Chapter 11: Peoples and Civilizations of the Americas, 600-1500

Thesis:

I. Classic-Era Culture and Society in Mesoamerica, 200900

A. Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan was a large Mesoamerican city at the height of its power in 450600 C.E
city had a population of 125,000 to 150,000 inhabitants
dominated by religious structures, including pyramids and temples where human sacrifice was
carried out.
growth of Teotihuacan was made possible by forced relocation of farm families to the city and by
agricultural innovations, including irrigation works and chinampas (floating gardens) that
increased production and thus supported a larger population
Apartment like stone buildings housed commoners, including the artisans who made pottery and
obsidian tools and weapons for export
elite lived in separate residential compounds and controlled the state bureaucracy, tax collection, and
commerce
Teotihuacan appears to have been ruled by alliances of wealthy families rather than by kings
military was used primarily to protect and expand long-distance trade and to ensure that farmers paid
taxes or tribute to the elite
Teotihuacan collapsed around 650 C.E. (may have been caused by mismanagement of resources and
conflict within the elite, or as a result of invasion)
B. The Maya
Maya were a single culture living in modern Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, and southern Mexico, but
they never formed a politically unified state
Various Maya kingdoms fought each other for regional dominance
Maya increased their agricultural productivity by draining swamps, building elevated fields and
terraced fields, and by constructing irrigation systems
Maya also managed forest resources to increase the production of desired products
largest Maya city-states dominated neighboring city-states and agricultural areas
Large city-states constructed impressive and beautifully decorated buildings and monuments by
means of very simple technologylevers and stone tools
Maya believed that the cosmos consisted of three layers: the heavens, the human world, and the
underworld Temple architecture reflected this cosmology, and the rulers and elites served as priests
to communicate with the residents of the two supernatural worlds
Maya military forces fought for captives, not for territory
Elite captives were sacrificed; commoners were enslaved
Maya elite women participated in bloodletting rituals and other ceremonies (rarely held political
power)
Non-elite women probably played an essential role in agricultural and textile production.
most notable Maya technological developments: Maya calendar, mathematics, and the Maya writing
system
Most Maya city-states were abandoned or destroyed between 800 and 900 C.E.
reasons for the decline of Maya culture: disruption of Mesoamerican trade resulting from the fall of
Teotihuacan, environmental pressure caused by overpopulation, and increased warfare
II. The Postclassic Period in Mesoamerica, 9001500
A. The Toltecs
Toltecs arrived in central Mexico in the tenth century and built a civilization based on the legacy of
Teotihuacan
Toltecs contributed innovations in the areas of politics and war
 Toltec capital at Tula was the center of the first conquest state in the Americas
Dual kings ruled the statean arrangement that probably caused the internal struggle that
undermined the Toltec state around 1000 C.E.
Toltecs were destroyed by invaders around 1156 C.E.
B. The Aztecs
Aztecs were originally a northern people with a clan-based social organization. They migrated to the
Lake Texcoco area, established the cities of Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco around 1325, and then developed a
monarchical system of government. 2. Gender division of labor was distinct yet complementary. Though
warfare increased male power, females maintained control over household and market. 3. The kings
increased their wealth and power by means of territorial conquest. As the Aztec Empire increased in size,
commoners lost their ability to influence political decisions and inequalities in wealth grew more severe.
4. The Aztecs increased agricultural production in the capital area by undertaking land reclamation
projects and constructing irrigated fields and chinampas. Nonetheless, grain and other food tribute met
nearly one- quarter of the capitals food requirements. 5. Merchants who were distinct from and
subordinate to the political elite controlled long-distance trade. The technology of trade was simple: no
wheeled vehicles, draft animals, or money was used. Goods were carried by human porters and exchanged
through barter. 6. The Aztecs worshiped a large number of gods, the most important of whom was
Huitzilopochtli, the Sun god. Huitzilopochtli required a diet of human hearts, which were supplied by
human sacrifice that increased through time.
III. Northern Peoples
A. Southwestern Desert Cultures
1. Irrigation-based agriculture was introduced to Arizona from Mexico around 300 B.C.E. The most
notable Mexican-influenced civilization of the area was the Hohokam, who constructed extensive
irrigation works in the Salt and Gila valleys around 1000 C.E.
2. The more influential Anasazi developed a maize, rice, and bean economy and constructed underground
buildings (kivas) in the Arizona/New Mexico/Colorado/Utah region around 450750 C.E.
3. The large Anasazi community at Chaco Canyon had a population of about 15,000 people engaged in hunting,
trade, and irrigated agriculture. Chaco Canyon people seem to have exerted some sort of political or religious
dominance over a large region. The Anasazi civilization declined in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries as a
result of drought, overpopulation, and warfare.
B. Mound Builders: The Hopewell and Mississippian Cultures
1. The Hopewell culture developed out of the earlier Adena culture around 100 C.E. It was based in the
Ohio Valley, but its trade and influence extended as far as Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, New York and
Ontario, and south to Florida. Like the Adena, the Hopewell economy was based on hunting and
gathering and was supplemented by agriculture.
2. The major Hopewell centers were ruled by hereditary chiefs. Chiefs served as priests and managed
secular affairs such as long-distance trade. The Hopewell people built large mounds both as burial sites
and as platforms upon which temples and residences of chiefs were constructed.
