Cultural Geography and Geologic Evolution of Latin America
Cultural Geography of Latin America
Definition of Latin America:
Term introduced by French geographers to distinguish regions speaking Anglo-Saxon languages from those speaking Romance (Latin-based) languages.
Concept popularized by Michel Chevalier, theorizing a region inhabited by a "Latin race" sharing cultural and racial connections with Romance cultures.
Divisions by Language and Location:
Latin America Region: Primarily Spanish and Portuguese-speaking parts of Central and South America.
Caribbean Region: French, Dutch, and English-speaking areas of Central and South America.
Boundaries of Latin America:
Western Boundary: Pacific Ocean, including islands like Galápagos (Ecuador) and Easter Island (Chile).
Southern Boundary: Cape Horn (island of Hornos), with Latin American countries asserting claims to Antarctica (claims suspended by the Antarctic Treaty).
Eastern Boundary: A chain of British possessions in the Atlantic (e.g., Malvinas Islands, Tristan da Cunha).
Northern Boundary: Includes many Caribbean islands (e.g., Lesser Antilles, Jamaica, western Hispaniola) that adopted non-Spanish/Portuguese cultures, and the Bahamas.
For this course: All territory south of the United States.
Length (North to South):
Approximately 6,000 miles (9,700 kilometers) long from its northernmost point at the Rio Grande to its southern limit at Tierra del Fuego.
Cultural Aspects of Latin America:
Diverse blend of peoples from Asia, Africa, and Europe.
Site for ancient civilizations.
Contributed many basic crops (corn, potatoes, manioc) and spices (chili peppers, chocolate, vanilla).
Has the largest number of Native American groups.
World's largest concentration of Romance language speakers and Catholics.
Paradoxically, the largest concentration of Africans outside of Africa and Japanese outside of Japan.
First Western Colonizer:
Spaniards were the first European colonizers.
Main Pursuit during Conquest and Early Colonial Times: Initial objective was the extraction of silver and gold, which later diversified into a broader economy.
Treaty of Tordesillas:
Delineated by the Pope in 1494.
Aimed to divide the newly explored world between Spain and Portugal.
Never recognized by the British, Dutch, or French.
Columbian Exchange:
Crops transported to Europe from the Americas: Corn, potatoes, manioc (cassava), hot peppers, tomatoes, pineapple, cacao (chocolate), and avocados.
New staple crops brought to America: Wheat, grapes, olives, sugar cane, and coffee.
Domestic animals brought to America: Horses, pigs, sheep, goats, cattle, and rats.
Technology brought to America: Alphabet and writing systems, iron tools, the plow, the wheel, gunpowder, and ranching.
Effect of New Species, Technology, and Diseases:
The Columbian Exchange of microbes, horses, plants, and other elements permanently altered both worlds.
Native Populations: Had no resistance to Old World diseases (smallpox, measles, etc.), leading to catastrophic mortality rates (50-90%).
Introduced Domestic Animals: Horses provided new transport and food, but rats devastated native animal populations.
European Technologies: (alphabet, iron tools, plow, wheel, gunpowder) revolutionized communication, agriculture, and warfare.
Early Conquistadors and Colonizers:
Spanish conquistadors were granted the right to collect tribute from indigenous communities through systems like the encomienda.
Portuguese colonizers, following the Treaty of Tordesillas, established Brazil as a major center for sugar production by the 16th century.
African Slaves:
Reason for Importation: To replace declining native populations as workers in the Americas.
Main Regions Importing Slaves: Brazil (estimated 3.6 million) and the Caribbean.
Reason for Concentration: Likely due to intensive plantation economies like sugar production, leading Africans to become dominant ethnic groups in these regions.
Impact of Africans in Latin America (Population, Culture, Religion):
Became a dominant ethnic group in regions like the Caribbean and Brazil.
African cultures were deeply infused into many areas, contributing to new ethnic categories such as "Negro."
Religion: Numerous syncretic religions, also known as African Diaspora Religions (e.g., Macumba, Candomblé, Vodou, Santería), emerged, integrating West African spiritual traditions with Roman Catholicism.
