Geography of Civilizations in the Americas PDF

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Covers geographic influences of many societies in the ancient Americans and how these influences impacted their civilizations...

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Geography of Civilizations in the Americas

The Olmec: The Olmec were the first great civilization to inhabit what is modern-day Mexico, known as the "Rubber People" due to the rubber trees that grew in the area  

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Lived in small farming communities and were sustained by agricultural production Were also polytheistic and worshipped many gods including a jaguar rain god, a fire god, and a feathered serpent god o Used for various ceremonial purposes and the priestly class helped interpret the role of each in the cycle of life Archaeological and environmental evidence shows a decline in the Olmec population by 350 BCE o Some scholars believe that the lower classes, in a revolt against the ruling class, destroyed their own cities and buried their statues o Others believe that the Olmec were invaded by neighboring peoples, although the destruction seems too neat to be the work of an outside attack o Another theory is that changing river courses or consecutive annual droughts forced the Olmec to abandon their cities and migrate to other places Laid the foundation upon which the larger civilization of the Maya was based

The Maya: Mayans ruled what is now modern-day southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador 

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Developed agrarian-based village communities around the end of the first millennium BCE o With a surplus of corn, peppers, beans, squash, and tomatoes, a thriving civilization developed between 300 and 900  With an average population of 50,000, Mayan cities were centers of politics, religious activity, and commerce  Mayans created terraced fields for better irrigation and drained swampland for farmland Mayan cities were each governed as a city-state, with a king residing over domestic and foreign affairs; the king also led special public ceremonies and appointed and dismissed government officials o A state council composed of high ranking priests and nobility usually advised the king o King of each city-state oversaw financial aspects of his government  Bulk of government revenue came from taxes on agricultural and commercial goods  Farmers cultivated corn, beans, chili peppers, tomatoes, manioc, sunflower seeds, and cotton  Mayan farmers and peasants lived on the outskirts of the city, while the ruling elite, religious leaders, artisans, and merchants lived in the city itself o Each city developed a specialized product that cold be sold or traded in another city; for example, the cities of Coba and Chichen Itza enjoyed abundant salt, which was used to season and preserve food as well as for ritual and medicinal purposes

Geography of Civilizations in the Americas

Other cities manufactured or sold find obsidian tools, decorative jade objects, ceramics, salted fish, dyes, and cotton cloth  Luxury items like quetzal feathers, cacao, seashells, embroidered cloth, amber, and turquoise were desired by the ruling class  Cotton and cacao were used as a form of currency and created a bond between producers, farmers, and the governmental elite who wanted a monopoly over distribution of these goods o Each city government needed so guard its goods; they built defensive walls and formed alliances with one another  Wars between cities occurred either to acquire or protect resources, and long-distance commercial routes were patrolled and defended by armed soldiers in an attempt to keep trade intact By 900, Mesoamerica experienced a period of rapid decline: city rulers stopped erecting memorial stellae, roads became dangerous for merchants to travel, and populations of nearly all Maya cities dwindled o Scholars had differing opinions as to why the Maya civilization collapsed:  Some believe that continuous warfare between city-states over the control of trade was one cause  Others think that epidemic disease may have been the reason  Most plausible explanation is that the overpopulation and lack of sufficient agricultural production due to climate change caused the decline  Archaeologists documented a series of consecutive droughts that, in a cycle of a few years at a time, forced peasants to abandon their lands and migrate to cities in different regions, and without peasants city dwellers would have been forced to move 

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The Teotihuacan: One of Mesoamerica's most significant urban sites and a model for future civilization of the Aztec, Teotihuacan was located in modern-day central Mexico 

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Scholars believe that the origin of the Teotihuacan society may be traced to an early village in central Mexico around 250 BCE; by 500, this society had become a thriving city-state with a population of over 150,000, more than 600 pyramids, more than 2,000 residential structures, and over 400 workshops o Size and thriving economy indicate that a well-organized central authority ruled this city-state Archaeological evidence indicates a lack of military force in the city of Teotihuacan; thus, the expansion and influence of Teotihuacan is thought to be cultural and economic, not military o Scholars believe that the lack of a military force may have been its downfall; as early as 650, a fire swept through the city and destroyed main temples and residences of the ruling class  Destruction was originally thought to have been the work of invaders, but new evidence suggest that the internal pressure and revolt may have caused the damage After 650, the population began to slowly migrate to other regions, and a lack of skilled workers and merchants dampened the city's economy

Geography of Civilizations in the Americas

o Combined with consecutive droughts affecting farmer's ability to produce food to feed the large population, the inhabitants left the city and settled or assimilated with population of other regions The Toltec: Collapse of the Maya allowed new people to assert themselves, such as the Toltec, an ethnic mix of nomadic peoples from the north who settled in central Mexico 

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Rose to power around 900 BCE and built the capital city of Tula 40 miles away from modern-day Mexico City o Had a population of around 40,000 to 60,000 people and was influenced by Teotihuacan culture, economy, and religion, such as reliefs that accentuate the ritual of human sacrifice o By 1,000, Tula was the economic and military heart of the Toltec civilization Toltec ruling elite led the social structure, while warriors, the priestly class, merchants, and farmers followed o Architectural aspects of pyramid building and the ball game of the Maya were adopted by the Toltec people Fate is unknown, while it is known that the city of Tula was destroyed in the 1160's, either by internal revolt or invasion o Also experienced crippling droughts like the Maya and Teotihuacan

