Week 2 -- Chp 1 -- p. 3-17 -- HIST 105 -- Latin America in Colonial Times -- Matthew Restall, Kris Lane -- Second edition, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2018 -- Cambridge University Press

Title: Latin America in Colonial Times
Authors: Matthew Restall, Pennsylvania State University; Kris Lane, Tulane University, Louisiana.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press.

The perspective of Native Americans during early Spanish invasion is largely negative and reflects prejudices.
- Example: A Dominican friar wrote letters that described Native Americans as lacking morals and intelligence.
Europeans often referred to Native Americans as "indios" based on Columbus's misconceptions of their identity.
The chapter illustrates the diversity of pre-colonial Native American cultures to counteract the homogeneous view assigned by Europeans.
A timeline is presented to provide historical milestones, such as:
- Migration across land bridges (12,000 BC)
- Development of sedentary societies in major regions (6000-3000 BC)
- Rise of great civilizations in Mesoamerica and the Andes (200 BC-AD 1300).

Human migration into the Americas began over 20,000 years ago across a land bridge from Asia.
By 12,000 years ago, small bands of hunters inhabited the Americas.
The land bridge to Asia was closed due to rising sea levels at the end of the Ice Age.
Despite some early contacts (e.g., Vikings), most historians agree that Native American civilizations developed in isolation until the Spanish conquest.

Native civilizations, such as the Maya and Inca, were highly sophisticated with monumental architecture and rich cultures.
Mesoamerican civilizations such as the Maya and Mexica featured:
- Domesticated crops (maize, beans, squash)
- Complex social structures
- Religious practices that included human sacrifices.
Andean civilizations (Inca) developed innovative agricultural techniques and complex trade networks.

Early European travelers viewed Native Americans through a lens of cultural mythology and negative stereotypes.
Common misconceptions included:
- Cannibalistic practices of the Mexica (Aztecs)
- Images of mythical creatures and societies from early accounts.
Many theories didn't recognize Native Americans as capable of sophisticated civilization built independently from European influence.

Cultural Practices
- Monumental architectures (pyramids in Mesoamerica vs. U-shaped temples in Andes).
- Extensive religious practices were pivotal in both societies.
- Mesoamerican writing was more complex compared to the Andean quipus, a system of knotted strings used for record-keeping.

Intensive agriculture through advanced techniques in both regions.
Societies exhibited hierarchical structures based on economic output and social engineering.
Calendrical knowledge and astronomical understanding played significant roles in planting and religious calendars.

Discovery of almost 1,600 ancient ball courts signifies cultural centrality of the game.
The ritualistic value of the ball games to the Mexica reflects deeper social values of competition and duality.

Insights into sacrificial rituals practiced in Andean cultures, particularly in relation to agriculture and politics.
Complexity in burials and treatment of mummies indicates deep reverence for ancestors and those deceased.

Classification of Native American societies into:
- Concentrated sedentary societies (empire builders)
- Segmented sedentary societies (smaller polities)
- Semisedentary (moderate agricultural reliance)
- Nonsedentary (nomadic hunters).
Population estimates show roughly 65 million Native Americans at time of European contact.