Influences of the Iberian Peninsula:
Language: Spanish spoken by \approx2/3 and Portuguese by \approx1/3 of the population.
Religion: Catholicism is predominant, though Protestant denominations are growing.
Latin American Population and Most Populated Countries:
Total population is approximately 490 million.
Over half resides in Brazil (170 million) and Mexico (100 million).
Population Distribution:
Concentration: Most of the population tends to reside in upland coastal regions and cities.
Unpopulated Regions: The interior regions of South America are generally sparsely populated.
Megacities:
Cities with populations exceeding 10 million.
Examples include Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Buenos Aires.
Population Concentration in Central America:
Majority of the population inhabits upland areas.
During the colonial era, city dwellers received preferential treatment, acting as a strong incentive for rural inhabitants to migrate to urban centers.
Recent Migration:
European (1870-1930): Approximately 8 million immigrants, mainly from Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Germany, settled mostly in the southern parts of Latin America.
Asian: Initial waves from China and Japan (employed on coffee plantations or agricultural colonies); more recently, Koreans. The majority settled in urban areas, particularly in Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina.
Latin America Physiography
World Records:
The Andes are the world's longest and second-highest mountain range.
The Amazon River is the world's biggest river system by discharge volume and watershed.
The Atacama Desert in Chile is the world's driest desert.
Temperature Variation in Latin America's Tropics: Largely determined by elevation (altitudinal zonation) rather than latitude.
Winter in South America: From June to August (since the Southern Hemisphere seasons are opposite to the Northern Hemisphere).
Three Main Physiographic Structural Zones:
Lowlands: Less than 500 meters. Main areas include the Amazon lowlands and the Rio de la Plata lowlands.
Highlands: 500 to 2,000 meters, often flat-topped plateau regions. Examples include the Brazilian Plateau, Patagonian Plateau, Guiana Plateau, and Mexican Plateau.
Mountains: Greater than 2,000 meters. Main areas include the Andes and the Sierra Madre systems in Mexico/Central America.
Main Regions of Mexico: Sierra Madre Oriental, Sierra Madre Occidental, Northern Plateau, Central Plateau, Sonoran Desert, Pacific Coast Lowlands, Gulf Coast, Chiapas Highlands, and Yucatan Lowlands.
Plateau Rocks: The notes mention the Brazilian Plateau, Patagonian Plateau, and Guiana Plateau, but their age is not provided.
Main Lowlands and Rivers of South America:
Lowlands: Amazon lowlands and the Rio de la Plata lowlands.
Rivers: Amazon River, Rio de la Plata, and Orinoco River.
Normal Elevation of Lowlands: Less than 500 meters.
Continental Divide in South America: Located close to the Pacific coast.
Plate Tectonics
Three Different Kinds of Plate Boundaries:
Divergent: Plates move apart.
Convergent: Plates move toward each other.
Transform: Plates slide past each other horizontally.
Examples in or near Latin America:
Convergent Boundary: Along the west coast of South America (Nazca Plate subducting under the South American Plate).
Divergent Boundary: At the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Transform Boundaries: Northern Caribbean Plate boundary.
Earthquakes and Volcanoes in South America:
Most are located on the west side.
Reason: Due to the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate, a convergent plate boundary where oceanic crust is forced into the mantle.
Crust vs. Lithosphere:
Crust: The outermost compositional layer of the Earth, varying in thickness and density.
Lithosphere: The rigid outer mechanical layer of the Earth, which includes the crust and the uppermost part of the mantle, and it is broken into tectonic plates.
Plates in and Adjoining Latin America:
Primarily lies on: South American Plate, Caribbean Plate, Cocos Plate, and Nazca Plate.
Adjoining plates: North American Plate, Pacific Plate, and African Plate.
Seafloor Crust Age Patterns:
Pacific seafloor (adjacent to South America): Generally shows younger crust near spreading centers further west (like the East Pacific Rise) and older crust closer to the subduction zone along South America's west coast.
