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Chapter 11: PEOPLES AND CIVILIZATION OF THE AMERICAS, 600-1500 __Classic-Era Culture and Society in Mesoamerica, 600-900__ // Teotihuacan  // **Tiotihuacan**- powerful city state in central Mexico (100 BCE-750 CE) -northeast of modern Mexico City -(peak at 600 c.e.) population of 150,000 -architecture aligned w/ sacred mountains and reflected movement of stars -pyramids for Sun and Moon -pottery and obsidian tools Chinampas- narrow articial islands along lakeshores or in marshes -year-round agriculture 650 c.e.- unclear decline

// The Maya // ** Maya ** - Mesoamerican civilization concentrated in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and in Guatemala and Honduras but never unified into a single empire -present Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and S. Mexico -swidden agriculture (slash and burn agriculture) -used up soil caused migration to fertile land -Tropical climate & fragile soil -Irrigation for dry seasons and terraced hillsides in highlands -Household gardens -Pyramids and palaces surrounding plazas for religious and political rituals -3 layers connected along vertical axis tracing course of sun -Mesoamerican calendar (ritual and solar), mathematics, and writing -Maya military forces to gain captives for sacrifice instead of territory -2 women ruled- played vital political and religious roles: household economy, healers, shamans, maintaining garden plots, weaving, and family management -(800-900) centers were abandoned/ destroyed -proposition of disease =__ The Postclassic Period in Mesoamerica, 900-1500 __=

// The Toltecs //
**-Toltecs**- Powerful postclassic empire in central Mexico (900-1168 CE). Influenced much of Mesoamerica. Aztecs claimed ties to this earlier civilization -expanded political influence from north of modern Mexico City to C. America -(968 CE) capital Tula -violent warlike decorations -dominated central Mexico -two chieftains/kings ruled together -could’ve weakened Toltec power -Topiltzin exiled -one of the rulers and priest of cult of Quetzalcoatl -(1156 CE) declination and N. invaders

// The Aztecs //
**­**-**Aztecs**- (aka Mexica) created powerful empire in central Mexico (1325-1521 CE) -forced defeated people to provide goods and labor as a tax -relocated to shore of Lake Texcoco -twin capitals (Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco) -**Tenochtitlan**- capital of Aztec Emprie, located on an island in Lake Texcoco. -Population on eve of Spanish conquest was 150,000 -Mexico City constructed on its ruins -twin temple devoted to gods -canals and streets intersected at right angles with three causeways connecting city to lakeshore -council of aristocrats selected rulers from male members of ruling lineage -rulers renegotiated submission of tribute dependences and new military conquests -clans maintained common ritual life and civic responsibilities and fought as military units -elite classes had elaborate rituals and ceremonies to distance themselves from lower classes (ex. Montezuma) -two story houses, healthy diet, luxurious items, polygamous -commoners lived in small areas, limited diet, and were monogamous -difficulty feeding 150,000 -construction of dike -**tribute system** - system in which defeated peoples were forced to pay a tax in the form of goods and labor. This forced transfer of food, cloth, and other goods financially supported large city developments. Important component in Aztec and Inca economies -merchants controlled long distance trade but denied privileges of high nobility -preferable war captives were sacrificial victims =__ Northern Peoples __=

// Southwestern Desert Cultures //
-Hohokam sites had platform mounds and ball courts -(1000 CE) irrigation system -**Anasazi**- Important culture of what is now the SW. United States (1000-1300 CE). Centered on Chaco Canyon in New Mexico and Mesa Verde in Colorado, culture built multistory residences and worshipped in underground buildings (kivas) -(600 CE) economy based on maize, beans, and squash -kivas used for weaving, pottery making, and religious rituals -one of largest communities located in Chaco Canyon in NW. New Mexico -women worked in agriculture, crafts, food preparations, and childcare -abandonment could’ve been caused by drought -lasted in Four Corners region for more than a century -Colorado Plateau and Arizona’s settlements were built in natural caves above valley floors

