Early Americans and North American Cultures
Early American Civilizations and North American Cultures
Fundamentals of Civilization
Surpluses of Food:
Defined as an extra supply of food.
A surplus of food is a crucial factor that contributes to the growth and development of cities.
Features of Civilization:
A civilization is characterized as a society or a group of people who share a common language, territory, and economy.
Basic features that define a civilization include:
Complex religion.
The presence of cities.
An organized government structure.
Distinct social classes.
Major Early American Civilizations
The Olmec
Astronomical Studies and Calendar Development: The Olmec people were advanced in their study of the stars.
They developed a calendar that allowed them to predict changes in seasons and accurately mark the passage of time.
Economic Structure: Olmec farmers were responsible for supplying food to nearby cities.
Leadership and Architecture: Their powerful leaders oversaw the construction of significant stone temples.
The Maya
Influence and Geography: The Olmec civilization had a notable influence on subsequent cultures, including the Maya.
The early Maya inhabited rainforest regions in areas that are now Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, and Southern Mexico.
Agricultural Productivity: Maya farmers were highly skilled and capable of producing substantial harvests of corn, which was essential for feeding their large urban populations.
Growth of City-States: As the Maya population expanded, numerous city-states emerged, stretching from Central America to Southern Mexico.
Social Structure and Power: Nobles held significant power within Maya society.
Kings: The most powerful nobles were kings, who also served as high priests, combining political and religious authority.
Priests: Other nobles also became priests, wielding considerable power within Maya society due to their religious roles.
Warriors and Government Officials: Additional nobles functioned as warriors and government officials.
Laborers and Farmers: These groups occupied the lower strata of Maya society.
The Aztec
Emergence and Lifestyle: The Aztec civilization rose to the northwest long after the abandonment of Maya cities.
Initially, the Aztecs were nomads, meaning they constantly moved from place to place in search of food sources.
Capital City - Tenochtitlan:
They established their capital city, Tenochtitlan, on an island situated in the middle of a lake.
Causeways: To connect their island capital to the mainland, the Aztecs constructed causeways, which were raised roads made of packed earth.
Religious Practices - Sun God and Sacrifice:
The Aztecs paid particular reverence to the god who controlled the sun.
They referred to themselves as “warriors of the sun,” believing the sun required human sacrifice to rise each day.
Consequently, the Aztecs sacrificed thousands of prisoners annually to appease this potent deity.
Astronomy and Warfare:
The Aztecs utilized astronomy to develop an advanced calendar.
They engaged in warfare partly to capture more prisoners for a constant supply of sacrificial victims.
Conquered Peoples and Downfall: People conquered by the Aztecs across their empire harbored a strong desire for revenge.
These enemies of the Aztec would eventually ally with outsiders from distant lands, contributing to the destruction of the Aztec empire.
The Inca
Vast Empire: Located far to the south of the Aztec, the Inca built one of the largest empires in the Americas.
Capital - Cuzco:
The heart of the Incan empire was its magnificent capital at Cuzco.
Cuzco was strategically located high in the Andes mountains, in what is present-day Peru.
Population and Environment: From Cuzco, the emperor governed over 10 million people.
These subjects lived in highly varied environments, ranging from coastal deserts to lowland jungles and the high altitudes of the Andes.
Highly Organized Government: The Incan empire was exceptionally well-organized.
The emperor dispatched high officials to serve as governors across his domain.
These governors ensured that every person worked at least part of the time on state projects, which included road building, mining, and farming.
General Vocabulary
City-State: A political unit that exercises control over a city and its surrounding land.
North American Cultures
Hohokam and Ancestral Puebloans
Both the Hohokam and the Ancestral Puebloans developed advanced irrigation systems to farm the desert land.
Mound Builders (Hopewell and Mississippians)
Key Groups: The most recognized groups of mound builders were the Hopewell and the Mississippians.
Mississippians' Agriculture: The Mississippians exploited their moist climate, enabling them to cultivate sufficient crops to sustain large towns.
Cahokia: Between 700 CE and 1500, the Mississippians constructed a major city named Cahokia in what is now Illinois.
At its peak, an estimated 30,000 people may have resided there.
Cultural Concepts
Culture Region:
Defined as a geographical area where people share a similar way of life.
The physical characteristics of the environment within each region played a significant role in influencing population distribution and settlement patterns (determining where American Indians lived), an influence that extended up to modern times.
Cultural Diffusion: The process through which ideas and cultural practices spread from one culture to another.
Specific North American Culture Regions
Arctic/Subarctic Regions
Arctic Region (Inuit): The Inuit people of the Arctic region ingeniously utilized all the limited resources available in their harsh environment.
During the brief summer season, they gathered driftwood along ocean shores, which they fashioned into tools and used for shelter.
Subarctic Culture Region: This region comprised a vast belt of forest stretching across North America, located south of the Arctic.
This forest primarily consists of conifers, or cone-bearing trees like hemlock and spruce.
People in the Subarctic, such as groups like the Chipewyan, were nomads, shifting their locations to find food, often following large game like caribou.
Northwest Coastal Region
Environment and Resources: The people inhabiting the mountainous Northwest Coast enjoyed milder temperatures, abundant rainfall, and plentiful food supplies.
They harvested rich catches of fish from the sea.
Settlement and Trade: With ample food resources, the people of the Pacific Northwest established permanent villages and prospered through trade with neighboring groups.
Potlatch: To elevate a family's social standing, they might host a potlatch, a ceremonial dinner designed to display their wealth.
The Great Plains Region
Nomadic Lifestyle: Tribes in the Great Plains region, such as the Sioux, relied on hunting wild animals for survival.
Buffalo Hunters: The Sioux were nomads who followed and hunted the vast buffalo herds.
Iroquois League
Housing and Community: The Iroquois lived in distinctive wooden longhouses, which were typically clustered together to form settlements.
Role of Women in Iroquois Society:
Iroquois women held a special and powerful position in society.
They owned all household property.
They oversaw the crucial tasks of planting and harvesting crops.
Women also possessed significant political power, including the right to choose clan leaders.
A clan is defined as a group of related families.
The Five Nations: The Iroquois Confederacy comprised five nations that shared similar languages:
The Mohawk
The Seneca
The Onondaga
The Oneida
The Cayuga
Conflict and Alliance: Until the 1500s, these five nations were frequently engaged in warfare with each other.
However, in the 1500s, the five Iroquois nations formed an alliance with the explicit goal of ending the ongoing conflicts, eventually accomplishing this aim.