Comprehensive Study Notes on Pre-Columbian and Early Colonial American Civilizations
The Incan Empire of South America
Size and Scope:
By the century, the Incas established the largest land empire in the Americas.
The empire encompassed the entire Pacific Coast of South America.
By the year , the population reached approximately people.
Geography and Infrastructure:
The territory was primarily situated within the Andes Mountain Ranges.
Due to the high-elevation mountain passes, the Incas developed a highly complex administrative system of governance.
The state built paved roads to ensure easy access across difficult mountain terrain.
Transportation and Resources:
The primary pack animals used for transport were llamas and alpacas.
Alpacas were specifically valued for their soft wool.
A notable national dish was roasted guinea pig.
Belief Systems:
The Incas practiced animism, a belief system common among native rural tribes where aspects of the physical world possess supernatural abilities.
Sacred objects and places included the sun (the most common focus of worship), rivers, stones, and mountain passes.
Following the Spanish arrival, these animistic beliefs were not tolerated by the colonizers.
Agricultural Innovations:
Terrace Farming: Because flat land was at a premium on elevated surfaces, the Incas created levels on cliffs and hills to provide enough space for crops.
Waru Waru: This system utilized raised plant beds to irrigate soil and incorporate organic matter. This ensured a stable food supply regardless of erratic precipitation levels or timing.
Primary crops included potatoes and corn.
Conquest:
The empire was eventually conquered by Francisco Pizarro.
The Spanish conquest was facilitated by the fact that the Incas were in the midst of a civil war at the time of arrival.
The Aztec Empire and the Foundation of Mexico City
Demographics and Geography:
The Aztecs, also known as the Mexica, developed in Southern Central Mexico.
The empire consisted of approximately people.
The capital city was Tenochtitlan, which was the largest population center.
Tenochtitlan and Modern Mexico City:
Tenochtitlan was built on a dried lake bed.
Modern-day Mexico City is built directly on top of the Aztec ruins.
Because the soil of the dried lake bed is soft, parts of Mexico City are steadily sinking, causing historical memorials from the and early century to become off-balance or tilted.
Societal Achievements:
The city featured impressive public buildings and step pyramids.
They maintained an organized military and medical system.
The Aztecs had a sophisticated sanitation system that was superior to contemporaneous European cities.
Labor and Conflict:
The Aztecs utilized a slave workforce composed of people from conquered neighboring tribes.
This practice, along with human sacrifice, led many subject tribes to resent the Aztecs.
These tribes eventually allied with the Spanish, believing the newcomers could not be worse than the Aztecs.
Religious Practices:
The Aztec religion featured a pantheon of gods believed to be angry.
The Aztecs believed these gods could only be satisfied by the sacrifice of beating human hearts.
Sacrificial victims were typically prisoners of war and enslaved people.
Conquest and Transition:
Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztecs by .
Following the conquest, Mexico became a centerpiece of the territory known as New Spain.
European and Native American Comparisons
Sanitation:
European cities, including major Spanish centers, lacked the sanitation of the Aztecs.
In many European cities, human waste was dumped out of windows onto the streets, where it eventually contaminated water sources and caused waterborne illnesses.
Agricultural Staples:
Non-nomadic tribes in the Americas generally focused on growing beans, squash, and especially corn.
The Mississippian Culture and the Mound Builders
Trade and Economy:
Known as the "mound builders," this culture created intricate burial mounds for the dead.
They utilized the Mississippi River to establish a trade economy stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes and the Rocky Mountains.
Cahokia:
The largest Mississippian city was Cahokia, located near modern-day St. Louis.
At its peak, Cahokia had a population of approximately people, making it larger than many European cities of the era.
Comparison to London: At this time, London was smaller than Cahokia. London's River Thames was so polluted by human waste that in the century, the government had to evacuate for a summer due to the stench, eventually leading to the development of a sewer system.
Decline and Governance:
Cahokia's population declined by the , largely due to major floods.
The society was run as a chieftainship with a clear settlement hierarchy and social stratification.
Rights and privileges were determined by one's rank in society.
Social and Religious Structure:
The society was matrilineal, meaning social status was inherited from the mother. For example, if a mother was a noble and the father was a merchant, the children were nobles.
They were polytheistic (worshiped multiple gods).
A centralized priest class determined the direction and power of religious faith.
The Iroquois of the Northeastern Woodlands
Environment and Resources:
Located in the Northeastern woodlands, an area characterized by thick forests, rivers, and lakes.
The abundant environment provided easy access to fish, deer, game, and fertile soil for farming.
The Iroquois had extensive knowledge of local flora and viewed Europeans as unintelligent for accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms.
Social and Political Organization:
The society was matrilineal and matriarchal; women controlled the government and were led by a council of elders.
Men were responsible for hunting and gathering.
Five Nations Confederacy: This was an organized council where different nations collaborated for the collective good. This made the Iroquois a major power player that Europeans frequently sought as allies in wars.
The Iroquois were strategically savvy, often siding with whichever European power they believed was most likely to win.
Housing and Land Views:
They built long houses, which were over feet long. Multiple families lived together, meaning there was minimal privacy.
The Iroquois did not believe in private property or individual land ownership. They viewed land as something to be shared and owned collectively.
Conflict with Europeans: This different view of land led to many conflicts. A famous example is the Dutch "buying" Manhattan for beads and cloth. The Iroquois believed the trade was an agreement to share the land, while the Dutch viewed it as an exclusive purchase.
The Pueblo Tribes of the Southwest
Adaptation to Arid Environments:
Located in modern-day Arizona and New Mexico, the environment was arid (dry).
Three Sisters Farming: The Pueblo grew beans, squash, and corn together in the same space. This was a highly efficient way to use limited freshwater supplies as the plants nurtured one another.
Sedentary Lifestyle:
Unlike nomadic tribes, the Pueblo did not migrate.
They built permanent houses out of adobe mud and stone. The intense sun was used to bake the mud into sun-dried bricks.
The Great Plains Native Americans
Environment and Housing:
The Great Plains consisted of vast grasslands with heavy sod (dirt and grass).
There were few rivers and very little wood available.
The region was often susceptible to tornadoes.
Nomadic groups lived in tipis made from buffalo skin, which could be easily disassembled for migration.
The Role of the Buffalo and the Horse:
The buffalo was the primary source of food, clothing, and shelter materials.
At the time, the buffalo population reached over .
Before the Spanish introduced the horse, hunting buffalo was difficult as the animals can run up to miles per hour. The introduction of the horse significantly simplified buffalo hunting.
Gender Roles:
Men focused on hunting while women oversaw family and domestic life.