Western Civilization Flashcards

Native American History

First Inhabitants

• Native peoples were the first inhabitants of North America, predating European arrival.
• Native American civilizations existed concurrently with the construction of the Egyptian pyramids.

Challenges in Studying Native Peoples

• A primary challenge is the lack of documentary evidence, such as clay tablets found in early Sumeria.
• Most American Indian societies, especially in the continental United States, did not possess a written language.
• Consequently, there are no books, letters, or journals for study, but evidence remains to provide insights.

Theories of Arrival in the Western World

• Biblical accounts suggest a unified population dispersed after the Tower of Babel.
• Two main theories explain Native American migration:
  • Bering Strait Theory: Early humans migrated from Asia to North America via a land bridge (Beringia) during the last ice age.
  • Pacific Ocean Theory: Some Native Americans may have crossed the Pacific Ocean from Asia by boat, possibly using skills passed down from Noah.

Mesoamerican Cultures

Early Mesoamerica

• Mesoamerican cultures date back to 2000-1500 BC, with hunter-gatherers cultivating maize.
• The great Maya civilization arose from these early tribes.

The Olmecs

• One of the earliest Mesoamerican civilizations and a precursor to the Maya and Aztec.
• Thrived from approximately 1200 to 400 BC.
• Established a settlement west of the Yucatan Peninsula, in modern-day Veracruz and Tabasco.
• Olmec means "rubber people," named by other natives for their rubber creation using rubber tree materials.
  • Rubber was a commonly traded good.
  • San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Laguna de los Cerros were significant centers.
  • La Venta became the capital around 900 BC after San Lorenzo's decline.

Features of Olmec Civilization

• Colossal stone heads depicting Olmec rulers, standing up to ten feet tall.
• Jade was used for sculpted images, such as the Kunz Axe, a jade sculpture of a man-like creature.
• Religion involved deities (names unknown) and apex predators; deities may have morphed into frightening animals.
• The Olmecs created a feathered snake god, which the Maya transformed into Kukulkan.
• Cultural traits included city formation, writing, and monumental structures.

The Maya

Geography

• Maya civilization emerged around AD 300, spanning the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, and Honduras.
• The region was divided into Highlands and Lowlands.
  • Highlands provided jade and other precious materials.
  • Lowlands provided food like rabbits and rodents.
  • The Lowlands were suitable for growing maize, cacao, beans, and peppers.

Terminology

• Mayan refers to the Maya language group, while Maya is the correct term for the people.

Government

• The Maya were a collection of city-states connected by language, culture, and trade, named after Mayapan.
• Notable city-states included Uxmal, Tikal, and Chichen Itza.
• The Yucatan Peninsula contained over forty cities.
• Each city had its own monarchs; Ahau became common around AD 250.
• Kings established a divine right monarchy, believing their reign was attributed to deities.
• The king led the army and religious rituals.
• Local nobility administrators ruled subordinate cities, while other residents focused on agriculture.

Maya Culture

• Fascination with the sky; stars and planets were believed to reveal their deities.
• Celestial movements were interpreted as interactions with the Maya people.
• The Sun and Moon were deities, and many Maya claimed to be their descendants.
• They studied the sun's and moon's movements to predict eclipses.
• Venus was associated with war and determining battles, enemy sacrifices, seasons, and weather patterns, aiding in planning agricultural systems.

Maya Math

• Required patience of astronomers and mathematicians to calculate planet and star movement.
• Understood the concept of zero and used three symbols: dot (one), bar (five), shell (zero).

The Calendar

• Used mathematical symbols for trade and astronomy.
• Accurate calendars were common; they used two calendars: the Haab and the Tzolkin.
• The Haab: 365 days divided into 18 months.
• The Tzolkin: 260 days divided into 13 periods.
• The Long Calendar tracked a cycle of 2,880,000 days, ending on December 21, 2012, leading to speculation about the end of the world.

Building Monumental Structures

• Kukulkan temple (El Castillo) stands at 98 feet high and 180 feet wide, topped by a shrine to the feathered serpent.
• Kukulkan is believed to visit during spring and autumn equinoxes; the temple was designed to resemble a serpent gliding down stairs.

System of Writing

• Unique system with over 100 glyphs representing words and sounds.
• Syllables represented by multiple glyphs read in a zigzag pattern.
• Found in Mexican caves and on jade, stone, and wooden objects.
• Four codices: Paris Codex, Madrid Codex, Grolier Codex, Dresden Codex.
• Dresden Codex is best-preserved, detailing Maya gods, dates, and historical accounts.

