"American" Civilizations Flashcards
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| 291987026 | Olmec | -urban centers -elite class, lived in decorated houses and had elegant clothing, poor lived in houses made of sticks and mud -ruled by a form of kingship that combined religious and secular roles -merchants, long distance trade -polytheistic, human and animal characteristics bleneded, shamans-priests, human sacrifice/bloodletting, jaguar symbol -influenced all following Mesoamerican civilizations | 0 | |
| 291987027 | Chavin | -traded fish, corn, textiles (possibly w/ Mesoamerica) -class distinction developed -constructed bridges, roads, temples, irrigation -metallurgy (500 BCE) -bred llamas -jaguar= symbol of religious authority -had military force -warfare interrupted trade= downfall | 1 | |
| 291987028 | Teotihuacan | -large Mesoamerican city -dominated by religious structures -growth led to relocation of farm families to cities and agricultural innovations -elite lived well and controlled -ruled by alliances of wealthy families -polytheistic: Quetzalcoatl | 2 | |
| 291987029 | Maya | -culture, never formed a politically unified state -increased agricultural productivity -city states dominated neighbors -cities were decorative and cultural -believed cosmos had 3 layers (heavens, human world, underworld) -rulers and elites served as priests to communicate w/ supernatural w/ supernatural worlds -elite women: role in rituals -non elite women: essential role in agriculture and textile production -created calender, writing system, and practiced mathematics -disruption of Mesoamerican trade -environmental pressure caused by overpopulation and increased warfare | 3 | |
| 291987030 | Toltecs | -based on Teotihuacan -contributed to innovations in politics and war -capital: Tula -2 kings ruled the state -caused internal struggle...downfall | 4 | |
| 291987031 | Aztecs | -clan based social organization -monarchial system of gov -warfare increased male power, women dominated household -kings...increased wealth and power through territorial expansion -commoners lost ability to influence decisions....inequalities -increased agricultural production by constructing irrigated fields and chinampas -merchants controlled trade (separate class) -polytheistic, main god: Huitzilopochitli | 5 | |
| 291987032 | Anasazi | -Chaco canyon -political and religious dominance over one area -developed and constructed | 6 | |
| 291987033 | Hopewell | -Ohio valley -trade and influence extended -economy based on hunting and gathering, supplemented by agriculture -ruled by hereditary chiefs -priests managed secular affairs and trade -built large mounds as burial sites and platforms for temples and chief | 7 | |
| 291987034 | Mississippian | -cheifdoms made possible agricultural productivity, bow and arrow, trade -Cahokia (largest) -abandoned due to climate changes and population pressures | 8 | |
| 291987035 | Moche | -forced labor to construct irrigated agriculture -society: stratified and theocratic -wealth and power concentrated in the hands of the elite (priests and military) -artisans were skilled... textiles, vases, metallurgy -natural disasters, pressure from Wari....decline | 9 | |
| 291987036 | Inca | -started as small chiefdom... expanded through military into huge empire -strong military -use mit'a labor system to form armies, build, religious institutions, and care for the old -local rulers in place... controlled by military garrisons -central imperial bureaucracy led by a king -capital= Cuzco -astronomical observations, weaving, metallurgy, khipus, made more efficient use of old technology -civil war.... weakened empire | 10 | |
| 291987037 | Tiwanaku | -agricultural productivity -urban construction -society: high stratified, ruled by hereditary elite | 11 | |
| 291987038 | Wari | -contact w/ Tiwanaku -built w/o central planning -decline w/ Tiwanaku b/c of insignificance | 12 |