ANT 175 EXAM 3 (copy)

Highlands - Agricultural Techniques, Settlements, & Environments

- intensive agriculture
- fertile volcanic soils
- use of dry-season irrigation
- dense/nucleated populations

Lowlands (tropical forest) - Agricultural Techniques, Settlements, & Environments

- extensive agriculture
- poor/organic soils
- slash & burn-sifting agriculture
- dispersed populations

Mesoamerica climate

Tropical to subtropical with only rainy & dry seasons in a year (no winters)

Mesoamerica

- Small but very diverse region with a vertical & horizontal resource distribution
- Most of the region is covered by mountain formations while the lowlands tropics are in green
- Tropical to subtropical with only rainy & dry seasons in a year (no winters)

The Highlands

- one of the four nuclear/primary centers of agriculture in the world (the development of civilization, expensive ceremonies, and a market economy)
- diverse environments & resources
- volcanic formations which inclu
de obsidian & basalt
- supports large dense population concentrations - Characterized by rich & deep topsoils for intensive farming year-round
- Irrigation to extend farming in the dry season since prehistoric times

The Lowlands

- Tropical rainforest region, also known as the jungle
- Organic topsoils are poor & shallow & the only rock is limestone
- Extensive farming requires slash & burn agriculture, leading to small & dispersed populations
-

The Lowlands - Slash & Burn Agriculture

- continues today because of shallow & poor soil -accumulated ash temporarily increases soil fertility
- small & dispersed populations - large amounts of land needed

Highland Mesoamerica = nuclear area in the world where plants & animals were

domesticated for the first time without outside influence

other three nuclear centers (aside from Mesoamerica)

- other three centers are: Andes-Peru, Southwest Asia, and near east(?)
- rest of world considered secondary

agriculture began _________ after the __________ , replacing hunting slowly

in Mexican highlands - Pleistocene

Native American domesticates

Several plants still highly important today:

Maize
Bean
Potato
Squash
Avocado
Tomato
Cacao
Tobacco

Relative Chronology & Example of sites: Food collecting-incipient agriculture

- 1st
- Tamaulipas

Relative Chronology & Example of sites: Olmec

- 2nd
- San Lorenzo, beginning of the 4 cycles of destruction

Relative Chronology & Example of sites: Classic Maya

- 3rd
- City of Tikal

Relative Chronology & Example of sites: Teotihuacan

- 3rd
- City of Teotihuacan

Relative Chronology & Example of sites: Aztec Empire

- 4th
- Capital City of Tenochtitlan

Relative Chronology & Example of sites: Spanish Conquest

- 5th

Definition of Plant & Animal Domestication

- process of adapting plants & animals for human use (food, work work, clothing, medicine) by selecting genetic traits & characteristics through selective breeding over hundreds of generations

Unlike wild flora & fauna human-created varieties ...

Have to be cared by farmers, agriculture economy becomes the main source of food to support larger populations or civilizations - such changes permanent & detectable

Robert Bradwood's Human Nature Theory

Based on two preconditions in nuclear areas
1) Technological preconditions - use of temporary base camps leading to the beginning of sedentism, early surplus storage pits using the miling/grinding tool to process & preserve food
2) Environmental Preconditions - small and diverse areas with abundant wild plant & animal resources available for domestication

Two main theories about why agriculture began in the world

1) Robert Bradwood's Human Nature Theory
2) Lewis Binfords Population Pressure

population pressure

the sum of factors within a population that reduce the ability of an environment to support the population, therefore resulting in migration or population decline

Bone Stress

- archaeologists have discovered that following the adoption & intensification of agriculture, severe nutritional stresses began to appear in human bones
- lead to further studies to understand reasons and disadvantages of agriculture

Disadvantages of Agriculture

1) Not the most reliable type of subsistence because of unpredictable droughts, floods, frost, land pests/disease
2) Nutritional studies show that domesticate foods are not more nutritious than wild plants & animals - also less variety of domestic plants & animals than in the wild
3) Demands more time than hunting & gathering

Six nutrients

carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, water

Soon after domesticated plants & animals became widespread sources of food...

ceramic vessels were developed & used to cook, soak, and fry foods

cooked, soaked, and fried foods led to

- further reduction of nutrients
- easier consumption for infants & toothless elders

Agriculture vs Hunting & Gathering a. - Unlike farmers who work every day, hunter-gatherers work an average of

3-4 days to obtain food for one week

Agriculture vs Hunting & Gathering c. - Hunter gatherers move constantly following the seasons, while farmers have to

stay & tend to crops

Agriculture vs Hunting & Gathering d.- Hunter-gatherers share everything and do not

accumulate goods and have no concept of private property nor social classes/inequalities