Atlantic seafloor (adjacent to South America): Shows younger crust near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and progressively older crust moving eastward and westward away from the ridge.
Main Types of Lava:
Basaltic lava: Mafic, low viscosity, and flows easily (effusive eruptions).
Andesitic lava: Intermediate in composition, moderate viscosity, and leads to more explosive eruptions. Named after the Andes mountains of Latin America.
Rhyolitic lava: Felsic, high viscosity, and causes very explosive eruptions.
Convergent Plate Margin Cross-Section:
Would show an oceanic plate (with a trench at its leading edge) plunging beneath another plate (oceanic or continental).
This region of descent is the subduction zone.
Earthquakes occur along the subducting plate as it moves, and volcanoes form on the overriding plate above where the descending plate melts.
Convergent Plate Boundaries of Latin America:
Prominently along the entire west coast of South America (Nazca Plate subducting beneath South American Plate).
In Central America/Mexico (Cocos Plate subducting beneath Caribbean and North American Plates).
Circum-Pacific "Ring of Fire":
A major area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.
Characterized by an almost continuous series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, volcanic belts, and plate movements.
Lesser Antilles vs. Andes Volcanoes:
Both are formed by subduction.
Andes volcanoes: Part of continental arc volcanism resulting from the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American continental plate.
Lesser Antilles volcanoes: Part of an island arc system, resulting from the subduction of the Atlantic oceanic crust beneath the Caribbean Plate, leading to differences in tectonic setting and potentially magma evolution.
Mantle Plume:
Definition: An upwelling of abnormally hot rock within the Earth's mantle.
Mechanism: As a plate moves over a stationary mantle plume, the plume can melt through the overriding lithosphere, creating a series of volcanoes (a hot spot chain) as the plate moves along.
Best Example in Latin America: The Galapagos Hotspot, which formed the Galapagos Islands.
Oceanic vs. Continental Crust:
Oceanic crust: Typically about 5-10 km thick, composed primarily of basalt and gabbro (mafic), and is relatively young (up to about 200 million years old).
Continental crust: Much thicker, typically 30-70 km, composed predominantly of granite and other felsic rocks, and can be very old (up to several billion years old).
Mountain Heights:
The Andes mountain range reaches significant heights, with its tallest peak, Aconcagua, at 6,962 meters (22,841 ft).
The Himalayas are significantly higher than the Andes (Mount Everest is 8,848 m).
Aconcagua (6,962 m) is much higher than the tallest peak in the continental US, Mount Whitney (4,421 m).
Isostasy:
The state of gravitational equilibrium between the Earth's lithosphere and asthenosphere such that the tectonic plates "float" at an elevation that depends on their thickness and density.
Reason for Andes Height:
Primarily due to the ongoing subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate.
This convergence leads to crustal shortening, thickening, and uplift, forming a massive mountain range.
Geologic Setting and Evolution of Latin America
Earth's Age: Approximately 4.54 billion years old.
Oldest Known Rocks in Latin America: Approximately 3.8 billion years old.
Geological Eons:
Archean: From 4.0\text{Ga} to 2.5\text{Ga}.
Proterozoic: From 2.5\text{Ga} to 541\text{Ma}.
Phanerozoic: From 541\text{Ma} to present.
Three Kinds of Rocks: Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.
Igneous Rock Types:
Volcanic (extrusive): Form from lava on the surface, are fine-grained.
Plutonic (intrusive): Form from magma deep underground, are coarse-grained.
Hypabyssal (subvolcanic): Form at shallow depths, with intermediate grain size.
Craton, Shield, and Platform: All are stable, ancient parts of continents.
Craton: The general term.
Shield: The exposed part of a craton where ancient igneous and metamorphic rocks are visible.
Platform: Where Precambrian basement rocks are covered by younger, flat-lying sedimentary rocks.
Four Great Exposures of Precambrian Rocks in South America: Typically include the Guiana Shield, the Central Brazilian Shield, the Atlantic Shield (or São Francisco Craton), and the Río de la Plata Craton.
