Pre-Columbian American Civilizations
Pre-Columbian America Recommended Supplemental Resources
To further study the Pre-Columbian era, the following media and educational resources are recommended: - "What happened to the Aztecs?" - History Channel - "Crash Course US History #1" - Introduction to the Mexica - "SmartHistory Threads that Speak: The Inca Quipu" - "The Mayan Creation Myth" - "The Aztec Creation Myth" - "The Inca Creation Myth" - "Khan Academy - The Early Americas" - "Khan Academy - Aztec and Inca"
Early Human Migrations to the Americas
Current archaeological and historical data suggest three distinct waves of migration of the first Americans from Asia and Australia: - 1st Migration (– BCE): The earliest movement of humans into the North and South American continents. - 2nd Migration (c. – BCE): A subsequent wave likely following different paths or utilizing coastal routes. - 3rd Migration (c. – BCE): The final major early migration period.
Geographically, these migrations spanned across ASIA, NORTH AMERICA, SOUTH AMERICA, and AUSTRALIA.
Common Misconceptions and Historical Myths
There are five primary misconceptions and "outright lies" regarding Pre-Columbian societies that persist in modern narratives: - The "Noble Savage": The false belief that Native Americans were merely uncivilized Hunter-Gatherers (H/G’s) and that Europeans were biologically or culturally "meant" to "settle" the land and "civilize" the individuals they referred to as "heathens." - The "Unspoiled Wilderness": The romanticized idea that the Americas were an untouched "Garden of Eden" where natives lived in perfect harmony with nature, devoid of war or internal strife. - The "Promised Land": The myth that the Americas were simply waiting to be claimed by Europeans and that Native Americans willingly resettled or removed themselves from the land to accommodate colonizers. - The "Thanksgiving Myth": The generalized narrative that Native Americans welcomed Europeans with open arms and lived peacefully side-by-side without conflict. - The "Returning God Myth": The theory that many native civilizations offered no resistance to Europeans because they believed the newcomers were gods or possessed mystical powers.
General Characteristics of North American Civilizations
Native North Americans comprised four major geographical groups: Eastern Woodlands, Southern Mound-Builders, Southwestern Pueblo, and Plains.
Agriculture and Subsistence: - Most groups were agricultural societies that domesticated plants and animals. - Core crops included beans, squash, and maize, collectively known as "The Three Sisters." - Plains groups were the exception, functioning as nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists and Hunter-Gatherers.
Trade and Logistics: - Large-scale regional trade networks existed, primarily centered around the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. - Travel was conducted mainly by foot traffic. - Due to a lack of large domesticated "pack animals," there was very little use for the wheel in North America.
Government and Social Structure: - Societies featured complex governments and social hierarchies. - Women enjoyed higher levels of independence compared to their European counterparts, participating in government and decision-making; some societies even utilized matriarchal power structures. - Less centralized governments generally led to less specialization of labor.
Cultural Output: - Monumental architecture was present, particularly among the Mound Builders. - There was very little written language used, which has resulted in less long-lasting cultural output than other global civilizations.
The Eastern Woodlands
Housing: Individuals lived in longhouses, which were between – long and housed between – families.
Subsistence and Trade: Members of these tribes hunted for survival and farmed the "Three Sisters" (maize, beans, squash). They traded extensively in animal furs and skins, which functioned as a form of currency.
Governance and Social Order: - Societies functioned as chieftains with power based on kinship through maternal lineage, though men held most explicit positions of power. - Around AD, the Iroquois tribes united to form a Grand Council. - Each individual tribe had a representative chosen by the tribe’s elder women. - The Grand Council met annually and during emergencies to resolve disputes between tribes, representing the first form of republicanism in the Americas.
Southeastern Mound Builders
Tribes: This group included the Cherokee, Hopewell, Mississippian, Chickasaw, and Seminole tribes.
Trade and Economy: While they survived on farming, they traded extensively. Evidence of goods originating from Mexico and Central America has been found in Hopewell cities. These groups developed cottage industries including cotton cloth, furs, and jewelry made of gold and obsidian.
Social and City Structure: - Functioned as chieftains but were more patriarchal than Eastern tribes. - Cities were larger and more developed, featuring a higher degree of specialization of labor and cultural output; some tribes even developed writing systems. - Cahokia: Located in modern-day St. Louis, this was the largest city in North America. - They built massive earth burial mounds that were greater in size than many Egyptian pyramids. - They utilized the Mississippi River for north-south trade, which connected the mainland to Caribbean canoe trade networks.
The Plains Civilizations
Tribes: Major independent tribes included the Kiowa, Sioux, Comanche, Apache, and Cheyenne.
Subsistence: Although they utilized some farming, their primary food source was migrating herds of buffalo. They utilized every part of the animal: - Meat: Food. - Bones: Tools. - Skins: Clothing and shelter.
Lifestyle: They were mainly nomadic with very few permanent cities and minimal specialized labor. They lived in teepees, which were easily movable shelters that could be assembled and disassembled quickly to follow buffalo herds.
Southwestern Pueblo Civilizations
Tribes: Included the Navajo, Pueblo, and Hopi. The largest known civilization was the Anasazi (500–1200 CE).
