State Building in the Americas (1200-1450)

Introduction

Focus on state development in the Americas from 1200 to 1450.
Understanding continuity and innovation in state structures compared to earlier times.

Advanced urban centers and sophisticated writing systems.
Decentralized city-states often at war, with a focus on creating tributary states rather than expanding territory.
Emphasis on human sacrifice for religious purposes.

Originated from the Mexica people, who built military power and formed alliances.
Established through conquest and expansion; relied on a decentralized political structure with tributary states.
Religious motivations for expansion, particularly human sacrifice for the sun god.
Demonstrated continuity with older civilizations by claiming heritage from renowned Mesoamerican peoples.
Tenochtitlan as a central hub with marketplaces, palaces, and religious temples.

Established in the mid-1400s, borrowing from earlier civilizations like the Wari.
Centralized power with a significant bureaucracy.
Utilized the Mita system for labor rather than tribute, focusing on large state projects.
Expanded infrastructure with roads and bridges and maintained a religion-centered political structure.

Emerged in the Mississippi River Valley; first large-scale civilization in North America.
Hierarchical society led by powerful chiefs known as the 'Great Sun.'
Known for extensive mound-building projects for burials and ceremonies.
Cahokia was the largest urban center.

Located in the southwestern United States.
Developed innovative water transportation and storage techniques due to arid conditions.
Built massive sandstone structures (Chaco) and cliff-side housing complexes (Mesa Verde).

Key themes of continuity, innovation, and adaptation in state building across the Americas.
Understanding the political, social, and religious structures that underpinned these societies.