The Aztec: After the Maya civilization declines, a series of migratory peoples settled in Central Mexico in the 13th century- one of these was the Mexica, who overcame their rivals and created an empire, known as the Aztec empire 

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According to Aztec legend, around 10,000 Aztecs migrated from the north to the shores of Lake Texcoco in Central Mexico in the 1220's o Their arrival marked a change in the balance of power that had existed among the tribes and between the small city-states  Some Aztecs were employed as mercenaries by local tribes, but were not allowed to settle permanently for fear that they would one day be a threat o Further belief: the Aztec had been destined by their supreme god, Huitzilopochtli, to wander Lake Texcoco for nearly a century until they came across the promised sign of an eagle resting on a cactus with a serpent in its mouth  Spotted the omen on a marshy island in Lake Texcoco, where they settled  By 1325, they built the capital city of Tenochtitlan and allied themselves with other people in the area, especially those from the north, to defeat their enemies and became a force to be reckoned with in 1428 To sustain themselves in Tenochtitlan, the Aztec had to increase their agricultural productivity, but suffered from a lack of land since their city was surrounded by water o Their solution was to create a series of chinampas (floating gardens), which were manufactured islands

Geography of Civilizations in the Americas

100 by 300 foot parallel mats that were made of woven bamboo, straw, weeds, and mud, which were planted with crops; also had willow trees to provide shade and secure the garden in place with their roots  Most commonly used to grow maize, but other crops like beans, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, and avocados were grown to help feed the growing population o Over 20,000 acres of these were created, which could be harvested up to four times a year Spanish conquistadores destroyed the Aztec civilization in the 16th century; while they were alive though, they represented the culmination of a rich heritage that began with previous Mesoamerican civilizations o Religious beliefs and economic and political systems all represented a sophisticated society, but fell to the inability to ward off diseases brought by the Europeans 

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The Chavin: While the Olmec were building their cities and becoming a complex society, a separate civilization was developing in the Andean region of South America 

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These groups were isolated from their northern cousins due to mountains, narrow coastal ranges, and defense forests posing as barriers and preventing rapid diffusion of ideas and goods from Mesoamerica o Some goods like maize, sweet potatoes, and squash, moved south Coastal valleys along the Pacific enjoyed rich alluvial soil and access to lots of marine life, which allowed for the funding of permanent settlements such as the city of Caral around 2500 BCE o Highlands of the Andes allowed for cultivation of potatoes and maize as well as domestication of llamas and alpacas to support foundation of complex societies Fall of the Chavin is attributed to internal fighting and gradual invasion; though its political unity ended, its artistic and cultural impact is seen in the following civilizations

The Mochica: Emerged in the Moche valley on the coast to the north of Chavin several hundred years after their fall  

Some scholars believe that internal political power caused major friction between the classes, breaking dynamics of trust and power and resulting in sharp economic decline o Made the state vulnerable to invasion Other theory: climactic changes made it impossible for the Mochica to survive; 30 years of continual rainfall and flooding followed by decades of drought took a major toll on the population and caused them to migrate to different regions

The Inca: Compared to its neighbors and predecessors, the Inca empire was short-lived, but was extremely powerful and influential, and was the largest empire in the Americas before the 16th century 

Origin is unclear; they are believed to have been a nomadic people who settled in the mountains of modern-day southern Peru

Geography of Civilizations in the Americas

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o According to their legend, the creator god VIracocha summoned four brothers and sisters from a cave to tell them that their wandering years would end when the found a golden rod stuck in the soil  The rod was found near Cuzco, and the Inca settled and built their city, becoming a major military competitor in the region around the mid-14th century Under the 9th Inca ruler, Pachacuti (1438-1471), the Inca defeated their rivals, the Chanca, and solidified regional power o Early conquest aimed at the agricultural lands of Lake Titicaca to the south and the former Wari state to the north  By the early 15th century, Inca rule stretched from modern-day Peru through Bolivia to Ecuador in the north and Chile and Argentina in the south o Ruled from the capital city of Cuzco, which had a population of over 100,000; they city was built on a great layout and included a palace and several temples, along with other stone buildings that might have functioned as administrative offices  Adobe buildings in the courtyard belonged to Inca nobility  Suburbs of the city included settlements for artisans and commoners, and most likely contained marketplaces and storehouses  Commoner houses stood near fields, terraces, and canals; the Inca forbade commoners to live in Cuzco  Farthest away lied royal lands with controlled laborers or serfs Inca land all belonged to the state, but each allyu had the legal right to use it o Each allyu would assign some acreage to its members based on family size; the family worked its designated land to provide its own food  Surplus could be exchanged for other goods or crops at the local market; some excess of crops was also stored in each community's warehouse, and the allyu would distribute it among widows, orphans and retired people o Main agricultural crops were potatoes, corn, tomatoes, and beans o Inca never produced a class of merchants or artisans who travelled locally or long distance to sell or buy goods and merchandise; the government distributed these commodities Inca empire was toppled by the arrival of Europeans when the Spanish, led by Francisco Pizzaro, arrived in 1532...