Maya Society and Religion

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Chapter 6
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Chapter 6
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Chapter 6
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Chapter 6
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Early Societies in Oceania and the Americas
By Maurice Bumbu, Austin Evans, Britney Jahn,
Paige Press, and Quan Tran
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Introduction to Chapter 6
Little is known of the cultures of the early
societies in the Americas and Oceania as there
was no developed writing system at the time and
the sparse knowledge we have is based on
archaeological findings. From studying their
work, however, it is apparent that both societies
were complex and had developed rich cultural
traditions.

• Early societies in the Americas
• Built ceremonial centers reflecting religion and
  politics
• Were very artistic, leaving behind sculpture,
  metalwork, and painting
• Developed knowledge of astronomy and mathematics

• Early societies of Oceania
• Experienced a spread of agriculture technology by
  trading and settling throughout the Pacific
• Formed the Lapita society, stretching from New
  Guinea to Tonga

Olmec Ruler
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Mayan Society and Religion
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Distinct Social Classes

• Rulers
• Priests
• Architects and sculptors (specializing in public
  buildings)
• Artisans (pottery, tools, textiles, etc.)
• Peasants and slaves (physical labor they were
  ultimately the reason why people received food)

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Culture

• The Maya built on Olmec astronomy, math, and
  writing.
• Priests studied astronomy and created the 365 day
  calendar.
• Scribes kept agricultural records and wrote
  history, poetry, and myths using ideographic
  characters and utilizing symbols to represent
  syllable sounds.
• The Mayan peoples believed that human sacrifice
  would please the gods, resulting in more rain and
  a better agricultural season.
• The Mayan ball game consisted of two to four
  players. Object of game was get the small rubber
  ball in a ring without the use of hands. The
  defeated were usually tortured and killed.

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Teotihuacan

• This city flourished in central Mexico due to the
  surrounding lakes which carried plenty of fish
  and water.
• Expanding human population ? congregation of
  people in cities ? complex societies.
• Between 400 and 600 C.E. Teotihuacan had almost
  200,000 inhabitants.
• By this point, neighborhoods, temples, workshops,
  and markets had been developed. This allowed for
  trade and exchange networks to appear within the
  city.
• From what paintings of the time show, Teotihuacan
  was most likely a theocracy led my priests.
• The city had very little external defense and by
  the middle of the 8th century invaders had sacked
  and burned the city later on, it was eventually
  completely destroyed.

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Early Mesoamerican Societies
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Early Inhabitation

• The first wave of migration took place about
  13,000 B.C.E.
• Humans reached the southernmost part of South
  America by 9500 B.C.E.
• The earliest human inhabitants of Americas lived
  exclusively by hunting and gathering.
• Agriculture began around 7500 B.C.E when hunting
  became difficult.
• By 7500 B.C.E. many species of large animals were
  well on the road to extinction.

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The Olmecs

• Between 8000 B.C.E. to 7000 B.C.E, the peoples of
  Mesoamerica began to experiment with the
  cultivation of beans, chili peppers, avocados,
  squashes, and gourds.
• Their diet was rich in cultivated foods prepared
  by human laborers.
• The Olmecs were located by the Gulf of Mexico.
• Ceremonial centers and other more elaborate
  complexes were built by the end of the second
  millennium B.C.E.
• Rulers began to show their powers by constructing
  large pyramids.
• The Olmecs began to gain wealth by trading jade
  and obsidian.

Agriculture
Trade and Commerce
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Heirs of the Olmecs the Maya

• The Maya were located in the highlands of
  Guatemala.
• Human population grew dramatically when the Maya
  appeared.
• The most important Mayan political center was
  called the Tikal.
• The Maya fertilized and plowed cotton and cacao.
• Mayan decline began in 800 C.E., when Teotihuacan
  was sacked and burnt, resulting in the desertion
  of much of the population.

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Peoples of the Andes
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Early Andean Society

• When people migrated from central America to
  South America, they began to experiment with
  agriculture in order to survive against
  environmental barriers.
• In the early Andean society, trade from
  Mesoamerica to the Andean region began to
  flourish.
• -Maize and squash from Mesoamerica eventually
  migrated to the Andean area.
• -Copper, Gold, and Silver traveled from the
  Andean area to Mesoamerica.