Large Scale Mechanized Farming

largest quantities of production only a few domesticated varieties

Agriculture vs Hunting & Gathering b. - Hunter-gatherer populations are _________ while agricultural societies are _________-

- small, mobile, and healthy
- sedentary & exposed to parasites & infectious diseases due to crowded living conditions

Chronic Illness or Disease of Civilization

1) Atherosclerosis
2) Adult onset diabetes
3) Types of cancer
4) Hypertension
5) Emphysema
6) Obesity

35% of hunter gatherer diet

meat

65% of hunter gatherer diet

vegetables

Benefits of Agriculture

1) Agriculture increased the carrying capacity of land & supports larger populations
2) Development of and reliance on long-distance trade by full-time specialists
3) Accumulation of huge surpluses to support diverse specialists (people who specialize in jobs other than farming), social stratification, complex societies/civilizations
4) Allows full-time sedentism, and major increases in population and material culture

Lewis Binfords Population Pressure

At the end of the ice age, a temporary basecamp was used with some sedentism and increases in population

Eventually, overpopulation, malnutrition, and starvation forced them to migrate outside base camps into poor areas with more dispersed resources - taking with them some of the wild plants & animals of the base camps. Hence, domestication occurred in an attempt to recreate the natural abundance in previous base camps

Classic Maya Civilization Terrain

Tropical Forest & some in the E. Highlands

Five Major Characteristics of Civilizations/States/Complex Societies

1) Major laws, regulations, and decisions, made under a centralized authority
2)
3) states associated w/ urbanism, which refers to planned cities w/ blocks of houses along streets administrative & religious architecture, and large sedentary populations of non-food products
4) Centralized authority of the state controls/supports a large # of full time specialists
5) States usually develop as a result of agricultural economy

Olmec means

Rubber (rubber people)

What material did the Olmecs "invent"?

rubber

Most important & abundant Olmec export

Jade

Jade used for

- trading
- burial
- religious use (masks)

Obsidian common in Mesoamerican

- Highlands
- Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan Jade goods were _________ compared to that of Olmecs

- simple/less intricate
- After overthrowing Olmecs they were not accustomed to working with Jade

Olmec rainforest required

Slash & burn agriculture

Colossal heads

Olmec artwork; Likely used in rituals, served as alters; Political representations of power
- Made from Jade
- represent down syndrome features

First sports invented by

- Olmecs
- rubber balls

Olmec hieroglyphics

Haven't been able to translate until recently
First writing in New World

Olmec Religious Traditions, etc.:

Deeply religious and bulit pyramids, played games with rubber balls, built temples and pyramids to worship and remember their gods, mummified and buried kings, worshipped sun god.

Olmec Religious Centers

They were the first Mesoamericans to build large religious and ceremonial centers.

Olmec domesticates

beans, squash, chilis, maize (later staple), tomatoes

Olmec stelae

depict rulers in elaborate ritual garb, often surrounded by "flying" figures

Olmec Altar

Primarily made of basalt

Earliest Olmec settlement

San Lorenzo

Olmec Calendar

- The Olmecs combined the solar and ritual calendars. They combined these calendars to keep the king lists and historical events in chronological order.
- Long count - for periods longer than 52 years
- 260 Sacred round calendar
- 365-day Vague Year, or haab

Olmecs - Long Count Calendar

5,125 year period of time, based on the combination of Religious and Solar calendars.

Olmecs - Sacred Round Calendar

- 260 days
- ritual calendar, with 20 months of 13 days

Olmecs - 4Vague Year (Haab)

-365 days
- used for agriculture and had 18 months of 20 days and 5 "nameless" days

Olmec - Four Cycles of Destruction

- deliberately destroyed four major religious centers (smashing artifacts, burning down areas)
- Began with San Lorenzo
-Had to do with religious beliefs pertaining to life & death

The Olmec people first appeared around

12,000 BC

12 Key Native Mesoamerica Domesticates

1. maize
2. bean
3. Squash
4. Gourd
5. Chili Pepper
6. Avocado
7. Amaranth
8. Tomato
9. Chocolate
10. Cotton
11. Turkey
12. Dog

Changes in Domesticated Plants & Animals

1. Become larger
2. Have more variability
3. Can grow outside their native environment
4. Become dependent on people for survival

Mayan government

City-states ruled by a king. The king, "halach uinic" or "ahaw" was believed to have been given the right to rule by the gods.

Maya number & writing system

expansion of the hieroglyphic writing system to include events, names of places & rulers. Revising Olmec bar and dot for numbers and dots - developed concept of zero

Olmec Number System

- bar and dot system - A value of 5 is represented by a bar, and a value of 1 is represented by a dot
- large numbers & fractions written using 3 symbols and value depends on the location of numbers

Other civilization that developed concept for zero

India

What percentage of Mayan hieroglyphs have been translated?

