Chapter 16 - People and Empires in the Americas

16.1 - North American Societies 

• From Oregon to Alaska, the Pacific Northwest was wealthy in resources and home to a significant population. 

  • The sea was the most valuable resource to the Kwakiutl, Nootka, and Haida peoples.

• The Southwest's dry, desert landscapes were far harsher than the temperate Pacific coastlands. 

  • The peoples of the Southwest, on the other hand, began farming the soil as early as 1500 B.C.

• The Hohokam were among the most successful of these early farmers.

• The tribes of the northern forests created a wide range of cultures. 

  • The peoples of the woods frequently battled over territory. 
  • Tribes created political alliances in some locations to safeguard the security of tribal territories.

• Trade was a significant influence in bringing the peoples of North America together. 

  • The Chinook people built a bustling marketplace along the Columbia River in Oregon, bringing trade products from all over the West.

• Religious views were also a defining element of early Americans. Almost all native North Americans believed in the presence of nature spirits in their surroundings.

• For Native Americans, the family served as the foundation for social order. 

  • In most cases, the extended family consisted of parents, children, grandparents, and other close relatives.

  

16.2 - Maya Kings and Cities

• The Maya city-states were connected by alliances and trade, notwithstanding their independence.

• Local items like as salt, flint, feathers, shells, and honey were traded between cities.

• Successful farming methods resulted in wealth accumulation and the formation of social classes.

  •  Maya culture was dominated by the noble class, which comprised priests and the most powerful warriors.

• Maya gods were worshipped in a variety of ways. They prayed and offered food, flowers, and incense as offerings. 

  • They also punctured and slashed their bodies, offering their blood to the gods in the belief that it would nourish them.

• The calendar, mathematics, and astronomy were all developed as a result of Maya religious beliefs. 

  • Time, according to the Maya, was a weight carried on the back of a god. 
  • One deity would lay the load down at the end of the day, month, or year, and another would pick it up.

  

16.3 - The Aztecs Control Central Mexico

• Teotihuacán, a city-state whose ruins may be found just outside Mexico City, was the first important civilization in central Mexico. 

  • Villagers at this location were planning and building a magnificent city in Oaxaca in the first century A.D., considerably larger than Monte Albán.

• For decades after Teotihuacán's demise, no single culture controlled central Mexico. 

  • The Toltecs, a new people, rose to prominence around 900.

• From their capital at Tula, the Toltecs dominated over the core of Mexico for the next three centuries.

• Military leaders wielded enormous power in Aztec society during the Aztec Empire's heyday.

• These military chiefs, along with government officials and clerics, constituted comprised the noble class. 

  • Many nobles possessed huge estates that they governed over as lords, allowing them to live lives of tremendous riches and luxury.

• Aztec religion was based on elaborate public rites aimed at communicating with the gods and gaining their favor.

• Huitzilopochtli, the sun god, was involved in the most important rituals. 

  • Huitzilopochtli, according to Aztec legend, is the one who causes the sun to rise every day.

  

16.4 - The Inca Create a Mountain Empire 

• Originally, the Incas lived on a high plateau in the Andes.

• After years of traveling through the Andes, the Inca found lush grounds in the Cuzco Valley. 

  • They had built their own little kingdom in the valley by the 1200s.

• The Inca built many cities in conquered lands to maintain control over their empire. 

  • The architecture of government buildings was uniform throughout the empire, making the government's presence obvious.
  •  All roads led to Cuzco, the capital, much as they did in Rome.

• The Incan state had nearly complete control over economic and social life. It was in charge of the majority of economic activities, regulating products production and distribution. 

  • Unlike the Maya and Aztecs, the Inca did not allow much private trade or commerce.

• The Incas had a large-scale public works project. The Incan road system was the most impressive project. 

  • This road system was a marvel of engineering that mirrored the Incan state's power.

• Despite the complexity of many areas of Incan life, the Incas never created a writing system. 

  • As part of an oral tradition, history and literature were memorized.

  

  \n