Chapter 20: Worlds Apart: The Americas and Oceania
States and Empires in Mesoamerica and North America
1)Intro
Mesoamerica entered an era of war and conquest in the 8th century ce
Stores of wealth were accumulated at Teotihuacan, the largest city in Mesoamerica
When Teotihuacan declined, it became a target for less-prosperous but well-organized forces from the countryside and northern Mexico
These attacks opened an era of militarization and empire building Mesoamerica
Lasted until Spain conquered the region in the 16th century
Most prominent of these peoples were the Mexica, the architects of the Aztec empire
The Toltecs and the Mexica
1)Intro
During the 9th and 10th centuries, regional states dominated the central valley of Mexico after the fall of Teotihuacan
The area around Mexico City where farming societies flourished since the late centuries bce
Although these successor states and their societies shared the religious and cultural traditions of Teotihuacan, they fought relentlessly amongst themselves
Their capital cities were on well-defended sites
Warriors figured prominently in the art of the era
2)Toltecs
The emergence of the Toltecs and then the Mexica, unified rule returned to central Mexico
The Toltecs began to migrate into the area in the 8th century
Came from arid NW Mexico, and they settled at Tula, 50km NW of modern Mexico City
Though in an area with little rainfall and thin soil, the Toltecs tapped the waters of the nearby River Tula
Irrigated crops of maize, beans, peppers, tomatoes, chiles, and cotton
At its high point, from 950-1150 ce, Tula had a population of 60,000 ppl w/another 60k in the surrounding region
The Toltecs had a large and powerful army that periodically campaigned throughout central Mexico
Created a compact regional empire
Maintained fortresses to the NW to protect the state from invasion
By the mid-10th-mid-12th century, the exacted tribute from subjects
Transformed their capital into a wealthy city
Residents lived in spacious houses of stone, adobe, or mud
Sometimes covered their earth-packed floors with plaster
3)Tula
Tula became an important center of weaving, pottery, and obsidian
Residents imported jade, turquoise, animal skins, exotic bird feathers, and other luxury goods
Maintained close relations with societies on the Gulf coast as well as with the Maya of Yucatan
Shared numerous architectural designs and art motifs with the Maya city of Chichen Itza
Beginning about 1125 ce, the Toltec empire faced serious difficulties as conflicts between the different ethnic groups at Tula led to strife
By the mid-12th century, large numbers of migrants had entered Tula and settled the surrounding area
Mostly nomads from NW Mexico
By 1175, the comination of civil conflict and nomadic invasion had destroyed the Toltecs
Evidence suggests that fire destroyed much of Tula around the same time
Large numbers of ppl continued to inhabit the region around Tula
By the end of the 12th century the Toltecs no longer dominated Mesoamerica
4)The Mexica
Among the migrants drawn to central Mexico from NW regions were the Mexica
Often referred to as the Aztecs because they dominated the alliance that built the Aztec Empire in the 15th century
Arrived in central Mexico around the middle of the 13th century
Had a reputation for trouble by kidnapping local women and seizing land already cultivated by others
On several occasions their neighbors forced them to move
For a century, they migrated around central Mexico, fighting other peoples and sometimes surviving only on fly eggs and snakes
5)Tenochtitlan
About 1345, the Mexica settled on an island in a marshy region of Lake Texcoco
Founded the city of Tenochtitlan, their capital, which would be the foundation of Mexico City
While originally inconvenient, the site was advantageous
The lake had lots of fish, frogs, and waterfowl
The lake enabled the Mexica to develop the chinampa system of farming
The Mexica dredged a rich and fertile muck from the lake’s bottom, and built it up into small plots of land known as chinampa
During te dry season, cultivators tapped water from canals from the lake to their plots
In the temperate climate they grew crops of maize, beans, squashes, tomatoes, peppers, and chiles year round
Chinampas were so fertile and productive that cultivators were able to harvest seven crops per year from their gardens
The lake also served as a natural defense
Waters protected Tenochtitlan on all sides
Mexica warriors patrolled the three causeways that linked the capital with the surrounding area
6)The Aztec Empire
By the early 15th century, the Mexica were powerful enough to overcome their immediate neighbors and demand tribute
During the middle decades, the Mexica launched campaigns of imperial expansion
Under the rule of Itzcoatl (1428-1440) and Moctezuma I (1440-1469) (Montezuma), they advanced against Oaxaca in the SW Mexico
After conquering them, they populated Oaxaca with colonists
The city became a bulwark for the Mexica empire
The Mexica then turned to the Gulf coast, whose tropical products made tribute items in Tenochtitlan
Finally, they then conquered the high plateaus between Tenochtitlan and the Gulf coast
About the mid-15th century, the Mexica allied with two neighbors, Texcoco and Tlacopan, to create a triple alliance that guided the Aztec empire
Dominated by the Mexica and Tenochtitlan, the allies imposed their rule on about 12 million people and most of Mesoamerica