Orogeny:
Definition: A process of mountain building involving intense deformation and metamorphism of the Earth's crust.
Cause: Typically caused by the collision of tectonic plates (continental-continental or oceanic-continental subduction).
Continental Crust Growth:
By accretion of smaller landmasses (such as island arcs and microcontinents) at convergent plate boundaries.
By magmatic addition from mantle melts (igneous intrusions and volcanism).
Supercontinent Cycle:
The quasi-periodic aggregation and dispersal of Earth's continental crust.
Last two supercontinents: Pangea (formed \approx335\text{Ma}, broke up \approx175\text{Ma}) and Rodinia (formed \approx1.1\text{Ga}, broke up \approx750\text{Ma}).
Pangea:
The most recent supercontinent.
Laurasia: The northern portion of Pangea (North America, Europe, Asia).
Gondwana: The southern portion of Pangea (South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, Indian subcontinent).
South American Platform Assembly:
Largely assembled during the Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic.
Primarily due to the Brasiliano Orogeny (or Pan-African Orogeny in the broader sense), which occurred between approximately 600-500\text{Ma}.
Gondwana Breakup: Began during the Middle to Late Jurassic, around 180-175\text{Ma}.
South America as a Separate Continent: Became separate in the Late Cretaceous as it fully rifted from Africa, around 100-80\text{Ma}.
Passive Continental Margin:
Definition: Not an active plate boundary but represents the boundary between continental and oceanic crust within the same plate.
Location: Found off the eastern coasts of South America and along the Gulf of Mexico.
Economic Importance: Sites of thick accumulations of sediment, which often host significant oil and gas reservoirs.
Mexico's Origin: Originally part of Laurasia.
Caribbean Plate Formation: Thought to have formed from a large igneous province (Caribbean Large Igneous Province) that moved eastward between the North and South American plates, or from complex interactions involving oceanic plateau migration.
Final Connection between Mexico and South America: Formed around 3.5-3 million years ago and is called the Isthmus of Panama.
Humans in Latin America and Pre-Columbian Cultures
No other hominids or Neanderthals: There is no record of other hominids or Neanderthals in the Americas.
Earliest Human Activity:
Clovis culture: \approx13,000 years ago, characterized by fluted spear points.
Monte Verde, Chile: 14,700 years ago, indicating pre-Clovis presence.
Cueva de las Manos, Argentina: \approx10,500 years ago, featuring rock art of animals and hands.
Migration Routes to Americas:
Mainly the Bering Land Bridge and Pacific coastal route.
Other debated possibilities include Atlantic or Pacific crossings.
First Hominids Evolution and Migration: Evolved in East Africa (\approx200,000 years ago) and migrated out through Eurasia before reaching the Americas.
Megafauna Extinction: Around 10,000 years ago, many megafauna went extinct, including mammoths, mastodons, giant ground sloths, glyptodonts, American horses, and giant bison.
Key Crops:
Mesoamerica: Maize, beans, squash.
Andes: Potatoes, quinoa, manioc.
The Olmecs (1200-800 BC):
Considered the "mother culture" of Mesoamerica.
Developed writing, colossal head sculptures, and trading networks.
Influenced later civilizations.
The Maya:
Occupied the Yucatán Peninsula, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.
Economy was based on agriculture, especially maize.
Achievements: Hieroglyphic writing, codices, monumental architecture (temples, cities), astronomy, calendar systems, and art.
The Aztec Empire:
Established around 1200-1520 AD (capital Tenochtitlán founded in 1325).
Tenochtitlán had about 300,000 people before the conquest.
Distinctive traits: Militarism, maize-based agriculture, tribute system, human sacrifice, and rich artistic/religious culture.
The Inca Empire:
Stretched about 4,000 km, across Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, northern Chile, and Argentina.
Achievements: Quipu record system, advanced road and bridge networks, architecture (Machu Picchu, palaces), fine textiles, pottery, and centralized administration.
Impact of Iberian Conquest:
Caused massive population collapse due to war, forced labor, and European diseases.
