• Topics:
• Before 1000 CE
• Questions:
• What conditions shaped human societies in the Western Hemisphere? (see today’s readings!)
• Where and when did the first civilizations emerge?
• How do they compare with the ancient empires of Eurasia?
• What characterized Maya civilization? What led to its collapse?
Lecture 25:Civilizations of the Western Hemisphere
Humans and the Environment
12,000 BCE Humans cross landbridge to Western Hemisphere
8500 BCE Domestication of beans & peppers (& tubers) in Andes
7000 BCE Extinction of larger animal species
5500-2000 BCE Villages & regional centers in coastal Andes
4200 BCE Domestication of camelids in Andes
3000 BCE Domestication of cotton in Andes
2000-1500 BCE Agriculture in Mesoamerica
by 1600 BCE Villages, regional centers, pottery throughout Mesoamerica
Early Andean Civilizations
Ceramic from Moche (ca. 300-700 CE)
• Flexible exploitation of coast, river, & mountains
• Large-scale ceremonial architecture
• Along coast after 2800 BCE
• Lake Titicaca region after 1000 BCE
• Regional organization around Chavin, 500-200 BCE
• 200 BCE - 600 CE: Early civilizations
• 600-1250 CE: Huari Empire & Chimu Kingdom
No writing
Tiwanaku
• Large, planned capital (pop. 30,000-60,000)
• Monumental architecture
• Raised-field agriculture
• Camelid herding
• Distinctive, sophisticated pottery
No writing 100-1000 CE
Mesoamerica
The Olmec (1350-400 BCE)
600-250 BCEcomplex regional societies
emerge beyond Olmec heartland
250 BCE - 250 CEpopulation increase in Basin of Mexico,
Oaxaca Valley, and Maya Lowlands
“Preclassic” Maya civilization
• Large regional centers (four known, incl. La Venta)
• Monumental architecture
• Mobilization of labor
• Social stratification (aristocracy)
• Long-distance trade (jade, obsidian, cacao, concave mirrors)
• Sophisticated art (sculpture, jewelry=craftsmanship)
Teotihuacan
200 BCE 2,000 ppl
100 CE 60,000
550 CE 125,000
Religious, economic, political center
Political & military domination of neighboring regions
Supported by trade & raised-field or irrigation agriculture
Zapotecs: dominate Oaxaca Valley from Monte Alban
“Grand Plaza” at Tikal
The Maya
Pop. 80,000 in 750 CE
Maya Empire
• Water storage & wetland agriculture
• Religiously sanctioned aristocracy
• Monumental architecture
• Temples & palaces
• Fortifications
• Specialized craftsmen
• Administrators
• Long-distance trade
• Military organization
Mural from Bonampak Vase painting
Maya Civilization
Jade vessel
Carved door lintel
Maya Glyphs
Aristocratic inscriptions
No administrative or economic records
Logographic + phonetic = Syllabic
Sculpture, Painting, Books
Elaborate calendrical system
+ Zero-based calendar
(base date = 3114 BCE)
Flourished 250-900 CE
Inscription about Smoking Frog of Tikal, 416 CE
Decline of Maya Civilization
• Elite (non-productive) grows from 5% to 25% of population
• Demand for luxuries = long-distance trade & specialized artisans
• Petty wars between cities and regions
• Monumental construction projects
• Too many people working land too intensively
• Malnutrition increases morbidity
• 840 CE: long-term drought triggers massive collapse
Internal collapse:Overextend beyond agricultural base
Population decreases by 85%