3. Hopewell sites were abandoned around 400 C.E., but the Hopewell technology and mound-building are
linked to the development of the Mississippian culture (7001500 C.E.). Urbanized Mississippian
chiefdoms were made possible by increased agricultural productivity, the bow and arrow, and expanded
trade networks.
4. The largest Mississippian center was Cahokia, with a population of about 30,000 around 1200 C.E.
Cahokia was abandoned around 1250 perhaps because of climate changes and population pressure.
IV. Andean Civilizations, 2001500
A. Cultural Response to Environmental Challenge
1. The harsh environment of the high-altitude Andes, the dry coastal plain, and the tropical
headwaters of the Amazon forced the human inhabitants of these areas to organize labor
efficiently and thus produce enough food to live.
 2. The basic unit of Andean labor organization was the clan (ayllu). Clans held land collectively,
and clan members were obligated to assist each other in production and to supply goods and
labor to the clan chief.
3. The territorial states organized after 1000 C.E. introduced the institution of the mita, which
required each ayllu to provide a set number of workers each year to provide labor for religious
establishments, the royal court, or the aristocracy.
4. Work was divided along gender lines. Men were responsible for hunting, war, and government;
women wove and cared for the crops and the home.
5. The Andean region is divided into four major ecological zones: the coast, mountain valleys,
higher elevations, and the Amazonian region. Each region produced different goods, and these
goods were exchanged among the various regions through a network of trade routes.
B. Moche and Chim
1. The Moche culture emerged in the north coastal region of Peru in about 200 C.E. The Moche used the
mita labor system to construct an extensive irrigated agriculture that produced maize, quinoa, beans,
and manioc.
2. Moche society was stratified and theocratic. Wealth and power were concentrated in the hands of an
elite of priests and military leaders who lived atop large platforms and decorated themselves with
magnificent clothing, jewelry, and tall headdresses. Commoners cultivated their fields and supplied
mita labor to the elite.
3. Moche artisans were skilled in the production of textiles, portrait vases, and metallurgy. Gold and silver
were used for decorative purposes; copper and copper alloy were used for farm tools and weapons.
4. The decline and fall of the Moche civilization may be attributed to a series of natural disasters in the
sixth century and to pressure from the warlike Wari people in the eighth century.
5. The Chim civilization emerged at the end of the Moche period and reached the height of its military
power and territorial expansion around 1200 C.E. At their capital of Chan Chan, the Chim rulers were
distinguished by their conspicuous consumption of luxury goods and by their burial compounds.
C. Tiwanaku and Wari
1. The civilization of Tiwanaku, in Bolivia, experienced increased agricultural productivity and
urbanization in the years following 200 C.E. Tiwanaku cultivated potatoes and grains on raised fields
reclaimed from marshland.
2. Tiwanakus urban construction included a large terraced pyramid, walled enclosures, and a reservoir.
Construction was done with large stones quarried, moved, and laid by thousands of laborers working
with simple technology and copper alloy tools.
3. Tiwanaku society was highly stratified, ruled by a hereditary elite. Some scholars believe that Tiwanaku
was the capital of a vast empire, but archeological evidence suggests that it was only a ceremonial and
political center for a large regional population.
4. The Wari culture was located near the city of Ayucucho, Peru. Wari had contact with Tiwanaku but was
a separate culture; the city was built without central planning, with different techniques, and on a much
smaller scale than Tiwanaku. Both Tiwanaku and Wari declined to insignificance by 1000 C.E.
D. The Inca
1. The Inca were a small chiefdom in Cuzco until their leaders consolidated political authority and began
a program of military expansion in the 1430s. By 1525, the Inca had constructed a huge empire.
2. The key to Inca wealth was their ability to develop a strong military and to use it to broaden and
expand the traditional exchange system that had linked the various ecological zones of the Andes region
together. The Inca used the mita labor system to form their armies; build their capital city; maintain
their religious institutions; and provide for the old, the weak, and the ill.
3. The Inca generally left local rulers in place, controlling them by means of military garrisons and by
taking their heirs to Cuzco as hostages. At the central level, the Inca created an imperial bureaucracy led
by a king. Each king was required to prove himself by conquering new territory.
4. The capital city of Cuzco was laid out in the shape of a puma, and its buildings were constructed of
stone laid together without mortar. Cuzcos palaces and richly decorated temples were the scene of
rituals; feasts; and sacrifices of textiles, animals, other tribute goods, and the occasional human.
 5. The cultural attainments of the Inca Empire include astronomical observation, weaving, copper and
bronze metallurgy, and gold and silver working. The Inca did not introduce new technologies but made
more efficient use of existing technology to increase the profits gained by the trade among the ecological
zones of the Andean region.
6. Inca domination resulted in increased wealth but also in reduced levels of local autonomy. When the
elite fell into civil war in 1525, Inca control over its vast territories was weakened.
V. Comparative Perspectives
A. Political and Economic Comparisons
Aztec and Inca Empires shared similarities in the use of powerful armies, strong economies based on
large workforces, and their dependence on organized government and religious practices that
connected secular rulers to the gods
Distinctions between the two empires were in their systems of distributing goods and in their
management of the empire
Aztec used local leaders, while the Inca created a strong central government administered by trained
bureaucrats
B. Imperial Comparisons
Both the Aztec and Inca were the last in a line of successive indigenous populations organized
into strong empires from former collapsed civilizations
arrival of Europeans ended the cycle of crises and adjustment in both regions