Decline and Fall of the Maya

• In 900, the Maya civilization reached a peak.
• Theories for the collapse: earthquakes, diseases, warfare, or famine.
• The Maya left a civilization rivaling ancient societies like Sumer, Greece, and Rome.
• Only remnants remain of their advancements.

The Aztecs

Introduction

• Mesoamerica stretches from the Rio Grande to Panama, also known as "the Cradle of the Americas."
• The Central basin of Mexico housed the Aztec Empire.
• The Maya civilization emerged in the Yucatan Peninsula, and the Inca civilization flourished in modern-day Peru.
• All civilizations were conquered by Europeans.
• The Aztec Empire began around AD 600.

The Toltecs and Mexica People

• The Toltecs, an advanced civilization, settled in Mexico around AD 900.
• The Aztecs admired this culture and claimed lineage from the Toltec tribe.
• Aztec is associated with the mythical land, Aztlan. The proper name for this civilization is Mexica.
• In 1248, the Mexica settled near Lake Texcoco in Chapultepec.

Tenochtitlan

• Built in 1325 in a marshy area of Lake Texcoco, Tenochtitlan was initially a collection of city-states.
• The city was protected due to its strategic location.
• Features: aqueducts for fresh water, causeways for merchants, schools, and markets.
• Upon Spanish arrival, Tenochtitlan rivaled major European cities.
• The central attraction was the 100-foot-high Templo Mayor, dedicated to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, where human sacrifices took place.

Teotihuacan

• Located north of Tenochtitlan, a densely populated city with over 125,000 people.
• Founded around 150 BC, boasting temples and governmental buildings; declined in AD 750.
• The Aztecs adopted the city, inspired by Teotihuacan.

Aztec Society

• Two social classes: pipiltin (nobles) and macehualtin (commoners).
• The first king was Acamapichtli, a Toltec noble.
• Nobles received better education and held high government and military positions.
• Macehualtin were commoners, including farmers, merchants, and athletes.
• Merchants and craftsmen were valued and wore elaborate garments.
• Slavery existed but was not hereditary.
• Education was granted to all children, regardless of social status.
  • Nobility children trained to become doctors or priests.
  • Commoner boys became government o cials.
  • Women were taught to care for the home and family.

Aztec Government

• The Aztec Empire was initially composed of three city-states: Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan.
• As the Empire expanded, more cities came under its rule.
• Conquered people had some autonomy, benefiting from Tenochtitlan's rule.
• The governing unit was a group of families known as the calpulli, who owned land, established schools, and collected tributes.
• Each calpulli had a leader, who formed a council, and an executive committee led the cities.
• Tenochtitlan had a senate, led by the huey tlatcani, who ruled like an emperor.
• The Aztecs were fierce warriors, conquering surrounding areas and enslaving captives.
• Becoming a warrior was the ultimate goal for boys, with training involving capturing prisoners.
• Capturing captives was rewarded with land.
• Soldiers' uniforms varied based on rank.

Aztec Religion

• Aztecs practiced human sacrifices due to fear of the sun ceasing to shine.
• They believed that every 52 years, the gods needed strengthening to prevent disaster.
• Quetzalcoatl (feathered serpent) was the god of wind and learning.
• Huitzilopochtli (sun and war) and Tlaloc (rain and fertility) required human sacrifice.
• The Aztecs saw themselves as chosen people who had to please the gods with blood, leading to warfare.
• Thousands were sacrificed annually, by drowning, burning, and gladiatorial combat.

The Aztecs Conquered

• Spanish conquest led by Hernán Cortés in 1521 led to the destruction of the Aztec civilization.
• Human sacrifices motivated nearby societies to ally with the Spanish.
• Diseases like smallpox led to the deaths of 25\% of Tenochtitlan's population.
• Spanish disease and cannons weakened the Aztecs.

The Inca

Inca Empire Geography

• First appeared in the 12th century; survived until 1532.
• Extended 2,500 miles from Ecuador to Chile, with diverse geography.

The Origins of the Inca

• The Inca called their empire Tawantinsuyu, meaning "Land of the Four Quarters."
• The empire had over 100 ethnic groups and twelve million people, with a centralized religion, roadway system, and common language.
• According to Inca mythology, the sun god, Inti, sent his son, Manco Capac, into the world.
  • Manco Capac founded Cuzco where the Huatanay and Tullumayo rivers meet.

The Inca Empire

• Cuzco, a sacred city at 10,000 feet, was transformed by Emperor Pachacuti into a great city based on a wildcat, and Inti was installed as the o cial god.
• Macchu Picchu featured massive temples made of stones weighing over 100 tons.
• Viracocha and Pachacuti were significant emperors.
• Viracocha expanded the kingdom and established the practice of leaving soldiers to maintain peace.
• Pachacuti established a new policy for rulers and their heirs: power went to the son and material possessions to male relatives.

