How the Indians got Here

A western idea about time• Objective• Universal• Linear

migration• migration occurs in waves during

"ice ages" • by 9k y.a. whole continent

inhabited.• 600 generations of migration

Migration routes

"Neolithic Revolution"

• first corn 7k y.a. in Mexico

slash and burn• rotating crop areas• maintenance of relatively fixed

residence• milpas system in Jungle.

The growth of towns• towns mean

increased agricultural produce

– terrace farming: – chinampas or

floating gardens• specialization and

division of labor• implies

organization and some hierarchy

Cities and Empires• Theocratic society

– Olmecs: 3k ya first: • calendar, writing and

pyramid in hemisphere

– Teotehuanecos 2.6 k ya • city of over 200k pop

& 4 major temple complexes

• Maya– Toltec/Mississippian– Aztec/Inca

Anasazi

Mississippian Culture

The Critique of this story

• Ignores Indian views of the world– Indian world is spiritual– Indian identity not universal, but local– Indian cosmologies frequently circular

• Forces Indians into Western categories

– Indians seen as pre-history– Non-Mexican civilizations incomplete– biased sources about Indian histories.

The Ethno-Historical view• integrate better info about Indian

culture• credence to Indian understanding

of past