// Mound Builders: The Mississippian Culture //
-depended on hunting and gathering -**chiefdom**- form of political organization ruled by a hereditary leader who held power over a collection villages and towns. Less powerful than kingdoms and empires, chiefdoms were based on gift giving and long distance trade -improved economy= population increase and social stratification -major towns were trade centers -Cahokia located near modern city of East St. Louis, Illinois -largest mound with population of 20,000 (1200 CE) -location permitted long distance canoe-based commercial exchange -(1250 CE) abandonment caused by military defeat/ civil war -flourished until Europeans’ arrival =__ Andean Civilizations, 600-1500 __= -lived in high attitudes of S. America

// Cultural Response to Environmental Challenge //
-fishing, irrigated maized fields, grains and tubers, and maize -coastal regions suffered from droughts or irrigation clogged w/ shifting sand -250-300 frosts per year -used calendar to time planting and used climate to produce freeze-dried products to prevent famine -domesticated llama and alpaca -**khipus**- system of knotted colored cords used by preliterate Andean peoples to transmit information -irrigation, drainage, road building, urban construction, and textile production -**ayllu**- Andean lineage group/ kin-based community -members provided labor and goods to hereditary chief -**mit’a**- Andean labor system based on shared obligations to help kinsmen and work on behalf of ruler and religious organizations -maintained building projects, produced ritual goods (maize and coca) -men worked in hunting, military, and govt. -women worked in textile, agriculture, and home -coastal regions produced maize, fish, and cotton -mountain valleys produced quinoa, potatoes, and tubers -high attitudes provided wool and meat -Amazonian region had coca and fruits -marriage and ritual linked colonists

// Moche //
-**Moche**- civilization of N. coast of Peru (200-700 CE). Vital Andean civilization that built irrigation networks with urban centers dominated by brick temples -no formal empire or unified political structure -grew maize, quinoa, beans, manioc, and sweet potatoes -irrigation system maintained by mit’a labor -alpacas and llamas transport goods, had meat for diet, and provided wool for textile production -elites lived on large platforms at Moche ceremonial centers and had luxury items such as tall headdresses and gold jewelry -commoners: both genders worked in agricutlture, llama caring, and householding economy while living in one-room buildings on outskirts of city surrounded by agriculture -both female elites and commoners worked in textile producution -decline caused by earthquake (changed Moche river course), flooding in urban centers, 30 year drought, erosions damaging fields

// Tiwanaku and Wari //
-**Tiwanaku**- capital city and empire centered in Lake Titicaca near modern Bolivia 375-1000 CE)  -vast drainage projects with a diet of llamas, potatoes, and corn  -llamas helped in trading to bring in corn, coca, tropical fruits, and medicinal plants  -pyramids, walled enclosures, and reservor  -copper alloy tools and human statuary  -**Wari**- Andean civilization culturally linked to Tiwanak, perhaps beginning as Tiwanaku’s colony  -(1000 CE) both declined

// The Inca //
-**Inca**- Largest and most powerful Andean empire. Controlled the Pacific coast of S. America from Ecuador to Chile with capital of Cuzco -(1530) Cuzco’s population was 30,000 -(1525) population of 6 million -stretched from Maule River in Chile to N. Ecuador and from Andes’ Pacific coast to upper Amazon, and into Argentina -influenced by traditional Andean customs -Andeans used state power to expand exchange system to permit allyus to exploit ecological niches range -llamas and alpacas for food, clothing, and transportation -women weaved and men traded long distance -each allyu had 1/7 of male population to create material surplus to provide for those who weren’t fit -built and maintained irrigation, storage facilities, and roads -allyus’ hereditary chiefs maintained administrative and judicial functions -hostage taking and military garrisons to defend from rebellions -defeated regions’ heirs sent to live in Cuzco -royal family claimed descent from the Sun -each ruler had to extend boundaries with warfares -city laid out in shape of a puma -center were palaces of each ruler with richest as being Temple of the Sun -increased economic output -(1525) Huayna Capac (Incan ruler) died and power was undecided between two sons -caused civil war which weakened institutions and caused resentment from people =__ Conclusion __= -enviroment influenced cultural development -trading and mutual labor to survive in unsuitable climate and environment (ex. Moche) -capitals used as cultural and political centers -Aztec and Inca created militarily -Aztecs used military to force defeated peoples for labor and tribute  -near Europeans’ arrival, internal and external conflicts occurred