Excluded the arid northern and western regions and a few pockets of independence
7)Tribute and Trade
The amin objective of the triple alliance was to exact tribute from subjects
From nearby peoples the Mexica and their allies received food and manufactured items such as textiles, rabbit-fur blankers, embroidered clothes, jewelry, and obsidian knives
Tribute obligations were sometimes oppressive for subject peoples
Ruling elites entrusted some of the tribute items to officially recognized merchants
Took them to distant lands and exchanged them for local products (jade, emeralds, tortoise shells, jaguar skins, parrot feathers, seashells, and game)
Also supplied vanilla beans and cacao from the tropical lowlands, which was the source of tasty chocolate drinks
Unlike imperial states in the eastern hemisphere, the Aztec empire had no elaborate bureaucracy or administration
The Mexica and their allies conquered their subjects and assessed tribute
Left local gov’t and collection of tribute to local peoples
Their allies did not even maintain military garrisons
Nor did they establish a standing army
Assembled forces as needed when they launched campaigns of expansion of mounted punitive expeditions against insubordinate subjects
The Mexica had a reputation for military prowess
Fear of reprisal kept most subjects in line
At the high point of the Aztec empire in the early 16th century, tribute from 489 subject territories flowed into Tenochtitlan
The Mexica capital had 200,000 ppl, and 300,000 others lived in nearby towns and suburban areas
Mexica Society
1)Intro
More information survives about the Mexica than any other people in the pre-Columbian Americas
Mexica books survived the Spanish caonquest, offering direct testomny about the Mexica way of life
A great deal survived from interview conducted by Spanish missionaries during the mid-16h century
2)Social Structure
Mexica society was rigidly hierarchical
Public honors and rewards mostly went to the military elite
The Mexica looked at all males as potential warriors
Individuals of common borth could distinguish themselves via combat
For the most part, military elite cam from the Mexica aristocracy
Had the best opportunity to display their talents on the battlefield
3)Warriors
The Mexica showered wealth and honors on their military elite
Accomplished warriors received extensive land grants
Received tribute from commoners
The most successful warriors formed a council whose members selected the ruler, discussed public issues, and filled gov’t positions
Ate the best food, consumed the most luxurious items
Commoners had to wear coarse, burlap garments; aristocrats could wear cotton
Warriors could wear brightly colored capes and adorn themselves with lip plugs and eagle feathers
4)Mexica Women
Women played almost no role in the political affairs of a society dominated by military values
Wielded influence within the families and enjoyed high honors as mothers of warriors
Did not inherit property of hold official positions
The law subjected them to the strict authority of their fathers and their husbands
Women were prominent in the marketplaces, as well as in crafts with embroidery and needlework
Society prodded them toward motherhood
With the exception of a few who dedicated themselves to the temple, all Mexica women married
Principal function was to bear children, especially males who could become warriors
Society recognized the bearing of children as equal to a warrior’s capture of enemy in battle
Women who died in childbirth won the same fame as warriors who died on the battlefield
Women in all classes had the responsibility of raising young children and preparing food for their families
5)Priests
In addition to the military aristocracy, a priestly class also ranked among the Mexica elite
Received a special education in calendars and ritual lore
Presided over religious ceremonies the Mexica viewed as crucial to the continuation of the world
Read omens, explained the forces that drove the world
Wielded considerable influence as advisors to Mexica rulers
Some priests even became the supreme rulers of the Aztec empire
Montezuma II (r. 1505-1520) was a priest
6)Cultivators and Slaves
The bulk of the Mexica population consisted of commoners who lived in hamlets who cultivated chinampas and fields allocated to their families by community groups known as calpulli
Calpulli were originally clans of families w/descent from a common ancestor; eventually became more about living in a tight-knit community
Organized their own affairs and allocated community property to individual families
Apart from working their plots, commoners also worked on lands awarded to aristocrats or warriors
Contributed labor services to public work projects involving the construction of palaces, temples, roads, and irrigation systems
Cultivators delivered periodic tribute payments to state agents
Would distribute them a portion of what they collected to the elites and stored the remainder in granaries and warehouses
Mexica society also included slaves who usually worked as domestic slaves
Most slaves were no foreigners, but Mexica
Families sometimes sold younger members into servitude to do financial distress
Others were forced into it due to criminal behavior
7)Artisans and Merchants
Skilled artisans, esp those with gold, silver, textiles, tropical bird feathers, and others designed for consumption by the elites, enjoyed prestige in Mexica society
Merchants of long-distance trade occupied an important but tenuous position