Diseases: Devastated natives because they had no immunity after millennia of isolation; main killers were smallpox, measles, influenza, typhus, and chickenpox.
Pre-Columbian History of Gold, Silver, and Other Metals
Four Stages of Metallurgical Evolution:
Stage I (Native Metals).
Stage II (Reduction, Smelting, Melting, and Casting).
Stage III (Use of Alloys).
Stage IV (Smelting of Sulfide Ores).
Attraction of Gold to Pre-Columbian Cultures: Due to its divine origin, color, shine, and sound, making it suitable for ornaments and sacred artifacts.
Placer Deposit:
A river deposit or sedimentary concentration formed by erosion and transport processes.
Concentrates minerals resistant to weathering and that are heavy, such as gold, silver, diamonds, and garnets.
Pre-Columbian Hard Rock Mining: Used stone tools, fire-setting, and manual labor to break rock and extract ores like gold, silver, and copper for smelting.
Huayrachina (Huaira):
A small, wind-powered clay furnace used in the Andes to smelt silver and copper ores.
Pre-Columbian peoples, especially the Inca, built them on windy ridges to harness natural airflow for high heat.
Essential for producing metals for tools, ornaments, and ritual objects.
Lost-Wax Casting (Cire Perdue):
An ancient metalworking method used to make detailed objects.
Process: A wax model is sculpted, coated in clay or plaster to form a mold, then heated so the wax melts away. Molten metal is poured into the hollow cavity, cooled, and the mold is broken to reveal the piece.
Practiced for thousands of years worldwide, allows fine detail, and is still used today for art, jewelry, and precision parts.
Bronze:
An alloy primarily of copper, with additions of tin, arsenic, phosphorus, and small amounts of other elements.
Pre-Columbian cultures used bronzes created by melting copper and adding elements like arsenic, tin, and phosphorus.
Metallurgy Development Regions:
Euro-Asiatic regions (7800 B.C. to 1200 B.C.).
The Great Lakes Region (4500 B.C. to 1000 A.D.).
Latin America (600 B.C. to 1500 A.D.).
The notes do not detail how knowledge spread between Andean and Mesoamerican cultures.
Pre-Columbian Metal Use: Primarily for ornaments and sacred artifacts, and later, copper and bronze were employed for tools and weapons.
Mesoamerican Metallurgy Development: The provided notes do not summarize the development of metallurgy specifically in Mesoamerica (Mexico) with details on trade, initial, and last/second periods.
Collision of Civilizations: Cortes and Pizarro
Aztec Empire:
First established as a dominant culture around 1325, when they began building Tenochtitlan.
By 1519, the Empire was fragile, overextended, and resented by subject peoples, facing unrest and economic troubles under Moctezuma II.
Early Spanish Encounters in the Region:
Valdivia (1511): Shipwreck, survivors captured by Mayas.
Córdoba (1517): Attacked by Mayas, many killed.
Grijalva (1518): Reached Veracruz, realized they were on a continent, not an island.
Hernán Cortés:
Born in Spain (1485), studied law, sailed to the New World (1504).
Helped conquer Cuba (1511), and became Mayor of Santiago before leading his Mexico expedition.
Cortés's Expedition to Mexico:
Financed his expedition with personal funds, loans, and promises of gold/land.
Organized 11 ships, 530 soldiers, 16 horses, cannons, and allies despite opposition from Governor Velázquez.
Interpreters for Cortés:
Aguilar: Spoke Maya.
Malinche: Spoke both Maya and Nahuatl.
Together they allowed Cortés to communicate and negotiate with native peoples.
Native Reactions to Spaniards:
Awed and fearful of Spanish weapons and horses, sometimes thinking they were gods.
Many resented the Aztecs and welcomed the Spaniards as allies.
Cortés and his Ships: Did not burn but scuttled/sank his ships to prevent retreat; some mutineers had tried to flee.
Encounters with Native Allies and Enemies:
Tlaxcala: Spaniards defeated 50,000 warriors, then gained 10,000 allies.
