EARLY SOCIETIESEARLY SOCIETIES

OF MESOAMERICA OF MESOAMERICA (And Oceania) Chapter 5(And Oceania) Chapter 5

THE OLMECSTHE OLMECS• Olmecs: The "rubber people" -1st society of Mesoamerica

• Earliest center, on the coast of Mexico Gulf, 1200 B.C.E.Earliest ceremonial center at San Lorenzo

• The other two later centers: La Venta and Tres Zapotes • Olmec society

• Authoritarian in nature • Colossal human heads - possibly likenesses of rulers • Rulers' power as shown in construction of huge pyramids • Commoners labored regularly for the authoritarian elite.• Traded in art, jade, obsidian, animal skins

• Decline and fall of Olmec society • The cause remains a mystery • Olmecs systematically destroyed their ceremonial centers • Most likely, civil conflict ruined their society

• Influence of Olmec traditions • Maize, ceremonial centers were common to later societies • Other legacies: Calendar(used by others), rituals of human sacrifice, ballgame • Olmecs did not leave written records

OLMEC ARTOLMEC ART

THE MAYATHE MAYA• The Maya

• highlands of Guatemala • Teotihuacan became dominant during the 4th century C.E. • Besides maize, also cultivated cotton and cacao

• Tikal • Most important Maya political center, 300 to 900 C.E. Maya warfare • Victorious warriors won enormous prestige • War captives became slaves or sacrificial victims to gods

• Chichén Itzá • Rose as a power by 9th century CE.• Organized a loose empire in the northern Yucatan • Tried to base society on assimilation of captives.

• Maya decline • Began in 800 C.E., the Mayas (except in Chichén Itzá) deserted their cities • Causes of decline remain unclear –Invasion; dissension;civil war; water problems;

natural disasters???????

MAYAN SOCIETYMAYAN SOCIETY• Maya society

• Kings, priests, and hereditary nobility at the top • Merchants were from the ruling class, served also as ambassadors • Professional architects and artisans were important • Peasants and slaves were majority of population

• Maya Science• Maya priests understood planetary cycles and could predict eclipses • Besides the solar year of 365 days, also had ceremonialcalendar of 260 days

and 20 months • Zero-invented by Maya• Use of terraces to to trap silt for agriculture

• Maya writing • Maya scribes used writing extensively • Only four books survived the destruction by Spanish conquerors

• The Maya ballgame • Played by two individuals or two teams • Very popular, every ceremonial center had stone-paved courts

MAYAN RELIGIONMAYAN RELIGION

• Religious thought • Popol Vuh, a Maya creation myth• Gods created humans out of maize and water• 1st ceremonial city was Kaminaljuyu

• Bloodletting rituals • The most important rituals, to honor the gods for

rains • Sacrificing captives ledto many wars for victims • Also voluntary bloodshedding

MAYAN TRADE

TEOTIHUACANTEOTIHUACAN• The city of Teotihuacan

• Built in the highlands of Mexico • Colossal pyramids of sun and moon dominated the skyline • Between 400 and 600 C.E., the city had 200,000 inhabitants • Paintings and murals reflect the importance of priests

• Teotihuacan society • Rulers and priests dominated society • Two-thirds of the city inhabitants worked in fields during daytime • Artisans were famous for their obsidian tools and orange pottery • Professional merchants traded extensively throughout Mesoamerica • No sign of military organization or conquest

• Cultural traditions • Inherited Olmecs' culture• Honored an earth god and a rain god

• Decline of Teotihuacan • Military pressure from other peoples since 500 C.E. • Began to decline 650 C.E.; Invaders sacked city, mid-8th century

Norte Chico

• 3000 B.C.E. to 1800 B.C.E.

• 1st complex society of Americas.

• Fishing based

• No pottery or writing found.

• Lacked defensive walls. Self contained.

• Difficult to know what government or life was like for this group of Andean Peoples.

CHAVIN AND MOCHECHAVIN AND MOCHE

• The Chavín Cult • Very popular around 900 to 800 B.C.E.• Vanished completely by about 300 B.C.E. • Cult was probably related to introduction of maize • Cult left large temple complexes and elaborate art works

• Complexity of Andean society • Techniques of producing cotton textiles and fishing nets • Discovered gold, silver, and copper metallurgy • Early Andeans did not make use of writing

• Mochica (300-700 C.E.) • One of several early Andean states, located in northern Peru • Mochica ceramics: lives of different social classes • Mochica did not integrate the whole Andean region

ANDEAN GEOGRAPHYANDEAN GEOGRAPHY

Oceania

• Early Societies in Australia and New Guinea • Early migrations

• Human migrants arrived in Australia and New Guinea at least 60,000 years ago

• By the mid-centuries of the first millennium C.E., human communities in all habitable islands of the Pacific Ocean

• About 10,000 years ago, rising seas separated Australia and New Guinea • Australia: hunting and gathering until the 19th and 20th centuries C.E. • New Guinea: Turned to agriculture about 3000 B.C.E.

• Early hunting and gathering societies in Australia • Small communities, seasonal migrations for food • Plant-based diet of the Australian peoples • Animals and fish were also in their diet

Austronesian Society

• Austronesian peoples • From southeast Asia, spoke Austronesian languages • seafaring skills • Settled in north New Guinea, 3000 B.C.E. • Early agriculture in New Guinea • Austronesians introduced root crops and herding animals • Indigenous peoples soon began to cultivate crops and keep

animals • Agriculture brought population growth and specialization