Early Mesoamerican societies, 1200 B.C.E.-1100 C.E.

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Early Mesoamerican societies, 1200 B.C.E.-1100
C.E.
Chapter 6 Early Societies in the Americas and
Oceania
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Olmecs 1200-100 BCE
Ceremonial centers, calendar, Maize, basalt
heads, ball game
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Olmec Jade Ear Flares
Olmec Jade Mask
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500 BCE 650 CE
Pyramid of the Moon
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• important ceremonial center
• extensive trade network (obsidian)
• begins to decline 650 CE, sacked and then
  abandoned
• home to 200,000
• theocracy, little evidence of military,
  professional merchants
• evidence of ball game, adopted Olmec writing,
  calendar

Teotihuacan
Pyramid of the Sun
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The MAYA El Mirador 150 BCE-150CE
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Danta
Tigre
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La Danta from Nakbe
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The MAYA Nimli Punit 500-900CE
Tikal 500-800 CE
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Tikal 500-800 CE
Palenque 500-800 CE
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Mirador El Tigre Vs. Central Plaza, Tikal
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Lintel 24 Structure 23 Yaxchilan, Chiapas,
Mexico The sculpture depicts a sacred
blood-letting ritual which took place on 26
October 709. King "Shield Jaguar" is shown
holding a torch, while Queen "Lady Xoc" draws a
barbed rope through her pierced tongue
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Bonampak Mural Noblewomen Piercing tongues Sting
ray spines Needles Thorns flints
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At the height of Mayan civilization, body
modification included a variety of alterations
of the teeth.
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The Mayan calendar was very advanced, and
consisted of a solar year of 365 days. It was
divided into 18 months of 20 days each( haab),
followed by a five-day period that was highly
unlucky. There was also a 260-day sacred year
(tzolkin), divided into days named by the
combination of 13 numbers and 20 names.
Two calendars would repeat Every 52 years
Calendar Round. Maya Long Count developed to
record time over 52 years
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Dresden Codex
Bonampak, Mexico
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Bishop Diego de Landa Relacion de las cosas De
Yucatan 1566
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According to the Popul Vuh a book compiling
details of creation accounts known to the
K'iche' Maya of the Colonial-era highlands, we
are living in the fourth world.8The Popol Vuh
describes the first three creations that the
gods failed in making and the creation of the
successful fourth world where men were placed.
In the Maya Long Count, the previous creation
ended at the start of a 13th b'ak'tun.The
previous creation ended on a long count of
12.19.19.17.19, (August 11,3114 BCE) Another
12.19.19.17.19 will occur on December 20, 2012,
followed by the start of the fourteenth
b'ak'tun, 13.0.0.0.0, on December 21, 2012
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• Migration into South America c. 12000 BCE
• Climate improves c. 8000 BCE
• Largely independent from Mesoamerica
• Highly individualized due to geography

Polynesia/ Oceania 1500 BCE 700 CE
Andean Societies
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Chapter 6 Early Societies in the Americas and
Oceania
Theme 1 Interaction between humans and the
environment
__________________________________________________
___________

• Migration
• Population pressures, trade, and the need for
  additional resources led to the development
• of complex social and political forms
• no metallurgy specialized craftsmanship jade,
  obsidian, textiles (cotton)
• Mesoamerica diverse geography, early
  settlement along coastline not river valleys,
  rich
• food supply that becomes more diverse with
  agriculture (maize, beans, squash, tomato,
  avocado)
• (Olmec rubber) No native draft animals instead
  have to rely on human labor/ terraced fields
• Andean Society difficult geography (Andes),
  early settlement along rich coast, llama/alpaca,
• beans, peanuts, sweet potatoes, cotton, terrain
  makes contact between these two American regions
• nearly impossible (some isolated trade maize,
  squash N to S gold, silver and copper S to N)
• Gold, silver and copper metallurgy (Chavin de
  Huantar)
• Oceania Australian Aborigines (H G), Pacific
  Islands more contact with SE Asia (agriculture)

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Theme 2 Development and interaction of cultures
__________________________________________________
___________

• Mesoamerica basalt heads (Olmec) polytheism,
  bloodletting, human sacrifice, astronomy and
• prediction, calendar (solar and ritual), Maya
  hieroglyphs, (record astronomical, geneological,
• political and social history, record keeping,
  poetry, and religious texts Popol Vuh) (records
  on
• papyrus, stelae, architectural stone, tombs,
  murals) Maya numerical system, concept of zero,
• stelae and altars, ball game, enormous ceremonial
  complexes, murals, pyramids and temples,
• great plaza areas (no written records for Olmec)
• Andean Society Chavin Cult (1000 BCE arrival
  of maize), Chavin Cult prompted building of
• Large temples, art and pottery (everyday life) ,
  polytheistic, animal sculpture dedicated to
  fertility
• and abundant harvests), no writing
• Oceania spread of Austronesian language,
  decorated pottery, outrigger canoes

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Theme 3 State-building, expansion and conflict
__________________________________________________
___________

• Mesoamerica Olmec authoritarian, socially
  stratified, commanded large labor pool to produce
• basalt heads and flood control projects, managed
  trade systems, some evidence of military
• Teotihuacan theocracy?, no evidence of
  military/conquest, politically stratified,
  authority over
• immense and expansive trade network (proximity to
  obsidian source, three legged orange pottery)
• Maya political organization varies city states
  to regional empires, priest/kings (jaguar),
• Continually competing over resources and regions
  of influence, tried to symbolically align
• themselves with more powerful (usually religious)
  centers Kaminaljuyu, Tikal, Palenque, El
  Mirador,
• Chichen Itza
• Andean Society Mochica/ Chimu (Chanvin de
  Huantar), regional states and cities along coast,
  
• large scale irrigation projects, trade with
  highlands (carried out by coercion and warfare),
  regional
• states unable to consolidate into anything
  approaching an empire
• Oceania Australia egalitarian, HG, Lapita
  chiefdoms (around trade), hierarchical chiefdoms
• Divine or semi-divine

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Theme 4 Creation, expansion and interaction of
economic systems
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___________

• Mesoamerica trade, craft specialization, cacao
  currency, trade at times dominated by influence
• of Teotihuacan, lowlands traded agricultural
  foodstuffs for highland obsidian and jade
• Andean society built irrigation systems so that
  the lower valleys could support agriculture,
• established trade and economic networks from city
  to highlands (integrated economic zones)
• Oceania HG (Australia), trading and seafaring
  in and around New Guinea (3000BCE), outrigger
• canoes, domesticated animals (chickens, pigs)

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Theme 5 Development and transformation of
social structures
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• Mesoamerica ample evidence of social
  stratification (art, stelae, murals,
  architecture),
• elaborate social hierarchy (kings and ruling
  families, priests, landowning nobility,
  merchants,
• Professional architects, sculptors, specialized
  artisans, peasants and slaves (majority))
• Andean Societies similar to above, merchants
  probably played significant role as the trade
• etworks became more complex and extensive
• Oceania Australian aborigines more egalitarian