Comprehensive Study Notes on Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and South America

Chronological and Geographical Framework of Mesoamerica

• Archaic Period (8000–2000 BCE)     - Domestication of pepo and bottle gourd began around $8000\,\text{BCE}$.     - Beginnings and spread of agriculture occurred extensively between $6000\,\text{BCE}$ and $2000\,\text{BCE}$.     - Domestication of maize occurred approximately 4000\–3000\,\text{BCE}, with the earliest dated maize pollen appearing around $3500\,\text{BCE}$ and macrofossils around $3000\,\text{BCE}$.     - Domestication of beans occurred later in the Archaic, around $2000\,\text{BCE}$.     - Earliest sedentism is recorded shortly before $2000\,\text{BCE}$.

• Preclassic / Formative Period (2000 BCE–250 CE)     - Early Horizon (1200\–400\,\text{BCE}): Dominated by the Olmec culture in the Gulf Coast and related areas.     - First ball court established roughly $1500\,\text{BCE}$.     - San Jos Mogote in the Valley of Oaxaca and San Lorenzo/La Venta in the Gulf Coast were key early sites.     - Elite monuments began appearing circa $1000\,\text{BCE}$.     - Monte Alb
  n founded around $500\,\text{BCE}$.

• Classic Period (250–900 CE)     - Early Classic (250\–600\,\text{CE}): Characterized by the first Maya dynasties and the Middle Horizon (300\,\text{BCE}\–500\,\text{CE}) dominated by Teotihuac
  n.     - Late Classic (600\–900\,\text{CE}): Peak of city-states like Tikal, Cop
  n, and Palenque.     - Maya collapse occurred around 850\–900\,\text{CE}.

• Postclassic Period (900–1519 CE)     - Early Postclassic (900\–1200\,\text{CE}): Rise of Tula, Xochicalco, and Chichn Itz
  .     - Late Postclassic (1200\–1519\,\text{CE}): Late Horizon (1300\–1519\,\text{CE}) featuring the Aztec Empire (Tenochtitl
  n) and Mayapan.     - Spanish arrival and conquest (Cortez) in $1519\,\text{CE}$.

Independent Plant Domestication in Mesoamerica

• Botanical Domesticates     - Squash (Pepo), Maize, and Beans (The "Three Sisters").     - Tomatoes, Avocado, Manioc (Cassava), and Sweet potatoes.     - Chili peppers, Agave, Cacao, and Vanilla.

• Animal Domesticate: The Dog.

• Technological and Settlement Milestones     - Earliest recorded pottery: $4000\,\text{BP}$.     - Earliest sedentary agricultural villages: $3600\,\text{BP}$.

The Olmec Culture (3200\–2400\,\text{BP} / 1200\–400\,\text{BCE})

• Geography: Located primarily in the Gulf of Mexico lowlands.

• Key Sites: Tres Zapotes, San Lorenzo, and La Venta.

• Monumental Art and Architecture     - Colossal basalt heads (depicting rulers).     - Stelae: Stone slabs featuring commemorative inscriptions or scenes.     - Earthen mounds used as platforms for temples or elite structures.

• Knowledge Systems: Development of early writing and calendar systems.     - Glyphs were inscribed on stone monuments, stelae, portable clay tablets, bone, shell, and wood.     - Codices: Traditional books made of bark paper or parchment with lime plaster, enclosed within wooden covers.

The Mesoamerican Ball Game

• Site of Cop
  n: Contains one of the largest ball courts in the Classic Maya Lowlands.

• Architectural Design: Constructed in a characteristic "I" shape with sloping side walls.

• Depictions: Extensively illustrated in art, including Maya vases from $600–800\,\text{CE}$.

Teotihuacn and the Central Mexican Highlands

• Growth and Population     - $300–100\,\text{BCE}$: Initial population was approximately $20,000$ people.     - Peaked at over $85,000$ people within a few centuries, becoming the largest city in the Americas.

• Decline: A major decline occurred around $500\,\text{CE}$.

• Monte Alb
  n ($300–700\,\text{CE}$): The peak population for this Valley of Oaxaca city was approximately $25,000$ people.

Maya Civilization and Political Structure

• Chronology     - Pre-Classic: $2000\,\text{BCE}$ to $250\,\text{CE}$.     - Classic: $250$ to $900\,\text{CE}$.     - Post-Classic: $900$ to $1519\,\text{CE}$.

• Political Organization     - Consisted of 40\–50 separate kingdoms.     - Kingdoms were loosely affiliated or unified under single dominant city-centers.     - Ruled by royal lineages and "divine kings."     - Characterized by different languages, religions, and customs.

