Early Mesoamerican societies,

1200 B.C.E.-1100 C.E.

Chapter 6: Early Societies in the Americas and Oceania

Olmecs 1200-100 BCECeremonial centers, calendar,Maize, basalt heads, ball game

Olmec Jade Ear Flares Olmec Jade Mask

Pyramid of the Moon

500 BCE – 650 CE

Pyramid of the Sun

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

The MAYA: El Mirador: 150 BCE-150CE

Danta

Tigre

La Danta from Nakbe

The MAYA: Nimli Punit 500-900CE

Tikal 500-800 CE

Palenque 500-800 CE

Tikal 500-800 CE

Mirador: El TigreVs.Central Plaza, Tikal

Lintel 24Structure 23Yaxchilan, 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

Bonampak MuralNoblewomenPiercing tongues

Sting ray spinesNeedlesThornsflints

At the height of Mayan civilization, body modification included a variety of alterations of the teeth.

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 repeatEvery 52 years = Calendar Round. Maya Long Count developed to record time over 52 years

Dresden Codex

Bonampak, Mexico

Bishop Diego de Landa:

Relacion de las cosas De Yucatan 1566

According to the Popul Vuh a book compiling details ofcreation 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

• Migration into South America c. 12000 BCE

• Climate improves c. 8000 BCE

• Largely independent from Mesoamerica

• Highly individualized due to geography

Andean Societies

Polynesia/ Oceania1500 BCE – 700 CE

Chapter 6: Early Societies in the Americas and Oceania

Theme 1: Interaction between humans and the environment

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• 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)

Theme 2: Development and interaction of cultures

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• 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 fertilityand abundant harvests), no writing

• Oceania: spread of Austronesian language, decorated pottery, outrigger canoes

Theme 3: State-building, expansion and conflict

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• Mesoamerica: Olmec :authoritarian, socially stratified, commanded large labor pool to produce basalt heads and flood control projects, managed trade systems, some evidence of militaryTeotihuacan: theocracy?, no evidence of military/conquest, politically stratified, authority overimmense 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, H&G, Lapita chiefdoms (around trade), hierarchical chiefdomsDivine or semi-divine

Theme 4: Creation, expansion and interaction of economic systems

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• Mesoamerica: trade, craft specialization, cacao currency, trade at times dominated by influenceof 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: H&G (Australia), trading and seafaring in and around New Guinea (3000BCE), outriggercanoes, domesticated animals (chickens, pigs)

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 tradeetworks became more complex and extensive

• Oceania: Australian aborigines more egalitarian