So this is my term paper for World Civilizations HIS 103.
Civilization in Mesoamerica
Contrary to popular belief that the Americas were a pristine paradise sparsely populated by nomadic hunter gathers just waiting to be civilized, the New World contained civilizations that were just as complex as the arriving Europeans were. The societies of Mesoamerica have a history that spans centuries, with each society influenced by its predecessors.
As early as 30,000 years ago the first people crossed over the Bearing strait land bridge (Waldman, 2000, p. 1). The land bridge was a result of an ice age, in North America this is known as the Wisconsin glaciation. Animals may have been the first to migrate across the land bridge, with hunter-gatherer humans following the herds. The glacier itself would have blocked migration to the eastern half of North America and as a result, the early Americans spread southward.
When the glaciers finally retreated around 10,000 years ago there were various cultures scattered around North America, but these were still nomadic hunter-gatherers. These societies, such as the Sandia, Folsom, and Plano were centered on the American southwest and what is now Texas (Waldman, 2000, p. 4). Around 7,000 years ago, the climate and geography stabilized into its present form (Waldman, p. 4). Shortly thereafter, a transition began towards more of a sedentary lifestyle among various tribes. Permanent settlement of an area began to become common as agriculture began to overtake hunting as a means of survival.
The Olmec were among the first Mesoamerican people to successfully make the transition to a settled society. Among the Olmec, villages evolved, if not into true cities, then into large ceremonial and commercial complexes (Bentley et al, 2008, p. 65). Tribes established complex social structures to deal with this new way of living. Like the cultures that followed them, the Olmec’s are believed to have been a theocratic society, with priests, traders and artisans based in the community centers. The Olmec built stone structures including temple pyramids. They had aqueducts and paved streets. The population surrounding the communal centers practiced slash and burn agriculture to support the other stratum of Olmec society (Waldman, p. 10). Large basalt boulders carved into the likeness of human heads are perhaps the best-known Olmec work. The exact reason for their creation is still debated, whether for artistic or religious reasons or as a means of representing the aristocratic class watching over the people in an attempt at Orwellian social control (Mann, 2005, p. 209). Based on the broad lips and flat noses of these carved basalt monoliths there are various archeologist and scholars who have put forth the theory that the Olmec were visited by African explorers, thereby explaining the Olmec’s rapid rise (Mann, p. 209). Other archeologists have proposed visitors from the Shang dynasty in China may have influenced the Olmec (Mann, p.209). Neither of these theories are given much credence.
The Olmec were among the first Mesoamerican people to successfully make the transition to a settled society. Among the Olmec, villages evolved, if not into true cities, then into large ceremonial and commercial complexes (Bentley et al, 2008, p. 65). Tribes established complex social structures to deal with this new way of living. Like the cultures that followed them, the Olmec’s are believed to have been a theocratic society, with priests, traders and artisans based in the community centers. The Olmec built stone structures including temple pyramids. They had aqueducts and paved streets. The population surrounding the communal centers practiced slash and burn agriculture to support the other stratum of Olmec society (Waldman, p. 10). Large basalt boulders carved into the likeness of human heads are perhaps the best-known Olmec work. The exact reason for their creation is still debated, whether for artistic or religious reasons or as a means of representing the aristocratic class watching over the people in an attempt at Orwellian social control (Mann, 2005, p. 209). Based on the broad lips and flat noses of these carved basalt monoliths there are various archeologist and scholars who have put forth the theory that the Olmec were visited by African explorers, thereby explaining the Olmec’s rapid rise (Mann, p. 209). Other archeologists have proposed visitors from the Shang dynasty in China may have influenced the Olmec (Mann, p.209). Neither of these theories are given much credence.
The Olmec directly influenced the cultures that were to follow them. The gods created by the Olmec would be continued to be worshiped by these successor civilizations. The most well known of theses gods is the Great Plumed Serpent or Quetzalcoatl. Another Olmec trait that would survive the dissolution of their culture was a ball game played with a rubber ball on a paved ball court. The Olmec developed a number and calendar system as well as glyph writing, all of which were to flourish under Maya society in centuries to follow. Due to linguistic and cultural similarities, it is surmised that after the decline of Olmec civilization that they migrated southward and are the direct ancestors of the Maya (Waldman, p. 10). The exact reasons for the fall of Olmec society around 400 B.C.E. are not known. What is known is the ceremonial centers were destroyed, perhaps by the Olmec themselves due to civil war or civil unrest regarding the ruling class’s ability to lead (Bentley et al, p. 66).