• Archaeological Methods     - LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging): Used at sites like Caracol, Belize, to reveal anthropogenic features outside the monumental core, showing the entire modified landscape.

• Key Sites: Tikal (featured in "Star Wars" 1977), Palenque, Cop
  n, Nakb, and El Mirador.

Theories on the Maya Collapse

• Data Indicators (Kennett et al., 2012)     - $\delta^{18}O$ (% VPDB): Used to track rainfall; higher values indicate drier periods, lower values indicate wetter periods.     - Total Dated Monuments: Dropped sharply during the Classic Collapse ($800–1000\,\text{CE}$).     - Inter-Polity War Index: Shows a spike in conflict leading up to and during the collapse.

• Timeline of Events     - $400–500\,\text{CE}$: Early Classic expansion.     - $650–800\,\text{CE}$: Proliferation of Late Classic sites.     - $760\,\text{CE}$: Early Maya Lowland fragmentation.     - $800–900\,\text{CE}$: Core Maya Lowland Collapse.     - $1040–1100\,\text{CE}$: Chichen Itza collapse.

• Climatic Factors: Historic droughts and famines correlate with the southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).

The Aztec Empire (The Mexica)

• Capital: Tenochtitl
  n, located on an island in Lake Texcoco in the Basin of Mexico, connected to the mainland by causeways.

• Governance: Unified a large area previously controlled by over $400$ distinct polities. Rulers enforced a tribute system on controlled populations.

• Spanish Conquest     - Hern
  n Cortez and $500$ soldiers entered Tenochtitl
  n in $1519\,\text{CE}$.     - Control was fully assumed by $1521\,\text{CE}$.     - Most of Mesoamerica was under Spanish control by $1550\,\text{CE}$.

• Archaeology of Mexico City: Much of the capital remains buried under modern Mexico City.     - Tlaltecuhtli Sculpture: A $12\text{-metric-ton}$ ($13\,\text{US tons}$) monolithic sculpture found in $2006$ near the Templo Mayor. It represents the goddess of beginnings and endings and likely dates to the reign of Ahuitzotl (c. $1502\,\text{CE}$).

Chronological Framework of South America (The Andes and Amazonia)

• Preceramic Period ($14,000–3800\,\text{cal BP}$)     - Pleistocene and transition to Holocene.     - Domestication of llamas and alpacas ($4000\,\text{BP}$).     - Cultivation of quinoa and potatoes.     - Important sites: Las Vegas, Nanchoc, Bandurria ($5200\,\text{cal BP}$).

• Initial Period ($1800–900\,\text{BCE}$)     - Invention and spread of ceramics ($4500\,\text{BP}$ for earliest pottery).     - Sites: Caral ($4400\,\text{BP}$), Sechin Alto.

• Early Horizon ($900–200\,\text{BCE}$)     - Dominated by Chavin de Huantar.

• Early Intermediate Period ($200\,\text{BCE}–600\,\text{CE}$ / $2200–1400\,\text{BP}$)     - Rise of regional cultures: Moche, Nazca, Recuay.

• Middle Horizon ($600–1000\,\text{CE}$)     - Influence of the Wari and Tiwanaku states.

• Late Intermediate Period ($1000–1438\,\text{CE}$)     - Period of regional kingdoms like the Chimu (Chan Chan).

• Late Horizon ($1438–1532\,\text{CE}$)     - The Inka Empire ($Tawantinsuyu$).

South American Domesticates

• Plant Domesticates: Bottle gourd, Potato, Quinoa, Tomato, Lima bean, Peanut, Chili peppers.

• Animal Domesticates     - Llama ($4000\,\text{BP}$ tentatively).     - Alpaca ($4000\,\text{BP}$ tentatively).     - Guinea pig ($8000–4500\,\text{BP}$).     - Muscovy duck and Dog.

• Settlement Milestones: Earliest sedentary agricultural villages appeared around $3600\,\text{BP}$.

Early Monumental Sites: Caral and Sechin

• Caral (Supe Valley, Peru)     - Dates to $4400\,\text{BP}$.     - Located on the desert coast; supported by Pacific Ocean fisheries and irrigation agriculture in river valleys.     - Major Pyramid: A $1.6\,\text{ha}$, $18\text{-m}$ high massive rectangular structure with a sunken circular court.     - Construction: Stone masonry walls with shicra (woven reed bags filled with stones) fill.

