Notes from "Big History"

Chapter 9 on the Emergence of American Civilizations

(200-1450 CE)
Humans and animals in the Americas, p. 147

Extinction, p. 147

Migration, p. 148

Native Americans and plant domestication, p. 148

Why corn (and other crops) were low to spread in the Americas, p. 149

Protein in Mexico, p. 149

Mystery of sweet potatoes in Polynesia, p. 149

Olmecs, the first urban culture in the Americas, p. 150

Other great details about the Olmecs, pp. 150-151

-- played a ballgame called tlachli
-- had a complex dual-calendar system that led to a cyclical, repetitive view of history
-- mysteriously collapsed in about 400 BCE
Mayans (600 BCE 900 CE)
Raised-field agriculture, p. 152

Both the Mayans and the Aztecs practiced this type of agriculture, even more pronounced for the Aztecs, who
called the fields chinampas.
Other great details about the Mayans, pp. 151-152
-- never a centralized state, more a group of town-states
-- population of 3-5 million was double the number the Spaniards encountered 6 centuries later
-- had a writing system, produced books (though the Spanish destroyed all but 4)
-- very quickly collapsed, probably a drought, some environmental crisis that caused food shortage
After the Mayans, Toltecs ruled for 200 years, p. 153
-- short rule, but lasting influences: metallurgy, militarism, human sacrifice to placate gods
The Toltec and Quetzalcoatl, p. 153

Aztecs arose in the 14th century, built capital city of Tenochtitlan, p. 154

Aztec Empire, p. 154 (food supply based on tribute)

Lots of other great details on the Aztecs, pp. 154-156:

-- stratified social order with nobles, priests, farmers, artisans, serfs, slaves, etc.
-- nobles were allowed polygamy, but not others
-- clothing indicated rank (only nobles could wear cotton, for example)
-- kin-based social organization
-- human sacrifice, as required by the gods
-- main god = Huitzilopochtli, god of war
-- boys trained in warfare at young ages
-- elaborate system of writing

Sources on the Aztecs, p. 157

Limits on South American urbanization, p. 157

Extent of Incan expansion, p. 158

Incan central power and state control of resources, p. 159

Other great details about the Incas, pp. 158-162

-- vast road system for transporting goods (15,000 miles)
-- tax in labor on subject people; yearly quota on workers from each clan
-- no private ownership of land
-- very class conscious (only ruling classes could chew coca leaves, for example, and luxury goods were
restricted to the upper crust)
-- protein from llama and alpaca
-- skilled and distinctive fabrics/textiles
-- no writing; rather quipu, or knotted strings for recording information
-- animistic religion
-- also practiced human sacrifice
-- after death -> mummification

Other Native Americans, p. 163: Other than the Mexican and Andean agrarian civilizations, most of the
people of the Americas were semi-sedentary hunter-farmers or nomadic hunter-gatherers.

The healthy diet of Native Americans, p. 163 (stronger than Europeans)

Why priests often accompany settled agriculture (in both Old and New Worlds), p. 164