The Maya are generally regard as direct inheritors of Olmec civilization. Occupying first the Guatemalan highlands, they quickly spread across the Yucatan Peninsula. The prominence of the Maya was not so much from innovation or development of new technologies, but in the refinement of existing systems. Mathematics, astronomy, and architecture all flourished under the Maya. Like the Olmec, Maya society was based around ceremonial centers in the tropical rainforest. Most of these centers consisted of temple pyramids, astronomical observatories, plazas, aqueducts and ball courts.
Although there was a rigid class structure of priests, oligarchs, craftsmen, and farmers there is little evidence suggesting a large political structure unifying the many population centers. The Maya were not as militaristic as later civilizations, despite warfare among the various population centers. Maya culture and influence spread as a result of commerce as they established a far-flung network of trade routes.
Although there was a rigid class structure of priests, oligarchs, craftsmen, and farmers there is little evidence suggesting a large political structure unifying the many population centers. The Maya were not as militaristic as later civilizations, despite warfare among the various population centers. Maya culture and influence spread as a result of commerce as they established a far-flung network of trade routes.
The common heritage of religion grew under the Maya. In addition to a preoccupation with keeping time and observing the stars, human sacrifice was also practiced, but not to the extent it would be in Toltec or Aztec cultures (Allen, 1997, p. 19). Honoring the gods was the primary impetus in keeping Maya civilization orderly. By obeying the dictates of the gods and their servants the priests, the average Mayan would feel as though they were helping to keep the world in order. In doing so, their own civilization would be organized and not descend into anarchy. This was a template for social control that other civilizations would emulate.
By 900 C.E., the Maya were in decline throughout most of their territory. One leading theory suggests that an agricultural crisis resulting from fast population growth and soil depletion led to uprisings against the priests and aristocracy (Waldman, p. 12). Other possibilities that have been put forth include invasion, epidemics of disease, natural disasters, or ecological catastrophe (Bentley et al, p. 68). After European contact in 1502, Spanish and Catholic missionaries systematically destroyed what little Maya culture survived the fall of their civilization.
By 900 C.E., the Maya were in decline throughout most of their territory. One leading theory suggests that an agricultural crisis resulting from fast population growth and soil depletion led to uprisings against the priests and aristocracy (Waldman, p. 12). Other possibilities that have been put forth include invasion, epidemics of disease, natural disasters, or ecological catastrophe (Bentley et al, p. 68). After European contact in 1502, Spanish and Catholic missionaries systematically destroyed what little Maya culture survived the fall of their civilization.
The 9th and 10th centuries would see the rise of the Toltec in central Mexico. The Toltecs rose to prominence with a very militaristic society. Under the Toltec, the practice of human sacrifice, which had existed since Olmec times, gained greater prominence (Allan, p. 16). Skull racks to display the heads of sacrificial offerings first appeared under the Toltec (Allan, p. 16). The agricultural basis of the Toltec was irrigated croplands. Toltec society was transformed when they began conquering their neighbors and extracting tribute. Though they had a large and powerful army, the Toltec also formed an extensive trade network. The similarities in architectural design and art motifs between the Toltec capital of Tula and the Maya city of Chichen Itza a thousand miles to the east are a testament to the trade network of both these civilizations as well as the commonality of Olmec influence.
The warrior culture of the Toltec in turn influenced the Aztecs. When the Toltec went into decline in the 12th century it created a political vacuum within the Valley of Mexico. Numerous small autonomous, often hostile states emerged. The Mexica, a tribe that had been migrating around central Mexico eventually settled in the valley. This tribe would build the remarkable city of Tenochtitlan and the Aztec Empire. The city itself was built on an island in Lake Texacoco. The location offered several advantages including easy access to food sources and military defensibility. This marshy location also spurred the development of the Aztec means of agriculture. Wicker baskets would be anchored to the lake bottom and fertile muck would be dredged from the lakebed and piled up to form artificial islands known as chinampas (Waldman, p. 15). This method of farming was so productive that farmers were sometimes able to harvest seven crops in a year (Bentley, p. 319).
By the turn of the 15th century, the Mexica were powerful enough to overcome their immediate neighbors in the Valley of Mexico. Having done so, they began to call themselves the Aztec, named for the legendary location, Aztlan, from which they believed they had come. Eventually the Aztec’s would subjugate most of the societies of central Mexico. Tenochtitlan became a city of hundreds of buildings interconnected by a canal system. It is estimated that a quarter of a million people lived in Tenochtitlan, with at least that many living in the surrounding suburbs and villages (Bentley, 2008, p.319, Waldman, 2000, p. 14). The Mexica had succeeded in creating a viable social and political structure capable of supporting a large population as well as durable enough to survive severe crop failure or several crisis in succession (Brumfiel, 1983, p. 267). At the height of the Aztec Empire, it is thought to have encompassed anywhere from five million (Waldman, p. 15) to twelve million people (Bentley, p. 319).
