January+2+-+The+Civilizations+of+the+Americas

=//Review//= Between 30,000 and 12,000 years ago, tribal hunters began migrating from Asia to the Americas across a path of about one thousand miles in length south of the Bering Straits. By 11,000 BC, they had reached the tip of South America and the Atlantic coast of North America. At the close of the Ice Age, these tribes were cut off from Asia and Europe. This isolation lasted until 1492, when Christopher Columbus landed on the Bahamas. Thinking he was near India, Columbus called the people who met him "Indios." Mesoamerica extends from central Mexico to Honduras. The ancient Mesoamericans spoke many languages, including the Nahua family of languages, dialects of which survive today in southern Mexico and Guatemala. The Mesoamericans shared hieroglyphic writing, an applied knowledge of astronomy, and a form of monarchical government.

The earliest Mesoamerican art dates from about 1300 BC, when the Olmecs inhabited the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Their remarkable stone carvings include a series of sixteen colossal stone heads up to twelve feet high, believed to be portraits of Olmec leaders. Among he most splendid of all Mesoamerican sites is the ancient city of Teotihuacan, which grew to dominance after 300 BC. The city's people were great pyramid-builders, and the central avenue of the city links the Pyramids of the Moon and of the Sun. Also located in Teotihuacan is the Temple of the Quetzalcoatl, the god of priestly wisdom. The overall design of the city suggests its role as an astronomical center. By the 700, the city's influence had waned, and in 750 the city was sacked and burned.

The ancient Mayan culture, which existed from about 250 BC to AD 1000, inhabited the Yucatan peninsula. The Mayas are distinguished by their knowledge of mathematics and astronomy. To the Maya, the world consisted of three layers - the Upperworld of the heavens, the Middleworld of human civilization, and the Underworld, linked by the great tree, the Wacah Chan. The king was the personification of the Wacah Chan. To the Maya, time was not linear, but cyclical. Among the sites of Mayan culture is Tikal, ca AD 700, in present-day Guatemala. The city contains six giant temple-pyramids used for the celebration of religious rituals. War dominated Tikal life. Its patron and protector was the jaguar God, a feature shared by all Mesoamerican cultures. At Palenque, Mexico, the Temple of Inscriptions, seventh century AD, contains lists which record a dynasty of twelve kings. The temple rests over the grave of Pascal, who ruled from 615 to 682 and is considered one of the greatest Mayan rulers. During the ninth century the Maya abandoned their cities and returned to the countryside to farm, where their descendents work the fields today. Many traditional Mayan practices survive, such as the use of Mayan hieroglyphics and the references to the 260-day calendar.

The Aztecs flourished late, after about 1350, and continued until overcome by the Spaniards in 1521. The Aztec leaders claimed to be descendants of the Toltecs. The Toltecs came to power around AD 900 after Teotihuacan's power had diminished. In the twelfth century the militaristic Toltecs came to a violent end. By 1440, when Montezuma Ilhuicamina (r. 1440-1486) assumed power, the Aztecs considered themselves masters of the entire world. Aztecs linked human sacrifice with religious ritual, and in one fifteen year period at least twenty thousand captives were sacrificed in the city of Tenochtitlan The central activity of the Aztecs was war, with the primary goal being to secure enough captives to sacrifice. For Aztec men, dying in battle was considered a great honor. Aztec art reflects the fierceness of the culture. A huge statue of Coatlicue, goddess of the earth, has large serpent fangs, two rattlesnake heads, a necklace made of human hearts, and a a skirt which consist of writhing snakes. For the Aztecs, poetic speech was a creative force. The Aztecs also emphasized systematic memorization of poems to preserve their culture.

Among the early cultures to develop in Peru was that of the Moche, who controlled the Peruvian north coast from AD 200 to 700. They lived around great huacas, pyramids made of bricks that rose as high as 135 feet high. The Moche were gifted metal-smiths, and were the most gifted ceramic artists in the Americas. Around 800, Moche society vanished, possibly due to the great earthquake which rattled the Andes between 650 and 700.

The Inca civilization emerged in the central Andes in about 1300, and became a dominant military force by 1500. The 19,000 miles of roads and tracks that extended through their empire shows their engineering skill. The fortified town of Machu Picchu, located high in the Andes mountains, was built around 2450, perhaps as a refuge for Inca monarchs or a place of religious retreat. Twelve years after the Spaniards defeated the Aztecs, they destroyed Inca civilization, in part by using contagious diseases such as smallpox.

The Native Americans lived nomadic lives until around 1200 BC, when the production of corn spread from Mexico to what is now the United States. The practice was slow to take hold, meaning that the organized and complex civilizations that usually accompany agricultural development were slow to form. One of the older cultures of the north developed in about 3500 BC in present-day Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska. The native peoples gathered wild berries, fished, and hunted for game. By 450 BC they had become expert woodworkers, producing, among other things totem poles. The native populations of the desert southwest region, called the Anasazi, found water scarce. Perhaps the most famous Anasazi site is Mesa Verde in southwestern Colorado. It consists of a series of cliff dwellings built into cave like overhangs.