Supplied the exotic products consumed by elites
[rovided political and military intelligence
However, the often fell under suspicion as greedy profiteers
Aristocrats frequently extorted wealth and goods from weak merchants
Mexica Religion
1)Intro
When they migrated to central Mexico, the Mexica already spoke the Nahuatl language
Had been the prevalent tongue in the region since the TOltecs
Soon adopted other cultural and religious traditions, some of which dated from the Olmecs
Most Mesoamericans played a ball game
Maintained a complicated calendar based on a solar year of 365 days and a ritual year of 260 days
2)Mexica Gods
The Mexica also absorbed the religious common to Mesoamerica
Two of their principle gods had been in Mesoamerica since Teotihuacan
Tezcatlipoca “The Smoking Mirror”, and Quetzalcoatl “The Feathered Serpent”
Tezcatlipoca was a powerful figure, the giver and taker of life and the patron deity of warriors
Quetzalcoatl had a reputation for supporting arts, crafts, and farming
3)Ritual Bloodletting
Like their predecessors, the Mexica believed that their gods had set the world in motion through individual sacrifice
By letting their blood flow, the gods had given the earth the moisture it needed to grow maize and other crops
To propitiate the gods and ensure the continuation of the world, the Mexica honored their deity through sacrificial blood-letting
The priests regularly provided acts of self-sacrifice, piercing their earlobes or penises with cactus spines
The religious beliefs and bloodletting clearly reflected the desire of the Mexica to keep their agricultural society going
4)Huitzilopochtli
Mexica priests also presided over the sacrificial killing of human victims
From the Olmecs and possible before, Mesoamerican peoples had regarded the ritual sacrifice of humans as essential to the world’s survival
The Mexica, placed much more emphasis on human sacrifice than their predecessors had
To a large extent the Mexica enthusiasm for human sacrifice followed from their devotion to the god Huitzilopochtli
Mexica warriors took him as their patron deity in the early years of the 14th century as they subjected neighboring peoples to their rule
Military success persuaded them that the god especially favored the Mexica
As military success mounted, the priests of his cult demanded sacrificial victims to keep the war god appeased
Some of the victims were Mexica criminals, but others came as tribute from neighboring peoples or from the ranks of warriors captured on the battlefield during the many conflicts between the Mexica and their neighbors
In all cases, the Mexica viewed human sacrifice not as a gruesome form of entertainment
Rather, a ritual essential to the world’s survival
Peoples and Societies of North America
1)Intro
Beyond mexico the peoples of North America developed a variety of political,social, and economic traditions
In the arctic and subarctic regions, diets included sea mammals (whale, seal, and walrul)
Supplemented by land mammals such as moose and caribou
Peoples in coastal region consumed fish, but in interior regions (the North American plains), they hunted large animals such as bison and deer
Throughout the continent, nuts, berries, roots, and grasses such as wild rice supplemented the meat provided by hunters and fishers
Like their counterparts, peoples of North America built societies on a small scale since wild food wouldn’t support large populations
2)Pueblo and Navajo Societies
In several regions of North America, farming economies enabled peoples to maintain settled societies with large populations
In what is now the American SW, Pueblo and Navajo peoples tapped river waters to irrigate crops of maize, which were as much as 80% of their diets
Cultivated beans, squash, and sunflowers
Supplmeneted their crops with wild plants and small game such as rabbit
The hot and dry climate brought drought and famine
By about 700 ce, the Pueblo and the Navajo began to construct permanent stone and adobe buildings
3)Iroquois Peoples
Large-scale farming societies emerged in the woodlands east of the Mississippi River
Woodlands ppl began to cultivate maize and beans during the early centuries ce
About 800 ce these cultivated foods made up the bulk of their diets
Lived in settled communities, and they often surrounded their larger settlements with wooden palisades as defensive walls
By 1000, the Owasco ppl had a distinct society in upstate NY
By 1400 ce, the five Iroquois nation had emerged from Owasco society
Women were in charge of Iroquois villages and longhouses (where several families lived together)
Supervised cultivation of fields surrounding the settlements
Men took responsibility for affairs beyond the village- hunting, fishing, and war
4)Mound-Building People
The most impressive structure of the woodlands peoples were the enrormous earthen mounds that dotted the countryside throughout the eastern half of North America
Woodlands peoples used those mounds sometimes as stages for ceremonies and rituals, often as platforms for dwellings, and occasionally as burial sites
5)Cahokia
The largest surviving structure in a mound as Cahokia near east St. Louis, Illinois
Third-largest structure in the western hemisphere before the arrival of Europeans
Scholars estimate that during the 12th century, 15k to 38k people lived in the vicinity of the Cahokia mounds
6)Trade
Bc peoples north of Mexico had no writing, info about them comes from archaeological discoveries