Cholula: Cortés massacred nobles for plotting an ambush.
Arrival in Tenochtitlan:
On Nov. 8,$ $1519, Moctezuma welcomed Cortés, mistaking him for the returning god Quetzalcoatl.
Tenochtitlan was described as a vast, advanced city.
"Night of Tears" (La Noche Triste):
June 30,$ $1520.
The Spanish tried to flee but were caught; 600 Spaniards and thousands of allies died, many weighed down by gold.
Siege of Tenochtitlan:
Cortés rebuilt forces at Tlaxcala.
In 1521, he besieged Tenochtitlan with 16,000 men, allied warriors, and 13 brigantine ships, attacking from three directions.
Locations of Major Empires:
Inca: Andes (Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia).
Maya: Yucatán and Central America.
Aztec: Central Mexico.
Francisco Pizarro:
A poor, illiterate Spaniard from Extremadura.
Became the leader of the conquest of the Inca.
Inca Civil War:
Huayna Capac died of smallpox (1528), sparking a civil war between his sons Huascar and Atahualpa.
This weakened the Inca Empire before the Spanish arrived.
Pizarro's 1532 Expedition:
Had 160 men, 62 horsemen, 102 infantry.
Marched inland from Tumbes and at Cajamarca first met Atahualpa.
Pizarro's Conquest Methods: Troops subdued the Inca with guns, horses, surprise attacks, and Indian allies, despite being vastly outnumbered.
Atahualpa's Capture and Execution:
Captured at Cajamarca, offered a ransom of a room full of gold and silver.
Executed by Pizarro in 1533 despite paying the ransom.
Reasons for Spanish Quick Conquest: Disease (smallpox), advanced weapons, horses, Indian allies, and the empires' internal divisions.
Colonial Silver - Potosí & Guanajuato
Main Silver Mining Locations: Potosí and Guanajuato.
Geographical Locations:
Potosí is in Bolivia.
Guanajuato is in Mexico.
New Spain was colonial Mexico.
Silver Trade from Potosí:
Silver was minted into "pieces of eight."
Sent via Acapulco to the Philippines for trade with China in exchange for silk and spices.
"Royal fifth" (Quinto Real): The 20% tax Spain claimed on all silver.
Impact of Silver on Europe:
Caused inflation in Europe.
Funded Spain's wars and the Armada.
Crippled Spanish industry while stimulating northern Europe.
Silver Mineralization:
Caused by subduction zone magmatism.
Potosí's mineralization formed about 14 million years ago.
Guanajuato's mineralization formed about 37-32 million years ago.
Volcanic Caldera: A large depression formed when a volcano collapses after an eruption.
Hydrothermal Circulation: Heated groundwater moving through rocks, leaching minerals, and depositing them as ores.
Silver Mineralization Location: Often forms around volcanic calderas, where hydrothermal fluids deposit silver in faults and domes.
Types of Silver Ores:
Oxide ores: Form at the surface by oxidation (easier to smelt).
Sulfide ores: Are deeper, harder to process.
Guayra (Huayrachina): A wind-powered clay furnace used by the Incas to smelt silver ore on mountain ridges.
Drop in Silver Production (mid-1500s):
Because oxide ores were exhausted.
Guayras could not process sulfides.
Deforestation was also a factor.
The Patio Process:
Introduced in the 1570s.
Used mercury to extract silver from both oxide and sulfide ores.
Amalgamation: Mixes crushed ore with mercury; mercury binds with silver or gold, then is roasted off to leave the metal.
The Mita:
A forced labor draft adapted from the Inca.
Required Andean communities to send workers to Potosí mines.
Thousands died yearly.
Mexican Silver Belt: Runs \approx1000 km from northwest of Mexico City to Sonora.
Historical vs. Current Silver Production:
In the 1500s, Peru produced more silver (mainly from Potosí).
Today, Mexico is the largest producer.
Environmental Impacts:
Guayras caused deforestation and air pollution.
The patio process caused widespread mercury contamination of soils and water.