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3. Connections and Interactions

Connections across the Americas

developed separately from Afro-Eurasia

connections less densely woven than in Afro-Eurasia

llama, potato (Andes) never reached Mesoamerica

writing system of Maya never reached Andean civilizations

Aztecs and Incas had little if any direct contact

nothing equivalent to long-distance trade of Eastern Hemisphere

distant cultural traditions did not spread widely to integrate distant peoples

Difficulties

no vehicles: horses, donkeys, camels, wheeled vehicles, large ocean-going vessels

geographic and environmental differences

narrow bottleneck of Panama

largely covered by dense rain forests

inhibited contact between South and North America

north/south orientation of Americas slowed spread of agricultural products

agricultural practices had to move through/adapt to distinct climatic and vegetation zones

American web

loosely interactive

North American Great Lakes and upper Mississippi south to Andes

slowly spreading crops, cultural elements

maize gradually diffused from Mesoamerica to southwestern United States to east North America, as well as to South America

game played with rubber balls on outdoor court has traces in Caribbean, Mexico, northern South America

spread of particular pottery styles, architectural conventions

Cahokia

eastern woodlands, near present-day St. Louis

center of widespread trading network

brought to Cahokia:

shells from Atlantic coast

copper from Lake Superior region

buffalo hides from Great Plains

obsidian from Rocky Mountains

mica from southern Appalachian Mountains

dugout canoes plied rivers, loosely connecting Mississippi cultures

huge terraced pyramid

4 levels

1,000 feet long, 700 feet wide, over 100 feet tall, 15 acres

largest structure north of Mexico

focal point of community numbering 10,000 or more

stratified society

clear elite

rulers able to mobilize labor required to build such enormous structures

one high-status male buried on platform of 20,000 shell beads with 800 arrowheads, sheets of copper and mica, number of nearby sacrificed people

Chaco canyon

northwestern New Mexico

860-1130: 5 major settlements or pueblos emerged

Chaco Phenomenon

25,000 square miles

linked 150 outlying settlements to main centers

largest: Pueblo Bonito

5 stories high

more than 600 rooms

many kivas (ceremonial pits)

hundreds of miles of roads

up to 40 feet wide

seems unnecessary for ordinary trade/travel

no wheeled carts or large domesticated animals

possibly ceremonial or sacred landscape leading to underworld

dominant center for production of turquoise ornaments

major item of regional commerce

extended as far south as Mesoamerica

received copper bells, macaw feathers, tons of shells from Mesoamerica

drank liquid chocolate

used jars of Mayan origin

cacao beans imported from Mesoamerica (where practice began)

extended drought (1130-1180) brought culture to abrupt end

by 1200: great houses were abandoned, inhabitants in small communities that later became Pueblo peoples

Mesoamerica

Maya cities in Yucatán area (Mexico, Guatemala) and huge city-state of Teotihuacán (central Mexico) maintained commercial relationships with each other and throughout region

also conducted seaborne commerce

large dugout canoes holding 40-50 people

both Atlantic and Pacific coasts

pochteca: professional merchants

Aztecs, 15th

undertook large-scale trading expeditions both within and well beyond empire

sometimes agents for state or for nobility

more often acting on own as private businessmen

legally commoners but wealth often exceeded that of nobility

allowed them to rise in society

became “magnates of the land”

extent of Aztec Empire, rapid population growth stimulated development of markets and production of craft goods

almost every settlement had a marketplace

largest: Tlatelolco, near capital city

huge size, good order, immense range of available goods

Inca Empire

all along Andes Mountains

state-run operation

no merchant group similar to pochteca

great state storehouses with immense quantities

food

clothing

military supplies

blankets

construction materials

everything carefully recorded on quipus (knotted cords for numerical data) by highly-trained accountant class

goods transported as needed by caravans of human porters and llamas

numerous roads and bridges

20,000 miles total

traversed coastal plains, high Andes in north/south direction

lateral roads linked diverse environments, extended into eastern rain forests and plains

local exchange took place

highland fairs

along borders of empire with groups outside Inca

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