• Cerro Sechin ($3800–2400\,\text{BP}$): Monumental site on the north coast.

• El Paraso ($3800\,\text{BP}$): Monumental site on the central coast.

• Garagay: Known for bas-relief clay friezes of "monster gods."

The Kotosh Religious Tradition

• Definition: Coined by Burger and Salazar to describe ritual architecture across sites like Kotosh, Huaricoto, and La Galgada.

• Ritual Architecture     - Enclosed rooms with superimposed hearths used for burned offerings.     - Presence of ventilation channels to provide oxygen to the fires.     - Hierarchy of Sites: Differences in scale, technology, and labor investment between sites like Kotosh and Huaricoto suggest a hierarchy of ritual importance established in the Late Preceramic.

• Specific Temple at Kotosh: Templo de las Manos Cruzadas (Temple of the Crossed Hands).

Chav
n de Huantar ($1200–500\,\text{BCE}$)

• Location: Situated at $3180\,\text{masl}$ in the Mosna River Valley, a tributary of the Maranon and Amazon rivers.

• Monumental Art     - Raimondi Stela: Elaborate stone carving.     - Tello Obelisk: Depicts Caymans (crocodiles) with sprouting plants (peanuts, chilis, manioc, bottle gourd, marine shells). The cayman is associated with the "amaru," Quechua for dragon.     - El Lanzn: Granite shaft depicting a feline deity; considered the first oracle in the Andes.

• Religious and Social Features     - Underground passageways with unique acoustic properties.     - Clear depictions and artifacts relating to psychoactive plants, specifically the San Pedro cactus.     - Evidence of social hierarchy: Finer foods and exotic materials in certain sectors of the site.

• Pilgrimage Center: "Gallery of the Offerings" contained pottery from distant valleys (Casma, Jequetepeque, Cajamarca). Marine shells from Ecuador and obsidian from libraries over $1000\,\text{km}$ away indicate wide reach.

Moche and Coastal Societies

• Moche Culture ($200\,\text{BCE}–600\,\text{CE}$)     - Split into Northern and Southern Moche zones.     - Famous for realistic ceramic depictions of animals and humans.     - Elite Burials: Sipatn (Lord of Sipatn) and El Brujo (Seora de Cao).     - Sites: Pampa Grande, Huaca de la Cruz, Galindo.

• Paracas to Nasca Transition     - Paracas Necropolis: Elite cemetery on the Paracas peninsula with mummy bundles placed in flat baskets with gold and feathers.     - Over $430$ bundles found in a subterranean structure.     - Nasca Culture: Characterized by the construction of the "Nazca lines" and a shift in artistic medium from colorful textiles (Paracas) to colorful pottery (Nasca) over approximately $150\,\text{years}$.

Middle Horizon States: Tiwanaku and Wari

• Tiwanaku (Bolivia)     - A $6\,\text{km}^2$ complex south of Lake Titicaca.     - Population estimated at $15,000–20,000$ people.     - Features megalithic architecture and the Kalasasaya, a $20\,\text{m} \times 130\,\text{m}$ platform with a western "Balconera" wall serving as a solar calendar.

• Wari State     - Influence spread through the central Andes.     - Known for andenes (terraced agriculture), such as those in the Colca Valley.     - Brewery at Cerro Bal: Excavated complex with milling, boiling, and fermentation rooms. Used to produce Chicha using Schinus molle berries (pink peppercorns) and purple corn.

Late Intermediate and Inka Empire

• Chan Chan (Chimu Capital)     - Largest city in the New World at $20\,\text{km}^2$.     - Population of $30,000–40,000$ inhabitants.

• The Inka Empire ($1000–1532\,\text{CE}$)     - Population of $9–13\,\text{million}$ people across $4000\,\text{km}$.     - Infrastructure: Over $40,000\,\text{km}$ of roads (Qhapaq 
  an).     - Labor Systems: Mitma system of forced re-settlement.     - Capital: Cuzco, containing the Sacsayhuaman stonework and the Coricancha (Golden Temple).     - Ritual Practices: Capacocha or child sacrifices performed on major mountain peaks.     - Key Sites/Estates         - Ollantaytambo: Royal estate of Pachacuti; later a resistance capital.         - Moray: Circular agricultural terraces used as an experimental station, with a temperature differential of up to $15^{\circ}\,\text{C}$ between top and bottom.         - Machu Picchu: Built circa $\text{CE}\,1450$ as a royal estate for Pachacuti.         - Salineras de Maras: Traditional salt mines used by the Inka.