Religion lay at the core of Aztec culture. Many of the same gods worshipped by earlier Mesoamerican societies had its own cult (Allen, p. 19). Huitzilopochtli was a tribal war god of the Aztecs, who forced his worship on conquered peoples (Allen, p. 95). Human sacrifice became even more important than it had been among the Toltec. The bodies of the sacrificial victims were often consumed, especially during important religious holidays (Allen, p. 105). As the supreme god of the Aztec political entity, Huitzilopochtli guaranteed the prevailing social order just as he did the authority of the Aztec Empire (Allen, p. 104). To exactly what extent the worship of Huitzilopochtli was out of belief and loyalty rather than fear is difficult to ascertain, though the ease with which the Spanish erased him suggests the later (Allen, p.105).
War rather than trade drove the Aztec Empire. Tribute was extracted from conquered people in the form of slaves and material goods. Nearly 500 various subjected territories paid these tributes to the Aztecs (Bentley, p 319). The Aztecs did not establish a bureaucracy or administer these territories, if a given society wished to rebel the Aztecs would simply re-conquer them, taking many prisoners for sacrifice.
War rather than trade drove the Aztec Empire. Tribute was extracted from conquered people in the form of slaves and material goods. Nearly 500 various subjected territories paid these tributes to the Aztecs (Bentley, p 319). The Aztecs did not establish a bureaucracy or administer these territories, if a given society wished to rebel the Aztecs would simply re-conquer them, taking many prisoners for sacrifice.
These native societies made advances independently of other societies in the world at large. There was no Silk Road along which information and technology could be shared over vast distances. They invented complex, accurate calendars for time keeping. Large stone buildings were built in the middle of tropical jungles. Ingenious means of agriculture were devised. Large military forces were organized. Government was invented, everywhere else in the world it was borrowed or copied from Mesopotamia. Yet when Columbus and his fellow Europeans arrived, all they saw were savages in need of civilization, European civilization.
While wrong about so many things, Columbus was correct when he reported the native peoples used no iron. When natives on San Salvador in 1492 cut themselves through ignorance, they showed themselves to be unaware of the sharp cutting edge of iron (Parker, 2004, p. 132). Iron and steel metallurgy would be one of the keys to the European conquest of the Americas, the other being disease. Though the Aztecs and their allies were able at times to halt and even occasionally defeat the Spanish, which suggest a powerful and highly motivated fighting force, their fate was sealed (Parker, p. 134). Not because they were uncivilized, but because they lacked a sufficient counter to the technological advantage and deadly diseases of the Europeans.
While wrong about so many things, Columbus was correct when he reported the native peoples used no iron. When natives on San Salvador in 1492 cut themselves through ignorance, they showed themselves to be unaware of the sharp cutting edge of iron (Parker, 2004, p. 132). Iron and steel metallurgy would be one of the keys to the European conquest of the Americas, the other being disease. Though the Aztecs and their allies were able at times to halt and even occasionally defeat the Spanish, which suggest a powerful and highly motivated fighting force, their fate was sealed (Parker, p. 134). Not because they were uncivilized, but because they lacked a sufficient counter to the technological advantage and deadly diseases of the Europeans.
Cut off from the societies of Africa, Asia, and Europe the civilizations of the Americas developed independently from them. Though certainly not the only civilizations too flourish in the Americas, these four are an example of how one cultures beliefs and traditions can be reflected or even admired and emulated in successor societies. From the ball courts, temple pyramids, and human sacrifices started by the Olmec, one can see their influence on the societies that followed with each culture adding its own improvements or refinements.
References
Allan, T., Lowenstien, T., Laughton, T. (1997) Gods of sun & sacrifice: Aztec & maya myth. Duncan Baird: London.
Bentley, J., Ziegler, H., Streets, H. (2008). Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History. McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.
Brumfiel, E. (1983). Aztec state making: Ecology, structure, and the origin of the state. American Anthropologist 85(2), 261-284. Retrieved July 31, 2011 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/676313
Mann, C. (2005). 1491: New revelations of the Americas before Columbus. Random House: New York
Parker, G. (Ed.). (2004). Cambridge illustrated history of warfare. University Press: Cambridge
Waldman, C. (2000). Atlas of the north American Indian, revised edition. Checkmark Books: New York