Throughout the Mississippi and Ohio River basins, starting about 1000 BC, small farming villages began building monumental earthworks to bury their dead. The largest of these was the Monk's Mound at Cahokia, in present-day Illinois. Most great game species disappeared at the end of the Ice Age. One that remained was the buffalo. The buffalo learned to eat the grasses that covered the Great Plains. But with the coming of the Europeans, the great herd that roamed the continent quickly disappeared. Between 1830 and 1870, the buffalo population in the West dropped from around thirty million to eight million.

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=Review Questions= Record your answers an a separate sheet of paper and turn them in to the instructor. Be sure your name and subject "The Civilizations of the Americas" is at the top of the paper. 1. At the height of the Ice Age, where did the tribal hunters who migrated into the Americas come from? a. Asia b. Africa c. Europe d. Greenland

2. The earliest Mesoamerican art comes from the a. Aztecs b. Olmecs c. Toltecs d. Zapotecs

3. Ancient Olmec art is associated with a. pyramids b. vase painting c. stone carving d. temples

4. The Olmec series of sixteen colossal stone heads forund in San Lorenzo, Veracruz, are believed to be portraits of Olmec a. rulers b. gods c. warriors d. stone carvers

5. The people of Teotihuacan are best known for their a. ceramics b. pyramids c. stone carvings d. murals

6. In Teotihaucan, Mexico, what links the underworld to the heavens, the forces of life and death? a. Pyramid of the Sun b. Pyramid of the Moon c. Temple of Quetzalcoatl d. Avenue of the dead

7. The overall design and layout of Teotihaucan suggests its role as a(n) a. buffalo hunting ground b. sports arena c. astronomical and ritualistic center d. marketplace

8. The Mayan culture appears to have lasted from about a. 1300 BC to 600 BC b. 250 BC to AD 1000 c. AD 100 to AD 800 d. AD 900 to AD 1200

9. What is the Wacah Chan? a. giant temple-pyramids used for religious rituals b. a calendar used by the Mayan culture c. a great tree in the Mayan universe d. a town located high in the Andes mountains

10. What were the two calendars used by the Maya? a. hunting and farming b. hunting and ritual c. seasonal and astronomical d. farming and sacred

11. Tikal is one of the most important sites of classic a. Inca culture b. Aztec culture c. Mayan culture d. Olmec culture

12. What culture is linked to temple-pyramids? a. Mayan b. Aztec c. Toltec d. Inca

13. What did archaeologist Alberto Ruz discover? a. temple architecture of Tikal b. tomb of Pacal c. the pyramids of Teotihaucan d. stone carvings of the Olmecs

14. What records the history of the Palenque kings? a. Tikal temple-pyramids b. Temple of Inscriptions c. Pyramid of the Sun d. Temple of Quentzalcoatl

15. The greatest Aztec families clamed descent from the a. Olmecs b. Mayans c. Toltecs d. Nazcas

16. What is the most frequently cited aspects of Aztec culture? a. totem poles b. geoglyphs c. human sacrifice d. temple-pyramids

17. What was the central activity of the Aztec state? a. war b. agriculture c. human sacrifice d. temple-pyramid

18. The statue of Coatlicue is from the a. Incas b. Aztecs c. Mayans d. Olmecs

19. What culture controlled the area along the Peruvian north coast from AD 200 to 700? a. Moche b. Mayan c. Inca d. Aztec

20. What culture lived around great huacas? a. Moche b. Inca c. Nazca d. Aztec

21. What culture were the most gifted ceramic artists in the Americas? a. Inca b. Aztec c. Moche d. Mayan

22. The Inca civilization emerged in Peru around a. 100 BC b. AD 200 c. AD 900 d. AD 1300

23. What civilization called their empire Tawantinsuyu? a. Naxcas b. Incas c. Aztecs d. Mayans

24. Which of the following is associated with the Inca culture? a. Mesa Verde b. Temle of Inscriptions c. Great Serpent Mound d. Macchu Picchu

25. What cutlure is linked to geoglyphs? a. Incas b. Aztecs c. Nazcas d. Moches

26. Which of the following was not a Peruvian culture? a. incas b. Aztecs c. Moches d. Nazcas

27. The inhabitants of the Southwest region of North America were called the a. Aztecs b. Nazcas c. Toltecs d. Anasazi

28. The Great Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio, ws built by the a. Aztec culture b. Adena culture c. Mayan culture d. Moche culture

29. What was the most devastating change as far as the buffalo were concerned? a. the coming of the Europeans b. a great earthquake between 650 and 700 c. the tribal hunters who migrated from Asia d. El Nino brought torrential floods to the normally dry desert plains

30. The poem, "The Midwife Addresses the Newly Delivered Woman," is a(n) a. Inca poem b. Aztec poem c. Moche poem d. Mayan poem