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History of
World Invasion: Ancient World:
Ancient Americas (Pre Columbian
Americas)
Ancient
Americas (Pre Columbian Americas)
The Olmec
Overview:
-The Olmec lived along the Gulf Coast of Mexico in the modern-day
Mexican states of Tabasco and Veracruz.
-The Olmec society lasted from about 1600 BCE to around 350 BCE,
when environmental factors made their villages unlivable.
-The Olmec are probably best known for the statues they carved: 20
ton stone heads, quarried and carved to commemorate their rulers.
-The name Olmec is an Aztec word meaning the rubber people; the
Olmec made and traded rubber throughout Mesoamerica.
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Andean and Chavín civilizations
Overview
-Several complex societies formed in the Andean region of South
America, the Caral—or Norte Chico—and the Chavín.
-Some scholars dispute whether the Caral culture represented a true
civilization.
-The Chavín civilization was named for and centered around a large
temple at Chavín de Huántar and was probably organized around a
religious hierarchy.
------------------
The Olmec
Overview:
-The Olmec lived along the Gulf Coast of Mexico in the modern-day
Mexican states of Tabasco and Veracruz.
-The Olmec society lasted from about 1600 BCE to around 350 BCE,
when environmental factors made their villages unlivable.
-The Olmec are probably best known for the statues they carved: 20
ton stone heads, quarried and carved to commemorate their rulers.
-The name Olmec is an Aztec word meaning the rubber people; the
Olmec made and traded rubber throughout Mesoamerica.
Who were the Olmec?
The Olmec were the first major civilization in Mexico. They lived in
the tropical lowlands on the Gulf of Mexico in the present-day
Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. The name Olmec is a Nahuatl—the
Aztec language—word; it means the rubber people. The Olmec might
have been the first people to figure out how to convert latex of the
rubber tree into something that could be shaped, cured, and
hardened. Because the Olmec did not have much writing beyond a
handful of carved glyphs—symbols—that survived, we don't know what
name the Olmec people gave themselves.
Appearing around 1600 BCE, the Olmec were among the first
Mesoamerican complex societies, and their culture influenced many
later civilizations, like the Maya. The Olmec are known for the
immense stone heads they carved from a volcanic rock called basalt.
Archaeological evidence also suggests that they originated the
Mesoamerican practices of the Mesoamerican Ballgame—a popular game
in the pre-Columbian Americas played with balls made from solid
rubber—and that they may have practiced ritual bloodletting.
Trade and village life
There are no written records of Olmec commerce, beliefs, or customs,
but from the archaeological evidence, it appears they were not
economically confined. In fact, Olmec artifacts have been found
across Mesoamerica, indicating that there were extensive
interregional trade routes. The presence of artifacts made from
jade, a semiprecious green stone; obsidian, a glassy, black volcanic
rock; and other stones provides evidence for trade with peoples
outside the Gulf Coast of Mexico: the jade came from what is today
the Mexican state of Oaxaca and the country of Guatemala to the
south; the obsidian came from the Mexican highlands, to the north.
The Olmec period saw a significant increase in the length of trade
routes, the variety of goods, and the sources of traded items.
Trading helped the Olmec build their urban centers of San Lorenzo
and La Venta. These cities, however, were used predominantly for
ceremonial purposes and elite activity; most people lived in small
villages. Individual homes had a lean-to—sort of like a garage
shed—and a storage pit for storing root vegetables nearby. They also
likely had gardens in which the Olmec would grow medicinal herbs and
small crops, like sunflowers.
Most agriculture took place outside of the villages in fields
cleared using slash-and-burn techniques. The Olmec likely grew crops
such as maize, beans, squash, manioc, sweet potatoes, and cotton.
Religion
There are no direct written accounts of Olmec beliefs, but their
notable artwork provide clues about their life and religion.
There were eight different androgynous—possessing male and female
characteristics—Olmec deities, each with its own distinct
characteristics. For example, the Bird Monster was depicted as a
harpy eagle associated with rulership. The Olmec Dragon was shown
with flame eyebrows, a bulbous nose, and bifurcated tongue. Deities
often represented a natural element and included the following:
-The Maize deity
-The Rain Spirit or Were-Jaguar
-The Fish or Shark Monster
Religious activities regarding these deities probably included the
elite rulers, shamans, and possibly a priest class making offerings
at religious sites in La Venta and San Lorenzo.
Art
The Olmec culture was defined and unified by a specific art style.
Crafted in a variety of materials—jade, clay, basalt, and
greenstone, which is an archaeologist's term for carved, green-colored
minerals—much Olmec art is naturalistic. Other art expresses
fantastic anthropomorphic—human-shaped—creatures, often highly
stylized, using an iconography reflective of a religious meaning.
