1.4 I
Explain how and why states in the Americas developed and changed over time.
Thematic Focus: Governance
3.2 IDi
In the Americas, as in Afro-Eurasia, state systems demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity, and expanded in scope and reach.
Tribute system
Mit’a system
The Mississippian Culture:
The Mississippian culture is the first large-scale civilization. They built large earthen mounds. for religious, ceremonial, and sometimes elite residential purposes Cahokia - the largest and most influential of the mounds. How was society organized in the Cahokia?
Great Sun (ruler of each large town) farmers, hunters, merchants, and artisans They were usually prisoners of war women farmed while men hunted no one knows why people abandoned the civilization: there are two theories: 1) weather got too extreme and caused crops to fail
2) European disease killed them off
Chaco and Mesa Verde:
built their civilizations in an arid and treeless portion of land developed ways to efficient collect, transport, and store water built homes into the sides of cliffs with bricks and other building materials Chaco: built large housing structures with hundreds of rooms using stones and clay Mesa Verde: multi-story homes into the sides of cliffs using sandstone bricks later drier climate: made them go extinct Maya City-States:
each city-state had a king, usually male, but if there was no male heir then a woman ruled wars between city states because they wanted to gain tribute from other cities and also humans to use as human sacrifices Mayan kings → descended from a god, and when he died, he re-merged with the god elite scribes and priests administered state affairs common people paid taxes in crops and labored for the government Mayan technology:
the number 0 was their idea learned how to make rubber made precise observatories atop pyramids even without a telescope. designed most accurate calendar in all of Europe at the time Mayan religion:
priests can be male or female they had to conduct ceremonies they had to look at the calendar and decide when for ceremonies, when for war made offerings. includes humans. The Aztecs/Mexicas:
tribute system - conquered people pay tribute to the Aztecs. It could be both practical goods and luxury goods. Aztecs exercise political dominance without being locally involved Spaniards are like whoa damn all these magnificent cities rising out of the water? and more structures on land that are also great? wow How did the Aztec Empire come to be, and what was the source of their prosperity?
originally hunter-gatherers that migrated to Mexico capital city of Tenochtitlán, an island in the middle of a swampy lake (modern day Mexico City) the Great Pyramid, other pyramids, temples, palaces were built chinampas - floating gardens that increased space for food production for irrigation, ditches and drains were used How was the Aztec Empire organized?
divided into provinces, further divided into city-states warriors in each province for defense Aztec official in each province to collect tribute How was society structured in the Aztec Empire?
society was a theocracy, a rule by religious leaders the Great Speaker (the emperor and divine rep of the gods) land-owning nobles (also military leaders) pochteca - a special merchant class that traded in luxury goods either used for manual labor or killed as religious sacrifice women were important because they wove the cloth that rulers wanted as tribute. few knew how to read or write except for some who worked as scribes from royal family How did religion affect Aztec society?
worship, rituals, feast days the Aztecs were way too obsessed with human sacrifices, so much that uh-oh! they inspired contempt and the tribes they conquered later rose up to rebel and overthrow the Aztecs when the Spaniards arrived sacrificing humans because the gods sacrificed themselves to create the world so why not sacrifice humans to atone for their endless sin? great idea. showed Aztec’s political power (and also how cruel and mean they were) How did the Aztecs decline?
tribal people got mad (“STOP KILLING PEOPLE FOR HUMAN SACRIFICE!!”), and wanted to rebel. They seized the opportunity to do so when the Spaniards arrived, and made it easier for the empire to be conquered by the Spanish bad technology (lack of wheels, lack of animals) → bad agriculture → not enough food → dead people :’( The Inca:
split empire to four provinces with their own bureaucracies to make it easier to govern mit’a system: male citizens had to perform mandatory civil service priests: they were like fortune-tellers. they could diagnose illness, determine sacrifice, predict war outcomes. they could predict the god’s motive. human sacrifice: only occurred during a serious issue (OMG A DROUGHT. THE GODS ARE MAD AT US, LETS SACRIFICE A HUMAN) animism: the idea that nature had personality (rivers, bridges, mountains) What were some innovations of the Inca?
quipu: knots on strings that could record information. This was useful for carrying messages. Carpa Nan: an extensive road system that was useful for the mountainous region. easy travel for govt and military they built terrace systems captured and redirected rain to prevent erosion stored water for later use during drier seasons easy cultivation of their crops
1.4 : State Building in the Americas