85%

Mayan calendar system

Ceremonial Calendar:
- Days: 20x
- Numbers: 13
- Days/Year: 260

Solar Calendar:
Months: 18x
Days: 20
Total: 360 + 5 days = 365

Calendar Round:
It takes a 52 year cycle to arrive at starting point of the two calendars

The Mayan government was primarily a what?

monarchy

Mayan Farmers lived

- the Yucatán Peninsula
- the slopes of the volcanic mountains

mayan central place model

Mayan populations were

dispersed

Ceremonial calendar + solar calendar =

Calendar round and Long Count Calendar

Mayan solar calendar

- Used to measure time with 365 days, divided into 18 months with 20 days with an extra five days at the end
- Based on astronomical knowledge

Alternatives for Agriculture in Mayan Lowlands

1) Shorten follow a period of 10-20 years - a decline of soil potential
2) Use of raised in small unproductive swampy areas by raising land in rows surrounded by water
3) Partial return of collecting nuts - domesticated breadnut - Bottle Gourd used to store them

Reasons for the Mayan collapse

Ecological: Drought - not enough agricultural production to support the constantly increasing populations
Social: Agricultural failures lead to conflicts between the elite & peasants including uprisings as a result of increasing demands

The Mayan civilization lasted _____ longer than contemporary Teotihuacan civilization

200 years

Teotihuacan

A powerful city-state in central Mexico highlands (7000ft) w/ intense farming (using irrigation) Its population was about 300,000 at its peak. Oriented east of north

Teotihuacan remains

- preserved badly due to humidity in highlands & lowlands

Teotihuacan farming

used irrigation

Teotihuacan burials

Almost absent - majority of population was cremated

Reasons for growth in Teotihuacan

- was an important economic, political, & religious center
- presence of 400 obsidian workshops in the city

1) The export multiplier effect
2) The import replacement effect

Teotihuacan Features

- full-time specialists
- upper-class ceremonial architecture w murals
- Upper & lower residential areas
- public & private ceremonial pyramids
- Ethnic neighborhoods (including embassy of lowland Maya)

Teotihuacan primary export

- Obsidian (tools, axes, weapons, swords)
- Also exported by the Mayans

Reasons for growth in Teotihuacan - 1 - The Export Multiplier Effect

- more exports = more imports
- Highland exports of obsidian tools & objects into the Maya lowlands
- Import additional tropical foods from the lowland Maya area to support a large number of specialists

Reasons for growth in Teotihuacan - 2 - The Import Replacement

- eventually replaced import of jade masks by controlling sources and producing masks in the city, creating more jobs, more food imports, and a larger population

Reasons for decline of Teotihuacan

1) Competition from other highland centers for obsidian tools production
2) Decrease in labor force & subsistence/food imports
3) Deforestation need for farming & wood for cooking, causing erosion of top soil

The Aztec Empire

- The last major Mesoamerican empire prior to the Spanish. It was centered in the Valley of Mexico in Tenochtitlan. It was known for widespread human sacrifice and aggressive military conquest of those who didn't submit
- dispersed provinces paid tribute
- 11 million people
- Multi-ethnic state
- Highlands and lowlands

Spanish first contacted Aztecs in the year

1518

How many Aztec cities paying tribute/taxes

489

Aztec capital city

Tenochtitlan (now called Mexico City)

Tenochtitlan

- Capital of the Aztec Empire, located on an island in Lake Texcoco.
- Its population was about 300,000 (in 20 square miles)
- Mexico City was constructed on its ruins
- featured libraries, zoos, markets & embassies for other nations

Aztec Economy

- Widespread irrigation agriculture generated surpluses to support large & dense populations in the highlands
- conquered nations were required to pay tribute in products
- Aztec empire is the only society to use money (cocoa, small cotton textiles, & porcupine quills filled with gold dust) - counterfeit money also produced

Aztec Social Structure

Social stratification well marked & more complex than previously, including:
1) Absolute & Semi-Devine ruler
2) Nobility (rulers relatives) working as imperial administrators
3) Soldiers in special military ranks - often received land and were exempt from tribute
4) Pochteca/traveling merchants - also served as spies
5) Artisans & other specialists
6) Farmers
7) Some conquered people used as slaves (serfs) - could not be resold without consent, were treated well & achieved considerable prosperity

Aztec Social Structure - Nobility

- 2
- rulers relatives
- working as imperial administrators

Aztec Social Structure - Soldiers in special military ranks

- 3
- Seen as honorable
- often received land and exempt from tribute

Aztec Social Structure - Pochteca

- 4
- traveling merchants
- also served as spies

Aztec Social Structure - Artisans & other specialists

- 5

Aztec Social Structure - Farmers

- 6
- Irrigation