Common motifs include downturned mouths and cleft heads, both of
which are seen in representations of were-jaguars and the rain
deity.
Olmec colossal heads
The most striking art left behind by this culture are the Olmec
colossal—very big—heads. Seventeen monumental stone representations
of human heads sculpted from large basalt boulders have been
unearthed in the region to date. The heads date from at least before
900 BCE and are a distinctive feature of the Olmec civilization. All
portray mature men with fleshy cheeks, flat noses, and slightly
crossed eyes. However, none of the heads are alike, and each boasts
a unique headdress, which suggests they represent specific
individuals.
The Olmec brought these boulders from the Sierra de los Tuxtlas
mountains of Veracruz. Given that the extremely large slabs of stone
used in their production were transported over large distances,
requiring a great deal of human effort and resources, it is thought
that the monuments represent portraits of powerful individual Olmec
rulers, perhaps carved to commemorate their deaths. The heads were
arranged in either lines or groups at major Olmec centers, but the
method and logistics used to transport the stone to the sites remain
uncertain.
The end of the Olmecs
The Olmec population declined sharply between 400 and 350 BCE,
though it is unclear why. Archaeologists speculate that the
depopulation was caused by environmental changes, specifically by
the silting-up of rivers, which choked off the water supply.
Another theory for the considerable population drop proposes
relocation of settlements due to increased volcanic activity as the
cause rather than extinction. Volcanic eruptions during the Early,
Late, and Terminal Formative periods would have blanketed the lands
with ash and forced the Olmec to move their settlements.
What do you think?
What do the colossal heads of the Olmec tell us about how their
society was organized?
Given that the Olmec worshiped anthropomorphic deities, do you think
they believed their rulers were human beings?
What kind of ecological disaster would have to take place in order
to make your home unlivable?
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Andean and Chavín civilizations
Overview
-Several complex societies formed in the Andean region of South
America, the Caral—or Norte Chico—and the Chavín.
-Some scholars dispute whether the Caral culture represented a true
civilization.
-The Chavín civilization was named for and centered around a large
temple at Chavín de Huántar and was probably organized around a
religious hierarchy.
Caral—or Norte Chico—civilization
The Caral civilization—also known as the Norte Chico
civilization—was a complex society, meaning its people had
specialized, but interconnected, roles. It was located in what is
now north-central coastal Peru, and existed between roughly
3500-1700 BCE. Some have argued that it is the oldest known
civilization in the Americas, but others have claimed that there is
too little evidence of the political, economic, and religious
structures to definitively claim the Caral society was truly a
civilization. For example, those who study Caral sites assume that
sophisticated government was required to manage them, but questions
remain over how it was organized to carry out these building
projects.
The most impressive achievement of the Caral society was its
monumental architecture, including large earthwork platform mounds
and sunken circular plazas. The urban complex of Caral takes up more
than 150 acres, and at its peak, approximately 3,000 people lived in
Caral. Its urban plan, which contained a central plaza and temples
surrounded by homes, was used by other Andean civilizations for the
next 4,000 years.
Most cities were located on one of three rivers in the region. This
provided irrigation that allowed for cotton cultivation on a large
scale. Evidence for large-scale cultivation of food crops is less
clear. Archaeological evidence suggests use of textile technology
for making clothing and fishnets, which fits with the evidence of
cotton cultivation.
There is no evidence for the creation or use of ceramic pottery,
which is often related to food storage and preparation. Some
scholars have suggested that Caral civilization obtained much of its
food resources from the sea rather than from the development of
agricultural cereal and crop surpluses, which have been considered
essential to the rise of other ancient civilizations. This is one
reason why not all scholars are convinced that Caral represents a
“true civilization”.
Artifacts found include flutes made of bird bones and cornetts—a
type of instrument similar to a flute, made of deer and llama bones.
These animals also provided meat to the Caral diet and were almost
certainly hunted in the wild, rather than domesticated.
One of the most interesting artifacts found at Caral is a knotted
cotton textile piece called a quipu —sometimes spelled khipu. Quipu
were used by many Andean societies, including the Inca, who were
still using the system in the 1500s CE when the Spanish arrived in
South America. Quipu consisted of a series of strings with knots
that allowed its users to perform calculations and to record
transactions and other information. Along with questions about Caral
food production, debates over whether quipu represented a formal
writing system also prevent agreement over the status of the Caral
as a civilization.
Chavín Civilization
The Chavín civilization developed in the northern Andean highlands
of Peru between 900 and 250 BCE, roughly 1,000 years after the
decline of the Caral civilization. It was located in the Mosna River
Valley, where the Mosna and Huachecsa rivers merge.
