfortravelandtradetobringwealthbacktothecapitals;andarmiestodefendandenlargetheirterritories.Wedon’tknowthefullreachofpowerofcitieslikeTeotihuacán,butwecanconcludethattheirsuccessmusthavebeentheresultofacentralizedgovernmentandtechnology.