Inca Society

• The Inca Empire was connected by a network of highways, steep paths, and rope bridges.
• Relay teams could travel 150 miles a day and 1,200 miles in a week.
• Daily life was a give-and-take society.
• The economy was a supply-by-command system; peasants moved to complete tasks like road development.

Inca Culture

• Incans had no written language but used a dialect of Quechua.
• Kept business transactions, taxes, and historical facts with quipu (knotted strings).
• Religion centered on a pantheon of gods: sun god, creator god, and rain god (Apu Illapu).
• Priests used animal sacrifice to diagnose illnesses, solve crimes, and predict the future.
• Inca treated deceased emperors as living presences, parading their mummified bodies during festivals.
• Tawantinsuyu's gold craftsmanship attracted the Spanish government in the 1500s.
• Inca outnumbered Spanish explorers, but the Spanish had superior weapons and diseases.

Managing an Empire

• The Inca Empire was largely administered by provincial rule; kurakas oversaw specific families.
• The four parts holding over eighty provinces were Chinchaysuyu, Cuntisuyu, Antisuyu, and Kollasuyu.
• Divisions and provinces were managed on the decimal system, divided into units based on 10 to 10,000 male heads of households.
• The king ruled from the center; land closest to the capital of Cuzco had the most direct rule.
• The king's decision to enforce the empire's rules was left to individual provincial rulers.
• The Inca used tribute and forced labor to control groups and manage lands.
• This system allowed careful management of each province, similar to the supply-by-command system.

Natives of North America

North American Native Tribes Before European Contact

• Native Americans settled the Western Hemisphere via the Bering Strait.
• The history of North America is divided into three periods: Early, Middle, and Late Woodland.
  • Early Woodland (1000 BC to 200 BC): People flow, trade establishment, mound-building, and ceramics use.
  • Middle Woodland (200 BC to AD 500): Continued early developments but saw a cultural shift to the Midwest.
  • Late Woodland (AD 500 to 1000): Tribes dispersed, mound-building declined, but agriculture spread rapidly.
• The Adena and Hopewell were the earliest known North American tribes, who developed a trade network trading shells, obsidian, and mica.
• Their religion had elaborate funeral rites and large mounds, such as the Great Serpent Mound in western Ohio.

Mississippian Culture

• Emerged after the dissolution of the Hopewell tribe; continued practices like mound-building and trade routes.
• Cahokia, near modern St. Louis, was the most impressive city in North America.
• Cahokia was home to over twenty thousand people and had a large earth mound at its center.
• Other major Native American cities included Coosa, Etowah, Moundville, and Natchez, which were highly stratified societies.

Various Native American Nations

• North American tribes were divided, with Muskogean speakers dominating the southeastern heartland.
• Siouan speakers dominated the southern Piedmont, and Iroquoian speakers dominated the Great Lakes area.
• Algonquian language speakers along the Atlantic coast caused Jamestown's early settlement grief.
• Tribes had significant differences in language and alliances, with powerful tribes dominating weaker ones.
• The Iroquois Confederacy was a notable example of a powerful Native American alliance.
• Native Americans' history is largely speculative due to a lack of written records.

The Horse and the Plains Native Americans

• The Plains Native Americans were not accustomed to horses before European arrival.
• The Spanish introduced specially bred horses, a cultural trait not present in North America before.
• The steppes were difficult to thrive without horses.
• Many Native Americans were pushed from the coasts to the plains by Europeans.
• Anasazi and Pueblo groups were confined to the desert region, leaving a large amount of sedentary civilization.
• Knowledge of Native Americans is limited by archaeological evidence and European written records.
• The introduction of horses permanently altered Native American culture.

European Contact

Christopher Columbus

• Christopher Columbus landed on Hispaniola in 1492, seeking a westward route to Asia.
• He convinced European monarchs and investors to fund his exploration.
• Columbus's ships (Niña, Pinta, Santa Maria) landed on San Salvador, Bahamas, after 33 days.
• The Santa Maria was damaged off the coast of Santo Domingo, and the supplies were unloaded with the help of Arawak natives.
• The village, named La Navidad, became the first Spanish settlement in the New World.
• Columbus returned to Europe in 1493, reestablishing the colony.
• He explored a large part of the Caribbean before returning to Europe in 1496.
• The third and fourth voyages explored the southern Caribbean to South America.
• Spain was granted control over