The Chavín civilization is named for the temple at Chavín de Huántar,
which is the most prominent site linked with the broader culture.
Like all other civilizations, Chavín society developed and changed
over time. Between about 900 and 500 BCE, only several hundred
people lived near the temple site. The temple itself was probably a
regional ceremonial center to which people would travel for
significant events. Around 500 BCE, the number of people living
around the temple increased, and renovations and remodeling of the
temple to allow for larger crowds were completed. The domestication
of llamas appeared around this time, as did increased evidence of
cross-cultural trade in the form of non-Chavín materials. This
indicates that there must have been some increase in specialized
economic activity to produce goods that could be traded.
From about 400 BCE to 200 BCE, the Chavin population grew
substantially, and more urban forms of settlement appeared.
Specialized pottery showed up during this time as well, indicating
increased local production and probably an increased level of
agricultural surplus, as pottery was often a means of storing
surplus food.
The unique geography of the Chavín site—near two rivers and also
near high mountain valleys—allowed its residents to grow both maize,
which thrived in the lowlands of the river valley, and potatoes,
which grew best in the higher altitudes of the Andes Mountains. The
settlement pattern of larger villages in the lowland regions
surrounded by smaller satellite villages in the highlands might have
been a way to take advantage of these diverse agricultural
opportunities through specialized production.
Along with maize and potatoes, the Chavin people also grew the grain
quinoa and built irrigation systems to water these crops. They used
domesticated llamas as pack animals to transport goods and as a
source of food. A common method of preserving llama meat was drying
it into what later Andean people called ch’arki—the origin of the
word jerky!
The design of the Chavín de Huántar temple shows advanced building
techniques that were adapted to the highland environment of Peru. To
avoid flooding and the destruction of the temple during the rainy
season, the Chavín people created a drainage system with canals
under the temple structure.
Chavín art was the first widespread, recognizable artistic style in
the Andes and the temple itself was the most dramatic expression of
Chavín style. The Old Temple featured the Lanzón, a 4.5 meter long
piece of granite, carved in the form of the most important Chavín
deity. The name Lanzón refers to the sculpture itself, coming from
the Spanish word for lance, which the Spanish thought the sculpture
resembled.
Because the Chavín left no written records and the civilization was
no longer in existence when the Spanish arrived, the Chavín name of
the deity is unknown. The Lanzón was housed in the central chamber
of a labyrinth of underground passages below the temple.
Spiritually, the Lanzón likely marked a pivot point linking the
heavens, earth, and underworld.
Also near the temple was the Tello Obelisk, a giant sculpted shaft
of granite. The obelisk features images of plants and
animals—including caimans, birds, crops, and human figures—and may
portray a Chavín creation myth. Though its purpose has not been
fully deciphered by archaeologists, the obelisk seems to have been
aligned on an axis with the Lanzón and thus may have also served as
a sort of spiritual or astrological marker. This indicates that the
Chavin possessed some knowledge of astronomy.
The Chavín people created refined goldwork and used early techniques
of melting metal and soldering—connecting two pieces of metal by
using another metal as a sort of glue. Chavín art decorated the
walls of the temple and includes carvings, sculptures, and pottery.
The feline figure—most often the jaguar—had important religious
meaning and shows up in many carvings and sculptures. Eagles are
also commonly seen throughout Chavín art. The art was intentionally
difficult to interpret, as it was meant to be read by the high
priests alone.
There is little evidence of warfare in Chavín relics and no signs of
defensive structures at urban sites. Instead, local citizens were
likely controlled by a combination of religious pressure and
environmental conditions. The Andes Mountains and Pacific Ocean
acted as natural barriers to movement, confining settlement and
travel largely to the coastal strip, see map above.
The political structures of Chavín society are not clear, but the
construction of the temple and the limited access to knowledge of
symbols both imply that a hierarchy based on religious or spiritual
beliefs existed.
The construction and later renovation of the temple would have
required mobilizing a large amount of labor, so there must have been
some system for doing this. The most common theory is that there
existed a small, elite group of shamans—people believed to have the
ability to communicate with the spiritual world—and that they
maintained positions of power through this exclusive ability.
What do you think?
How did early Andean societies take advantage of the region’s
geography for agricultural production?
How did Chavín elites maintain power?
Why does the existence of monumental architecture, such as the
temple at Chavín de Huántar, imply that some sort of political
organization must have existed?
Source
Kaan Academy
New evidence supports idea that America's first civilization was
made up of 'sophisticated' engineers (phys.org) |
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