The Americas Before Columbus

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Chapter 21 The Americas Before Columbus
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Mesoamerican Civilizations 1. The Olmecs along
the northeastern coast of Mexico are regarded as
the mother culture of the Maya and other tribes
of Mesoamerica. La Venta, the most significant
of the Olmec sites, flourished from 800 to 400
B.C.E. It was located eighteen miles inland from
the Gulf on an island in a swamp and probably
supported a population of 18,000. It featured a
complex of ceremonial mounds stretching out over
one and a half miles. In addition to a huge
four-sided clay pyramid, there is also present
forty Colossal Heads up to eight and a half feet
tall, weighing several tons each, and having
Negroid features. 2. The ancient Maya lived in
what constitutes present-day southeastern Mexico,
almost all of Guatemala, the western part of
Honduras, all of Belize, and the northern half of
El Salvador. The height of the civilization came
between 250 and 900 C.E. in the tropical forest
lowland region of Guatemala at the base of the
Yucatan Peninsula. The area was rich in game and
building materials (limestone and hardwoods).
There was no metal, water was uncertain, and
communication difficult. Numerous ceremonial and
administrative centers were erected throughout
the region yet it remained disunited. At Tikal,
the ceremonial precinct was surrounded by dense
suburbs that extended from the center for several
miles. The population may have numbered as much
as 100,000. At Palenque there were a number of
temple-pyramids characterized by vaulted
galleries, courtyards or patios, and use of
stucco work. The principal complex, called the
Palace, is about 300 feet long and 240 feet wide
with a corbel vaulted aqueduct underneath which
carried fresh water. The brilliance of this
Classic Mayan civilization faded in about the
eighth or ninth century for unknown reasons.
Some scholars suggest their demise may have come
as a consequence of not only rebellion against
increasing demands by the noble and priest class
for larger and more ornate ceremonial centers but
also greater agricultural production to support a
growing population. The latter put strains on
the commoners and may also have led to warfare
and militarism. These pressures perhaps led to a
collapse as the people moved further and further
from the centers. 3. The Post Classic Maya
flourished from the thirteenth to the fifteenth
century and centered on the Yucatán Peninsula.
The peninsula is a limestone shelf, mostly
without surface rivers. The soil is thin and
water is taken from cenotes (sinkholes created by
collapse of underground caverns). The Yucatec
Maya were influenced by forces from central
Mexico, the Toltecs. Mexican legend told of a
king-priest being forced from Tula (near Mexico
City) at the end of the tenth century. He and
his followers proceeded to the Gulf and then to
the Yucatan Peninsula and introduced the harsh
traditions of the Mexican northwest as well as
their art and architecture. The Toltecs were
centered at Chichén Itzá which exercised
influence and control. Decline set in between
1200 to about 1450. 4. Teotihuacán was a center
of Mesoamerican civilization from 100 to 900. By
500 it covered about eight square miles. The
dozen springs and rich agricultural fields
(utilizing irrigation, terracing, and canals)
supported a population of about 200,000. The
city was centered on a two mile long, 150 feet
wide avenue off of which branched streets and
alleys containing more than three thousand
structures including temples, palaces, ball
courts, dwellings, and two impressive pyramids,
the largest of which was 700 feet on each of the
four sides and two hundred feet high.
Apparently, Teotihuacán used its agricultural
surpluses to trade for raw materials that could
be turned into manufactured goods. Trade in
these finished products extended to both coasts
and south to Guatamala. Around 700, Teotihuacán
was destroyed by semi-barbarians from the
southwest. Question 1. What were the
characteristics of the Mayan and Aztec
civilizations?
Mesoamerican Civilization
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• The Americas before Columbus
• Tremendous range of cultures and environments
• Humans arrived in Americas about 20,000 years ago
• Made way from Bering Straits to Andes Mountains
• Neolithic America
• Stone Age lasted until coming of the whites
• By 7000 B.C.E., western edge of Americas
  supported population of Amerindians
• By 2000 B.C.E., large scale agriculture existed
  in SW United States,
• Mexican Plain, and coastal plains of South
  America
• First Europeans arrived in 1492, found advanced
  agricultural techniques

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Example of pre-Columbian sculpture, Vera Cruz
style, 6-9 C.E.
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• First Civilizations
• Located on elevated plateaus or tropic lowlands
• Olmecs
• Earliest civilization known developed in
  Southern Mexico
• Existed between 1000 B.C.E. and 300 C.E.
• Human foundation for all other civilizations in
  Central America
• Very skilled in stone working
• Chavin
• Developed on Peruvian coast between 800 and 400
  B.C.E.
• Provided enough food for large population in
  inhospitable area

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Mayan Fortress at Tulum, on coast of Caribbean Sea
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Mayan writing. Glyphs carved on wall at
Palenque, Mexico
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Pyramid at Chichen-Itza. Example of late Maya
pyramid architecture
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Palace of the Nuns, Uxmal. Near Merida, in
ucatan Peninsula. Purpose not clear to
archeologists, but contains many small rooms like
monastery.