Migration/Patterns of Settlement
? Trade and Commerce
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Chavin Cult
Regional Organizations

• Around 900-800 B.C.E., the Chavin Cult had
  appeared.
• They made complex carvings representing their
  divinity which featured humans and wild animals.
• As the society developed within the cult,
  cultists tested their abilities with weaving,
  arts, and craftsmanship.
• -Their designs grew in intricacy and design.
• -Jewelry, Cotton string fishnets, and textiles
  were all created in this period.
• The Chavin Cult had apparently disbanded circa
  300 B.C.E.

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Early Andean States
? Forms of Governance

• Conquers organized valley regions into individual
  societies to create states.
• -The builders of the states did this
  intentionally, and worked hard to have a
  functioning state.
• Mochica was a state on the foot of a valley, next
  to the Moche River.
• -Dominated northern Peru from 300-700 C.E.
• -Excavators found a evidence of Mochica, by
  studying the art and pottery that was left
  behind.

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Early Societies of Oceania
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Australia and New Guinea

• The first migrants arrived in Australia and New
  Guinea at least sixty thousand years ago using
  watercraft these were most likely early canoes
  built with sails.
• Since migrants had reached Australia and New
  Guinea before animal domestication and crop
  cultivation had been developed, inhabitants of
  both areas were hunters and gatherers. It is
  likely that early peoples migrated between
  Australia and New Guinea during their foraging.
• However, this ceased ten thousand years ago,
  when the glaciations connecting the two islands
  melted, disallowing land travel between islands.

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Early Australian Migrants

• After the glacial melt discontinued travel
  between New Guinea and Australia, the Aboriginal
  peoples continued to forage for food as hunters
  and gatherers until the 19th Century C.E., when
  European explorers established settlements.
• As hunters and gatherers, they exploited the
  natural resources of the various regions.
• -Their diet was mainly constituted by fruits,
  berries, roots, seeds, shoots, and green leaves.
• -They consumed at least 141 different species of
  plants and utilized more than 124 plants as
  medicines, ointments, and for other medical
  purposes.
• -Axes, spears, clubs, nets, snares, boomerangs,
  and other paraphernalia were used to hunt prey
  including waterfowl, kangaroos, and fish.

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Early Settlers in New Guinea

• Unlike their Aborigine cousins, the peoples of
  New Guinea turned to agriculture instead of
  foraging after the glacial melt. Settlers in New
  Guinea cultivated root crops and domesticated
  livestock beginning around 3000 B.C.
• Yams and taro were among the crops cultivated by
  the peoples of New Guinea they also bred pigs
  and chickens as well.
• The Austronesians visited New Guinea c. 3000
  B.C., where they established trade and eventually
  settled in their own communities.
• These Austronesians were most likely the reason
  the residents of New Guinea settled and adopted
  agriculture over foraging.

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The Peopling of the Pacific Islands

• Early Austronesian peoples possessed great
  agricultural prowess, allowing them to establish
  settlements in the islands of the Pacific Ocean.
• They built canoes for safe travel and crop
  transport, as well as domesticated animals,
  enabling them to create agricultural societies on
  other islands.
• After setting, Austronesians began to voyage to
  previously unpopulated islands, spreading to Fiji
  by 1300 B.C.E., Tonga and Samoa by 1000 B.C.E.,
  and New Zealand by 700 C.E.

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The Lapita Society

• The first Austronesian migrants to establish
  settlements in the Pacific islands were known as
  the Lapita. Their society was situated from New
  Guinea to Tonga between 1500-500 B.C.E.
• The region extended over 2,800 miles (roughly the
  size of the U.S.)

The Lapita peoples -Established agricultural
villages, planting crops used by their
ancestors. -Made distinctive pottery decorated
with geometric designs. -Established networks of
trade. -These trade networks halted after 500
B.C.E., When the seperate Lapita settlements
became large enough to support themselves. They
established a political organization, with power
passed down from a chief to the eldest son.