Technology and Architecture: - The environment was mainly arid. To survive, they built massive canals for irrigation and drinking water. - Irrigation water was used to make mud bricks, which were sun-baked to create adobe, their primary building material.
Governance: Smaller tribes functioned as chieftains with patriarchal kinship, while larger civilizations like the Anasazi functioned more like monarchies.
Trade and Labor: Because the land was less suitable for agriculture, there was much less specialization of labor, and these groups were not strongly integrated into regional trade networks.
The Mayan Civilization
Timeline and Expansion: Evidence of Mayan culture dates back as far as BCE. They grew into a massive empire in Southern Mexico and Guatemala through military conquest of neighboring tribes.
Political Structure: There was no unified central government; the Maya consisted of independent city-states. Each city was ruled by a king who claimed to be a descendant of the gods, assisted by nobles and priests, with artisans and peasant farmers at the bottom.
Urban Centers: Major cities like Palenque and Tikal housed nearly people. Cities included central temples, markets, palaces, businesses, and sports arenas.
Social Life and Religion: - Society was mainly patriarchal, though women played roles in agriculture and specific industries. - Religion was polytheistic, with gods ranked by importance. - All gods required human sacrifice to be appeased. Without sacrifice, gods would become offended and bring bad fortune. - Sacrifices were typically high-ranking nobles or priests captured from neighboring city-states during constant wars for resources and slaves.
Academic Achievements: - Developed a base 20 numerical system used for complex geometry and algebra. - Expert astronomers and architects; their largest temples exceed . - Created two separate calendars: a religious calendar to interpret signs from the gods and a practical calendar with exactly days (more accurate than European calendars of that era). - Developed a written language (pictographic/alphabetic) written on stone or tree bark folded like an accordion. Most examples were destroyed by the Spanish.
Decline: The civilization suddenly and violently disappeared around CE due to a combination of invasion, volcanic eruption, and the overuse of water resources.
The Aztec Civilization
Origin and Geography: The Aztecs migrated to the region of Lake Texcoco in CE. They built their capital, Tenochtitlan, on islands within the lake.
Urban Planning: - Connected islands with stone roads, bridges, and massive canals. - Created "floating gardens" (artificial islands) for large-scale agriculture. - When Europeans arrived in , Tenochtitlan housed between and people.
Governance: Ruled by an militaristic emperor supported by nobles and priests. Conquered tribes were granted autonomy in exchange for tribute.
Economy: Professional merchants called pochteca managed trade networks extending from the southwestern US to Panama. Spanish explorer Cortes noted that markets in Tenochtitlan were larger and richer than those in Madrid.
Social Expectations: Men were expected to work or farm by their early teens. Women were expected to marry early, maintain the household, and produce trade goods.
Religion: Polytheistic belief that good and evil gods were in constant battle. Human sacrifices—purchased slaves or war captives—were practiced to replenish the strength of good gods to prevent the world's destruction.
Deities of the Aztec: - Coatlicue: "Lady of the Serpent Skirt," the earth goddess. - Huitzilopochtli: "Hummingbird of the South," the god of sun and war. - Ometecuhtli: "Dual Lord," the creator god. - Quetzalcoatl: "Feathered Serpent," the god of twins and learning. - Tezcatlipoca: "Lord of the Smoking Mirror," the god of the night sky. - Tlaloc: "Growth-maker," the god of rain and fertility. - Xipe Totec: "Flayed Lord," the god of vegetation, torture, and sacrifice.
Conquest: Hernan Cortes destroyed the empire using gunpowder, steel weapons, and alliances with rival tribes, alongside the spread of disease. Modern-day Mexico City was built upon the ruins.
The Inca Civilization
Expansion: A small mountainous kingdom that expanded across the Andes between the and centuries CE. It was highly centralized and bureaucratic.
Government Control: - Ruled by an emperor (descendant of the Sun) and a female consort (descendant of the Moon). - Proscribed male military service at age , resulting in an army of over . - The Mita: A system of forced labor where citizens worked for the government for at least weeks per year. - Regulated marriage (must marry within tribe/class) and job assignments. - Practiced cultural imperialism by taking sons of conquered tribes to the capital, Cuzco, for education in Inca traditions. Their language, Quechua, remains the 3rd most spoken language in South America.
Sacrificial Practices: Unlike the Maya or Aztecs, the Inca performed highly planned sacrifices of children (ages or ). It was considered an honor; only the healthiest and most beautiful children were chosen. They were treated to a lavish life for two years, then given a feast and alcohol before being killed quickly and humanely on a mountaintop ritual temple.
Engineering and Agriculture: - Utilized terrace farming and raised-land farming (checkerboard-style platforms) to maximize water conservation. - Built over of roads with rest stations and storage depots. - Designed the first suspension bridges, pontoon bridges, and pulley systems for moving goods. - Quipu: A system of knotted strings used to record numbers and transactions in the absence of a written language.
Conquest: In the , Francisco Pizarro invaded. He captured the emperor Atahualpa and demanded a ransom of one room () filled with gold once and silver twice. After the ransom was paid, Pizarro strangled Atahualpa and captured Cuzco with men and small cannons.